By Shane Robert
If there is one area of my training that is potentially lacking, it is flexibility and mobility. I don’t get any enjoyment out of the process, as some people do. I’ve tried yoga and didn’t like it. I’ve tried stretching and mobilizing separately from my workout, specifically when watching TV or reading at home. All it did was disrupt the time that is intended to be restful and make it, well, not restful. Despite a lack of concentrated stretching, I am quite flexible and mobile. At least for my needs.
Being able to move our body through space without incurring injury is very important. One should not hurt themselves simply trying, for example, to pick something up or when reaching overhead. This is a pretty low bar. And yet, many people find themselves in this exact situation. We tend to treat flexibility/mobility like everyone should have the goal of being a contortionist when, in truth, we simply need the movement quality that is required to do the tasks we ask of our bodies and then a tiny bit more. For me, that means I need to be able to easily squat to a deep position, easily hinge into a deep position, easily reach overhead and back.
To accomplish the aforementioned needs, I have found 5 movements that I can incorporate into my warm ups, cool downs, and, if the spirit moves me, at various times throughout the day. Sure, I might get weird looks doing some of these things at the bus stop or playground, but I have long since stopped caring what other people think about me. It is my opinion that the following 5 flexibility/mobility movements will cover all of the bases that the vast majority of the population could need
NOTE: flexibility is the passive lengthening of muscles, while mobility is the active control of a joint through its full range of motion.
SQUAT STRETCH
This stretch is the grandaddy of all lower body stretches and dead simple to perform. Simply drop down into a deep squat with a high chest and hold that position for time. Trying to do this will reveal a lot about your deficiencies—tight ankles, tight hips, tight thoracic spine. If you struggle to get to a full “atg” position, hold on to something, like a squat upright or door handle, so that you can lean back a bit to get low with a chest up position.
When you are in this deep position, move around in it by pushing your knees apart with your elbows, pushing your knees over your toes, lifting and lowering your chest, lightly twisting side to side, etc.
The goal is to get to the point where you can comfortably sit in this position for 5 minutes. In the beginning, you likely won’t be able to do 5 straight minutes, in that case, try to accumulate those 5 minutes throughout the day.
SHOULDER “DISCLOCATES”
Don’t let the name scare you–you aren’t actually dislocating your shoulders. Execution of this movement is also incredibly easy. Grab a long stick of some kind. Broomsticks work great here. Start with a wide grip, wider than you probably think you need, and lift your straight arms all the way overhead and down to your butt. Reverse direction and bring it back to the front. Repeat for as many reps as you want. You will receive a wonderful stretch to your chest, shoulders, biceps, and lats.
My usual protocol with this movement is to do 5-10 reps, move my hands in 1 or 2 finger widths, repeat for 5-10, etc. Be warned: a little bit goes a long way when moving your hands closer together.
The long, long term goal is to be able to do this movement with your hands just slightly wider than shoulder width. This looks easy on paper. It is not.
COSSACK SQUATS
The Cossack squat is a deep, lateral squat that develops hip mobility, adductor strength, and single-leg control. Start standing with your feet set wide with toes slightly turned out. Shift your weight toward one leg as you bend that knee and sit your hips back and down. Keep your chest tall and your spine neutral as you descend. As you lower, the working knee tracks over the toes while the opposite leg stays straight. Sink as deep as your mobility allows, ideally until your hips are below the knee of the bent leg. In an ideal situation, your heels will be flat on the floor. In the beginning, however, you will likely have to allow your heels to be up. That’s okay. Over time, you should strive to have them flat.
Reaching for your toes when your leg is out straight is a good way to throw some extra hamstring stretching into the movement.
HALF KNEELING OVERHEAD ROTATION
I struggle to give these a name that is both catchy and descriptive. I’m not even sure that ‘half kneeling overhead rotation’ does a great job either. Regardless, this is an amazing, total body stretch/mobilization.
Start by getting into a deep lunge position with your back leg well behind you as in a hip flexor stretch. Push the knee of your front leg well over your toes. Reach both hands to the ground on the inside of your front leg and lift your chest as high as you can. Lift your outside hand; if your left knee is up, lift your right hand and rotate around behind you while keeping your elbow as close to your ear as possible. Do for 10-20 rotations before switching sides.
This movement will stretch out your tight hip flexors while mobilizing your ankles and thoracic spine at the same time.
UNDERHAND HANGS
Of all of the movements listed, this is by far the simplest. Reach up with an underhand grip and hang with your hands fully off the ground. Hang for up to 60 seconds at a time.
Hanging stretches out the lats and shoulders while providing traction to your back and shoulder capsule. The underhand grip will stretch your biceps and support the ability to supinate the hands, which many people struggle with as they age.
