Mobility - Tackling WFH (Part 2)

Mobility, what does it mean? Many commonly think mobility = flexibility. Well, mobility is actually so much more than that. It is actually the ability to effectively and safely perform functional movements for everyday living, such as squatting, pushing, pulling, hinging, crawling, rolling and so on. So yes, flexibility is a part of mobility but mobility is just so much more. Mobility is key to improving movement quality and hence the quality of our lives. Furthermore, good mobility can help prevent injuries throughout our lifetime and thus, it seems like something that we should definitely pay attention to!

The goal is to be able to move freely without being inhibited by any stiffness or stress. Mobility is essentially a mix of stability, strength and flexibility, and the benefits are numerous. Why we experience stiffness or stress in certain areas when we perform certain movements, is due to the muscles in our body growing and developing based on our habitual movement patterns. The uneven development of muscles all around means that our body is now disproportionate and increasingly if this is not corrected, the muscles could pull on joints and cause larger problems like arthritis.

As mentioned in part 1 of our series for the desk warriors, the common seating posture (that is wrong) puts a lot of pressure on the spine, and cause tightened shoulders and hips, amongst other aches here and there. Besides myofascial release brought up in the previous article, mobility drills are key, across all populations. It can improve our posture, training technique and increase our range of motion, preparing our bodies for the stress it takes. Remember, our bodies are our most important instrument so we have to take good care of it and mobility can help place our bodies in the safest and most advantageous position.

We know it's a chore to plan your exercise regime or even come up with exercises to do, so we have taken the liberty to provide a short compilation of our favourite mobility exercises that you can do from home. Believe us, you will feel the difference! Use it as an effective warmup, or just perform it as a simple workout. Perform each exercise with 8-10 reps in a slow and controlled manner. In the video, we use our favourite Naboso mat that is so portable, along with our Naboso Neuro Ball for feet release.

1. Feet release - front to back, side to side
2. Double & single heel raises
3. Double & single leg pelvic presses
4. Hip Hinges
5. Single leg balances
6. Static lunges
7. Split stance hip hinges
8. Leg raises
9. Single leg hinges
10. Single leg roll down
11. Slider lunges - a towel or sock works perfectly fine too