When you tread on the path to fitness, then it is not all rainbows and butterflies. While some great things come with exercising and eating healthy, like the energized feeling, the new look, and an improved mental state, there are a few stones that come when you are on the road to being healthy and fit: lack of stability and mobility.
Lazyartist/Pexels | For exercise enthusiasts, the terms 'mobility' and 'stability' are nothing new
You may even have heard about exercises that cater to these particular terms, but what do they even mean? Well, for starters, stability refers to the ability of a person to control or maintain joint movement. It is the coordinating action of the neuromuscular system and the surrounding tissues which helps the body to achieve that stability. On the other hand, mobility is explained as the extent to which articulation can take place before it is restricted by tendons, muscles, and ligaments.
Oluremi/Pexels | Who doesn't want to be energetic and flexible?
Why Are Mobility Exercises Important?
When it comes to mobility exercises, there are a lot of benefits that come with them, including the fact that mobility is youth's original foundation. Mobility exercises improve your strength and muscles as well and help you achieve your athletic goals and fitness milestones. Mobility exercises also help with maximizing your joint mobility, which helps in reducing muscle injury. With that being said, here are some exercises for mobility improvement.
1. Walking Spiderman With Hip Lift And Overhead Reach
Also known as 'the microwave,' this exercise consists of engaging in a forward lunge while placing your hands in front of the forward leg. You are to then rotate and reach the opposite of the forward leg, return the hand to the ground to step through the other side, and then repeat the exercise. This move will help your knees, hips, and shoulders.
Andrea/Pexels | You can easily find tutorials for this exercise on YouTube
2. Half Kneeling Elastic Traction
Think of yourself as aiming a spear to throw in a kneeling position. For this, the first thing you want to do is get in a half-kneeling position, then grab a resistance band and keep your elbow straight, and rotate one arm up and then behind you. Your hips will also rotate with your arm, and your body will come in a 'T' formation. Bring the arm back and resume the original position and repeat the exercise.
3. Prying Squat
When holding a kettlebell, get into a goblet style and place your feet in a preferred squat position and then start to gradually lower down into a squat while keeping your torso upright. Position your elbows on your knees and push them into your knees, creating pressure on the back and the hips. This is great for hip joints and improving their mobility.
So, these simple exercises can be incorporated into every workout session, so you come out of the gym feeling better than ever.
