Get Moving! Part 1 - Back to Basics

There is no time like the present for you to get your body moving!

Too often, people forget the importance of maintaining and improving a proper range of motion when working out. Therefore, everyone can benefit from incorporating mobility exercises into their daily routines.

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Challenge #1. Now just don't read this. Actually do it!

Flexibility is defined as “the ability of a muscle or muscle groups to lengthen passively through a range of motion,” whereas mobility is the “ability of a joint to move actively through a range of motion.”

Flexibility is not an indicator of mobility. To help you understand the difference, your first challenge is to test your flexibility.

Sit And Reach Test

This test is used to measure the flexibility of the lower back and hamstrings.

• Sit on the floor with your back and head against a wall. Legs should be out straight ahead, and your knees flat against the floor.

• Lean forward slowly as far as possible, keeping the fingertips level with each other and the legs flat. Your head and shoulders can come away from the wall as you reach towards your toes.

• Reach as far as possible and hold for 2 seconds.

Trunk Rotation Test

This flexibility test measures trunk and shoulder flexibility.

• Mark a vertical line on the wall. Stand with your back to the wall directly in front of the line. You should be about an arm’s length away from the wall with your feet shoulder-width apart.

• Extend your arms out directly in front of you, so they are parallel to the floor. Twist your trunk to your right and touch the wall behind you with your fingertips. Your arms should stay extended and parallel to the floor. You can turn your shoulders, hips, and knees as long as your feet don’t move.

• Mark the position where your fingertips touched the wall. Measure the distance from the line. A point before the line is a negative score, and a point after the line is a positive score.

• Repeat for the left side.

We all need to maintain mobility as we age, as being mobile is a crucial aspect of being healthy and compromised mobility increases the risk of injury.

Mobility training can improve the range of motion of joints and muscles, assist in improving posture, and alleviate everyday aches and pains.

Taking as little as 10 minutes a day can help improve mobility over time. Now, I know you can find 10 minutes in your day. Now Get Moving!

Challenge #2 - We Just Got Started! Now, Get Moving!

The Standing Spinal Wave is a full-body mobility exercise. This move is ideal for restoring elasticity in the tissues situated around your spine.

• Start by standing in a neutral position with your feet hip-width apart.

• Tuck your chin and begin SLOWLY rounding your shoulders, upper back, middle back, and lower back as you move toward the floor, so you’re folded over your thigh

• When you reach the point where you can’t go any lower, reverse the wave with your knees bent. Allow your knees to roll forward over your toes and push your hips and pelvis forward to reverse the movement up.

• End the position with your head and chest pulled up to the ceiling, standing in a neutral position.

"Most people fail, not because of lack of desire. but because of lack of commitment." ~ Vince Lombardi

Challenge #3 - You've Come this Far. Keep Going!

Shoulder mobility is crucial for many daily activities as well as for strengthening and stretching. We need strength to help support the joint and decrease the risk of injury, and we need that flexibility to maintain a pain-free range of motion.

Doorway Stretch

• With your elbows placed on each side of the door (placed just below shoulder height), walk through the door until your upper arms are close to parallel to the floor - or until you begin to feel the stretch across the front of your chest.

• Hold for 10-30 seconds.

• Repeat with your hands holding onto the door frame and walk through the door frame backward.

• Plant your feet to drop your hips out behind you to feel a stretch in your upper back.

• Hold for 10-30 seconds.

Shoulder Rotations Against A Wall

• Hold a tennis ball against the wall with the palm of your hand.

• Step back until your arm is close to parallel to the floor.

• Begin to make small counter-clockwise rotations with your arm and ball against the wall, apply only a little bit of pressure.

• Aim for five counter-clockwise and five clockwise rotations with each arm.

• Feel free to include personal details and examples. The more relatable you or your website is, the more you connect with your readers.

Challenge #4 - This is Serious Stuff! Move your Body!

Who here spends a significant amount of time sitting? Most of the workforce is sitting for hours on end. We also sit getting to and from work, while eating, and when winding down watching TV. When you add it all up, that’s a lot of sitting!

Being sedentary creates muscle tightness throughout the lower body.

• Get up and stretch every hour.

• Set a timer to buzz at top of the hour.

• Walk around

• Take the stairs

• Do something to move your body every hour!

Challenge #5 - We Are Not Done! Come on...Your Got This!

Sharing one of my favorite moves for you to try.

This move is called Standing Egg Beater. Okay, the name of the move is not all that scary!

• Start by standing on one leg and raising the opposite leg off the ground, so the thigh is parallel to the floor, and the knee is bent at 90 degrees in front of you.

• Kick out your raised leg until it’s locked out in front of you.

• Keeping your quad steady, pull your heel into your standing knee, then rotate it the other direction, away from your body. Then move it back out into a locked position.

• Complete this “egg beater motion” several times, then reverse the direction.

• Switch legs, and repeat.

*Tip: If you have trouble with balance, hold onto a nearby chair or wall.

Challenge #6 - Finish strong for this round!

If you are anything like me, my upper body strength is the weakest area. Seriously, when I started doing pull ups. Yep - Pull Ups! How hard can it be? I was hanging from the bar, praying that I could pull myself up. Well....lets say it wasn't pretty!

Women, make your upper body a goal to strengthen. Upper body strength for women is one area that we must all think about everyday.

Shoulder Screws

• With your feet about hip-width apart, raise your arms out to your sides in a locked-out position at shoulder height.

• Shrug one shoulder up to your ear, then roll that shoulder blade forward while keeping both arms locked out and at shoulder height.

• To finish, roll that shrugged shoulder back into a neutral position and repeat on the opposite side.

Overhead Shoulders

• Begin with your feet hip-width apart and your arms locked out overhead.

• Pull your shoulders down into your shoulder capsule (the opposite of shrugging your shoulders up).

• Begin making small circles with your arms, trying to keep a soft bend in your knees while your rib cage and core stay tight.

*Make sure to circle in both directions.

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Wait for it! Wait for it! Part 2 is coming! Yes, indeed there will be fabulous tips coming next week. Keep up with your stretches. This is a game changer to keep you healthy and mobile for years to come. Stay young at any age by moving your body. Movement Matters! #movementmatters

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