Mobility and flexibility are very important when it comes to a healthy body. Both will improve and stabilize the range of motion of your joints and muscles. It will also improve your posture and reduce aches, pains, imbalances and will improve your body awareness. In this video we will show you 10 of the most important and comprehensive exercises. Cat – Cow We start right here with the Cat – Cow. This exercise is great for your shoulder blade and spine mobility. In the first part of the movement, you press your arms into the ground, push your shoulder blade forward, round your back and tuck your chin.
In the second part, you extend your spine, bring your shoulder blades together and look forward. Always keep your arms straight and don’t overextend your cervical spine too much. Archer Squat The next exercise is the Archer Squat. This exercise is great for your hip mobility and leg flexibility. It is important to let one leg straight and bend the other one.
First of all you need the right distance between your legs. Choose a distance which allows you to go down with the straight back and without falling backwards or letting your bent leg heel lift off the ground. The movement comes from your hips and not your spine. You can do this movement with a straight leg heel on the ground to target your hamstrings, or with the inside of your foot to target the adductors. Always keep the tension in your legs and don’t overextend the straight leg.
Try to improve the range of motion step by step. If you are able to sit down you can also add some rotations. Spiderman Lunge with Reach Let’s move on with the Spiderman Lunge with Reach. This exercise will stretch your glutes hip flexors and mobilize your spine and shoulder. The front leg is bent and the rear one should be straight all the time. Now you bring your hips as close as possible to the ground, rotate your body and do the reach. Your eyes follow your hands and you rotate both arms outwards. Squat with Reach The reach is also a part in the next exercise. Perform a similar movement with your arms, the head and the spine, but this time in a deep squat position.
Go as deep as possible and let your heels on the ground. Your body should be as upright as possible when you do the reach. Jefferson Curl One of the most popular and beneficial mobility exercises for the posterior chain is the Jefferson Curl. It will mobilize and stabilize your spine and will stretch your hamstrings and glutes. It’s important to do it very slow and controlled. Start by tucking your chin and bend yourself forward vertebra by vertebra.
Your knees should be straight all the time. If you are a beginner do it with your body weight. Later if you are used to this movement you can slowly add up some weight. Passive & Active Hang When it comes to shoulder blade activation mobilization and stabilization there is nothing better than the passive and active hang. Just let yourself hang from a bar with straight arms. Now start to pull your shoulder blades down and together. The stronger and more mobile you get, the more your upper body will produce and allow an arch in your spine. If you want to mobilize your shoulder you can also do it on the ground. Shoulder Circles You lay on your stomach and move your straight arms from the front to the back. Here it’s important to let your body straight, tuck your chin and avoid an arched back as good as possible. The next exercise is a moneymaker when it comes to mobility for your shoulders spine and hip flexors. Backbridge The Backbridge will mobilize your anterior muscle chain while it strengthens the posterior one. This movement is very complex.
So if you want to know more about it, check out our back bridge tutorial. Pigeon Stretch A great exercise for hip flexibility is the Pigeon Stretch. The goal is to put your 90 degree bent leg to the ground in front of you while the other one is straight. It’s okay if you have to turn your front leg a little bit inwards. But the goal should be a 90 degree angle between the upper and lower leg. Always push your hips forward, stay upright with your torso and don’t rotate your body. The pigeon stretch would stretch your hip flexors and glutes. Log Roll The last exercise is a mix of mobility and coordination. You lay on the ground and tuck your knees to your chest as tight as possible. Then you extend your body to the Hollow Body Position, from where you slowly roll over to your stomach and extend your arms and your spine.
From there you roll on back into the hollow body position and tuck your knees again. This exercise is great to mobilize and strengthen your posterior and anterior chain in one movement. Those were our 10 most important mobility exercises to mobilize and strengthen your whole body. For further questions just leave a comment. Thanks! Alex..
Read More: Osteoporosis Exercises to Keep You Limber
