Mobility Exercises

Our bodies are made to move, but we can’t be in motion all the time. So, it’s important to move in ways that help keep our muscles, fascia, and connective tissues pliable and elastic, allowing our joints to move through their full range of motion.¹ This is especially important if your day involves prolonged sitting or standing, limited movement, or doing the same movements over and over.

What Are Mobility Exercises?

Mobility exercises are controlled movements that take your joints through their available range of motion while training your muscles to move with control and efficiency.

Mobility and flexibility are closely related and are often confused, but they are not the same.

• Mobility: The ability to actively move a joint through its available range of motion with efficiency and control. Mobility relies on strength and stability to help you move smoothly and comfortably.
• Flexibility: The ability of muscle and surrounding tissues to lengthen and stretch.^2,3

Unlike stretching alone, mobility exercises improve how your body moves by training your muscles and nervous system to work together. As you practice these movements, your brain gets better at coordinating your muscles, making everyday movements feel smoother, more stable, and more efficient.^1,2,4

Who Should Perform Mobility Exercises?

Mobility training is beneficial for people of all ages and fitness levels, from athletes looking to optimize performance to anyone wanting to move more comfortably and efficiently in daily life.⁴ It may be especially helpful for the following:

• Athletes: Improve range of motion, balance, and coordination to support performance and help prevent injuries.
• People who sit a lot (for work or otherwise): Ease stiffness, support better posture and make everyday movement more comfortable.
• Older adults: Maintain flexibility, balance, and coordination to support independence and reduce fall risk.
• People with chronic health conditions: Help manage stiffness and movement challenges associated with conditions such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson’s disease.
• Anyone who wants to move better: Support comfortable, efficient movement and overall physical well-being.⁴

Where Should You Focus?

Some of the key areas where mobility is especially important include:¹

• Ankles
• Hips
• Thoracic spine: the mid- or upper-back, which is the middle section of your spine, starting at the base of your neck and ending at the bottom of your ribs.⁵
• Shoulders

Think of your body as alternating between areas that need mobility and areas that provide more stability as you move from your feet upward:

Ankles (MOBILE) → Knees (MORE STABLE) → Hips (MOBILE) → Lower back (MORE STABLE) → Thoracic spine (MOBILE) → Shoulder blades (MORE STABLE) → Shoulders (MOBILE)⁶

When a mobile area doesn’t move well, nearby areas may have to compensate by moving more than they should.⁷ For example, limited hip mobility may cause the knees or lower back to work harder to help you move. Similarly, limited ankle mobility can affect how you squat, walk, or climb stairs.⁶ Keeping these joints moving well helps support everyday movement while reducing extra stress on nearby areas.

Mobility is also important for moving in different directions. Everyday activities rarely involve movement in just one direction, so mobility exercises that challenge your body through different ranges and directions can help you move more comfortably and confidently.^1,7

Mobility exercises can include dynamic (active) stretching, controlled joint movements, and exercises that improve coordination and movement control.

The following exercises are examples of ways to improve mobility in these key areas. They are not the only options, so choose movements that fit your needs, abilities, and goals.

Ankles (Functional importance: The ankles help you walk, climb stairs, squat, and maintain balance.)

• Ankle Circles (or ABCs)
• Standing Plantar-Dorsiflexion
• Half-kneeling Ankle Dorsiflexion

Hips (Functional importance: The hips support walking, bending, squatting, climbing stairs, and other lower-body movements.)

• 90-90 Hip Stretch
• 90-90 Rotations
• Spiderman Stretch

Thoracic spine (Functional importance: The thoracic spine helps your upper body rotate and contributes to movements involving the shoulders and arms.)

• Cat-Cow
• Open Book (side lying thoracic rotation)
• Thoracic Windmill (half kneeling thoracic rotation)

Shoulders (Functional importance: The shoulders allow your arms to reach, lift, and rotate through a wide range of motion.)

• Shoulder CARS (Controlled Articular Rotations, or controlled joint rotations)
• Phelps Arm Swings
• Wall Angel

For more mobility exercises and ideas, explore these resources:

• Daily Mobility Training Workout
• How To Do The Daily CARs Mobility Routine
• Best Exercises for Joint Health and Mobility (Stanford Lifestyle Webinar. For exercises, start at minute 34:00 – 50:35, begins with more advanced moves then to accommodating moves for limited range of motion)

Maintaining mobility makes everyday activities, like bending, reaching, climbing stairs, and getting up from a chair, easier and more comfortable. It can also help you move efficiently, support healthy joints, and reduce stiffness and discomfort that can develop from sitting too much, limited movement, or other factors.¹

How Can You Fit Mobility Into Your Routine?

You don’t have to set aside a separate workout just for mobility, although mobility-specific workouts are always an option. Mobility exercises can be incorporated into your existing routine, such as using dynamic movements as part of a warm-up, adding a few mobility exercises between strength-training exercises, or including them in your cool-down or after periods of sitting.¹ Choose movements that take your joints through comfortable ranges of motion, and vary your movements rather than always exercising in the same way.