Being honest a second, the majority of us spend far more time sitting. Be it at a desk, in the automobile, on the couch, our bodies are parked by hours and hours. And you have likely experienced it already: sore shoulders, sore hips, a back that squeaks instead of creaks. It sneaks up on you.
Herein the good news: you will not have to be a gym member, sophisticated equipment, or to have an hour of free time to begin exercising in order to move better. Simple, undistracted movement as little as 5- 10 minutes a day can have a massive impact on the way you feel.
The following five exercises are the mobility exercises that you can practice every day to stretch and open up your joints, activate your body, and remind your muscles how a body should move. These are not exercises but servicing. As brushing up your teeth, but your joints.
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Shoulder Circles (also known as Controlled Articular Rotations)
Do 5-10 slow reps per arm
You have Swiss Army knives in your shoulders–so handy, and yet so cranky when they are not taken care of. This movement is carried out slowly and through shoulder flexion, extension and rotation.
How to do it:
Stand or kneel tall. Hold your ribcage low– do not hump your back.
Place one arm straight forward and up, as though a circle of the largest size.
When you reach your ceiling with your arm, turn it over and you have your palm facing the air and keep on circling like that all the way around.
Turn around to move back to the beginning.
Switch sides.
What to feel:
You are not waving your arm around, it is slow and deliberate. Attempt to remain cool and calm. You are likely to have sticky or tight areas (good-bye desk life) and that is alright.
Example:
I spend 8 hours a day at my desk and my shoulders would always be clicking as I stretched over my head. I began to experience significantly less crunching and more freedom in lifting things after a week of doing all these circles every morning. — Mark, 38, graphic designer
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Cat-Cow Spinal Waves
Do 10-20 slow reps
Classic, but golden. This exercise will put your spine into motion, bit by bit, which will help to fight that hunchback posture that most of us have developed due to being glued to screens.
How to do it:
Get on all fours: the hands under shoulders, the knees under hips.
Draw your tailbone in and roll your back up one bones after another, vertebra after vertebra -imagine you are forming your back into a Halloween cat.
Then turn the motion about, curve up your back and raise your head.
Go slow — this isn’t a race.
Why it’s awesome:
This one is particularly good in the morning or after one has been sitting long. It does not shake your spine or push it.
Tip:
When knees pampas place a pillow underneath or do it standing, putting hands to a counter to support.
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Rib Grab T-Spine Rotations.
Do 10-15 reps each side
It is a game changer to anyone who struggles to rotate side-to-side (i.e. turn to check his or her blind spot) or feels like they are locked up in their upper back.
How to do it:
Same setup: hands and knees.
Using one hand, cross over and seize an opposing rib cage.
Bend your elbow to the other hip, folding.
Turn then, and bring your elbow to reach up the back, as though you were pointing to the back pocket.
Stabilize your hips – allow your upper back to make the movement.
Feel the difference:
This strikes that neglected part of your back that runs between your shoulder blades (thoracic spine) and it gets rotation restored to your life.
Example:
I was unable to turn completely in golfing and this disturbed my swing. Once I added this into my warm-ups, my rotation became better and I ceased to think of using the lower back to make up. — Sarah, 45, weekend golfer
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Rockbacks
Do 20-40 reps
Single, calming and quite surprising. This flow will assist your hips and spine in getting used to cooperating once again, not to mention it is also extremely relaxing.
How to do it:
Another four times over (there is a pattern here).
Keep hands stationary and stare straight before you.
Gradually move your hips slowly towards your heels as though sitting in a squat.
Then push backwards again, and at the same time shift weight to your hands.
Don’t beat time– just get time.
Why it works:
This brings about gentle hip flexion and extension – important in the restoration of squat patterns and minimization of tightness of the back. It also is a good course of relaxing into deeper movements.
Also do Side-Lying Hip Circles
Do 5-10 reps each side
Hips become very tight after sitting down and most so the deep rotators. This movement introduces things in a regulated manner.
How to do it:
Kneeling should be on one side.
Use a pillow or an arm to support your head.
Kick your best knee at your breast, and open it.
Turn the hip in an up and around motion by sweeping the ankle around in the largest circle imaginable.
Reverse the direction.
Hold your core loosely to prevent rolling back.
Bonus tip:
Maintain your lower arm as it stretches out in front, and anchor it with the upper hand. This provides increased stability and seclusion of the hip.
Real-world example:
I began to do them preceding the runs and it changed a lot. I felt that my hips were a little less stiff and I was not limping at the end of my cool-down anymore. — Jake, 29, recreational runner
The Grand Design: Why This Works.
The thing is this – mobility has nothing to do with making out of a human being a human pretzel. It is all about having control over your body. Once the joints have been moving, everything improves, strength, flexibility, recovery.
These five drills hit:
Shoulders- rotation, flexion, extension.
Spine flexion, extension, rotation.
Hips – rotation, flexion, extension.
Bonus – mild central, wrist, and ankle involvement.
And guess what? It only takes 5-10 minutes. Do it in the morning. During your lunch break. While watching Netflix. Just do it. Movement stacks up over time.
