A Simple 3 Minute General Mobility Routine
Are you currently following a mobility routine?
Mobility work is not something that most people associate with building a lean, muscular body.
But make no mistake about it: mobility is extremely important – especially as you get older…
Mobility exercises differ from traditional stretching, in that the main goals are to enhance natural movement patterns and improve performance.
In essence, conventional stretching is about increasing flexibility, whereas mobility work is designed to help you move better.
So not only will mobility help you in the gym, but it will keep you free of pain and moving about happily in regular day-to-day life as well.
In the last few years, this topic has gotten increasingly popular, and there are now A LOT of different mobility exercises that you could do.
To help you cut through the clutter, we’ve put together a basic mobility routine that you can regularly do to keep yourself supple and moving freely.
The best part is that it only takes about 3 minutes to do – so you can either tack it on at the end of your workouts, or just do it when you’re at home.
Do the routine as much as possible, but aim for 3-4 times per week at minimum.
You can simply do these as a circuit, moving through each of the 5 exercises below one-by-one.
Exercise #1: Child’s Pose
This is a common yoga pose, which helps with both back and shoulder mobility.
You should hold this position for around 30 seconds.
Here is a video that shows you how to do the Child’s Pose properly.
Mobility Exercise #2: Cat Pose
This is another yoga pose, which helps to really stretch out the entire back.
You should do 10 repetitions of both parts of the movement.
Here is a video that shows you how to do the Cat Pose properly.
https://youtu.be/LodlEH6TluM
Mobility Exercise #3: Cobra Pose
This exercise will stretch out your back, open your chest and shoulders, and help to decompress your spine.
You should hold this pose for 30 seconds.
Here is a video that shows you how to do the Cobra Pose properly.
Mobility Exercise #4: Natural Squat
This is also known as the ‘Asian Squat’, and is incredibly beneficial at fixing hip and ankle mobility issues.
After some time, you should notice this makes it easier to do weighted squats with a full range of motion.
At first, you might find this quite challenging to do, but stick with it and the position will feel more natural after a few weeks.
You should try to hold this position for 30 seconds, but can increase the amount of time as you get used to it.
Here is a video that shows you how to do the Natural Squat properly.
Mobility Exercise #5: Sky Reach
Finally, the Sky Reach stretch will help with your shoulder mobility.
This can be done either standing, sitting on a chair, or cross-legged on the floor.
You should attempt to hold this stretch for 30 seconds.
Here is a video that shows you how to do the Sky Reach properly.