For many of us, mobility work is an afterthought, but it deserves more attention. Increasing the range of motion in your joints is not only crucial to improve performance, regardless of your sport, but it can also benefit your daily living. Good mobility leads to better lifts and makes daily activities, such as bending down to pick things up and reaching overhead, easier.

These exercises will be a lot more comfortable performed on Rubber Gym Flooring. Ready to begin? Here are two of our favourite exercises that will help you gain more range of motion in the hips and shoulders.

Shoulder CARs

Shoulder controlled articular rotations involve moving your shoulder through a full range of motion in a controlled manner. The more you practise this exercise, the better your shoulder mobility will be, which will lead to gains on the Seated Shoulder Press Machine.

• Find a comfortable seated or standing position.

• Extend your arm out in front of your body and make a fist facing upwards.

• Slowly lift your arm overhead whilst internally rotating your shoulder so your thumb is facing backwards.

• Once your arm is directly above your head, continue to move your arms backwards and externally rotate your shoulder.

• When your hand is by the side of your body, your palm should be facing away from you.

• Reverse the movement and repeat on the other side.

Hip CARs

Hip controlled articular rotations are similar to the above, except you’re rotating at the hip joint instead, working on internal and external rotation by drawing big circles with your hips.

• Lie on one side with your knees bent and arms extended in front of your chest.

• Draw your top knee close to your chest whilst maintaining a neutral spine.

• Slowly lift your leg upwards whilst keeping your foot slightly higher than your knee.

• Make sure your hips stay stacked through the movement.

• Keep rolling your hip back until your knee returns to its original position and then reverse the movement.

These movements are ideal for anyone and everyone, regardless of your age and activity level. If you exercise regularly, it will help you maintain good form in the gym. For those that have a more sedentary lifestyle, keeping your hips and shoulders mobile is essential for good joint health. It’s especially important to perform the exercises in large joints that can move through various planes of motion.

The most important thing is to stay consistent when performing these exercises. Make it part of your daily routine like brushing your teeth. The more you do it, the better your range of motion will be.

Want to continue improving your flexibility? Check out our Leg Stretcher, and our range of Resistance Band Set.

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