Unlock Your Flexibility and Mobility | SilverSneakers

Flexibility and mobility work can be as an important component to your exercise routine as, say, your strength training or your cardiovascular work. Of course, so many of us are familiar with the feelings that come from being sedentary for long periods of time. Our joints become stiff, our muscles become tight. It's just kind of uncomfortable. Flexibility work can help relieve some of that. It can help us move more freely, more comfortably, and more confidently no matter what we're doing, whether we're exercising or whether we're going about our daily activities. The routine I'm going to show you here can be done all the way through one to three times, or you can try adding it in once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening. To begin this exercise, I want you to stand with your feet hip-width apart or slightly wider. Your toes should be pointed forward or just a little bit out to the side. Next, I want you to stay looking forward throughout the exercise. Place one hand gently against your thigh. Bring the opposite arm up toward the ceiling and begin letting that hand slide down your thigh while reaching up and over with the opposite arm. You should find a place where it feels like a nice stretch, not too far, not too little. It should feel good. I want you to hold that for about three seconds before returning to that starting position. You're going to repeat this 10 times before switching sides and doing it again. Of course, if you want to make this a little bit more challenging from a balance perspective, you can change your gaze from forward to up toward the ceiling. Of course, you're only going to want to do that once you're comfortable looking straight ahead. Begin this stretch by taking a wide stance with your legs and feet wider than hip-width apart. Allow your toes to point out to the side on a clock, say like a 10 and 2 position. Throughout this stretch, I want you to keep your chest up and your core engaged, trying to keep from arching too much through your spine. Next, begin by dropping down, allowing your knees to track right over your toes. Hold for three seconds at the bottom and exhale as you stand up. Now, if you want a little bit bigger of a stretch, you can move your feet a little bit wider, again, to ensure that your knees track over your toes, pushing your hips back, keeping your chest up. Again, inhaling on the way down, exhaling on the way up, and you can bring your thighs close to parallel with the ground. Now, you can also add a tiny bit of a stretch by just gently pressing against the inside of your thighs here. Hold for three seconds, exhale on the way back up. Repeat 10 times. Targeted mobility work of the shoulder is really important. Our shoulders can get stiff and lose mobility as we age or become more sedentary, and that can keep us from doing everyday activities or exercises. For example, it becomes harder to reach for things off of a high shelf or put things away. The Wall Angel is a great mobility exercise and stretch to help you regain or maintain your shoulder mobility. To begin this exercise, find a nice open part of your wall. Next, lean into it, allowing your feet to stay hip-width apart and walk them about, oh, 8 to 12 inches in front of you. Your knees can be slightly bent and this should feel fairly comfortable. Next, press your low back into the wall and also connect your upper back and shoulders to the wall. And then lastly, your head, tucking your chin in. Now, if this is uncomfortable, you can consider placing a small rag, hand towel, etc. behind your head to make it a little easier. This position will help stabilize your spine. Next, raise your arms up into a W position with your elbows and hands connecting with the wall. Exhale as you raise your arms up into a Y position and then inhale on the way back down to the starting W position. You can continue doing this for 10 controlled repetitions. Now, if this is too challenging of a position to start, try this lying on your back on the floor with your legs propped up on a chair or a stability ball. Begin this stretch by taking a nice staggered stance, meaning that one leg and one foot is in front while the other one is behind. Your toes should be pointed in the same direction, straight ahead, and your body should remain vertical throughout. Now, through this stretch, I want you to begin by feeling it in the calf of your back leg. Your heels should be pressed into the ground. If need be, you can take a slightly bigger stance, bending that front knee, just making sure that it doesn't go out over that front toe. Hold this for three seconds and then shift your weight onto the back leg while straightening the knee of the front leg and bringing your toes toward your shin. Back should remain flat and remember, push your hips back. Continue to breathe as you hold this for three seconds before returning to the original calf stretch. You'll want to repeat this sequence for 10 times before switching to the other leg.