Maintaining good levels of mobility isn’t just nice to do — it’s a necessity, especially when you consider how important good mobility is in reducing the risk of injury, keeping your joints healthy and helping you go about your everyday tasks with ease.
Nowadays, many of us spend far too long sitting and not enough time standing. But mobility exercises, like Cossack lunges, cat/cows and thoracic spine stretches can help to counterbalance the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle.
So, if sticky joints and an achy spine sound all too familiar, that’s where this 10-minute mobility flow from physical therapist and Pilates teacher, Jessica Valant, steps up to the plate.
Whether you prefer to work on your mobility as soon as you roll out of bed, during the day or after you’re yet to get started, roll out a yoga mat and follow Valant’s no-nonsense answer to easing stiffness.
Watch Jessica Valant’s 10-minute mobility workout
Valant guides you through this 10-minute mobility workout which you could do from just about anywhere. It requires zero equipment, just a stretch of space for you to place your mat.
The workout will see you complete a mix of hip mobility exercises, shoulder exercises and twists and rotations to help you work on the mobility of your spine.
Many of these moves — like the controlled articular rotations (CARS) of the hip or glute bridges — you may have done before. Especially if you already practice mobility work or get stuck into Pilates exercises or classes.
Either way, in this mobility workout Valant explains and performs each movement so you know how to master the move before trying it out for yourself.
What are the benefits of a mobility workout?
Good mobility is critical for functioning well, living independently, and doing everyday tasks. Be it bending over to pick up the shopping bags, going up and down the stairs or getting in and out of a chair.
“Mobility allows you to have more control over your range of motion,” Valant tells us. “It allows you to stretch through a joint with strength and control and it allows you to gain strength in a really functional way.”
You might be wondering: what is functional training? Functional fitness has gained a lot of traction over the past few years because, along with helping you build full-body strength and power, functional moves, like the ones performed in this workout, can help better your coordination and balance and improve your mobility.
“Mobility is really, really important,” Valant continues. “It’s one of the most important things you can work on in your body. By working on your mobility, you’re gaining a range of motion and strength. So you’re getting strength in that increased range of motion.”
And there’s research to back this up. One study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine found that following a mobility routine can see a ‘significant’ increase in range of motion, decrease in stiffness, and reduction in pain and discomfort.
A second study, published in the Journal of Sports Sciences, said there is a bank of evidence showing that a range of mobility training methods may improve key sports performance variables, like strength, speed, change of direction, jumping, balance, and sport-specific skills.
More from Tom's Guide
- I did an 8-minute hip mobility routine every day for a week — here’s what happened
- Boost your mobility and reduce stiffness in just 5 minutes with this 5-move stretching routine
- This 11-move mobility routine from a fitness coach increases your range of motion and relieves stress
