What Are Mobility Exercises and Why Are They Important?

As we age, our mobility naturally starts to decline. If you don’t regularly mobilize and stretch your muscles and joints, you can start to feel stiff and tense, and this also contributes to poor mobility.

So, why is it so important to stay mobile?

When you have good mobility, you are able to be more independent. You have more autonomy.  Your quality of life improves, and you are more able to participate in different social events. Staying mobile can also reduce your risk of illness, disease, or fractures.

Luckily, poor mobility isn’t permanent. You can reduce muscle stiffness and tension by practicing a regular mobility routine.

Here are some great mobility exercises to get you started.

Ankle Circles

This is a simple mobility exercise that involves standing on one foot and making small circular motions with the other foot. Repeat this on both sides for multiple rounds each day to loosen up the lower calves and muscles in the feet.  You can also perform this exercise when seated.

Hip Openers

Hip openers can be done standing on the spot or walking. They are great mid-to-lower body mobility movements that everybody can do. Hip openers are particularly helpful if you are quite sedentary as this is a risk factor for tightness around the hips.

Simply lift one leg in front of you with a knee bent before bringing your knee out to the side of your body and lowering your leg back down to the floor. Repeat this multiple times for both legs to relieve tension in the muscles around the hips and pelvis.  You can hold onto something stable for balance.

Thoracic Twists

Thoracic twists help to mobilize your spine. You can do this mobility exercise standing up or lying on a mat. Gently twist from side to side to open up the muscles around the spine, as well as the abdominals and obliques.

Shoulder Circles

Shoulder circles are another simple mobility exercise that works the upper body. These help reduce tension and stiffness in the trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and rotator cuff muscles by mobilizing the scapula joint.

You can perform shoulder circles on the spot by lifting one arm straight out in front of you. Slowly raise your arm over your head and behind your body in a circular motion until it returns to the starting position. Repeat this multiple times on both arms.