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Join today<\/a><\/p>\n \n Already a member? Mobility is the ability to move freely. In the eyes of coach Darren Ellis, it represents \u201cphysical freedom\u201d \u2013 a body that does what you want, when you want, without discomfort. This is an appealing prospect. <\/p>\n He believes maintaining this trait is the best thing you can do for better physical longevity<\/a>. And, he tells me, you can improve your mobility<\/a> in just 10 minutes per day with a few simple bodyweight moves<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t need to deadlift double your bodyweight to do most everyday tasks,\u201d Ellis says. \u201cI specialise in working with people aged 40 and above. As age creeps up on you, you realise what really matters are those simple things: being able to bend down to pick things up, lift your kid or contort yourself into an awkward space under the kitchen sink to fix a leak. That\u2019s mobility \u2013 where strength meets flexibility.\u201d<\/p>\n Below, he shares the 10-minute morning mobility routine that has helped him build a strong, flexible and robust body. <\/p>\n The 10-minute morning routine for better mobility<\/p>\n Set a 10-minute timer and perform each of the 10 movements below for one minute each. If you have time, you can repeat this sequence once or twice more. If not, it is effective in isolation, recruiting all major joints to move in multiple ways.<\/p>\n Ellis likes working through these moves straight after rolling out of bed. \u201cI don\u2019t have to count reps first thing in the morning, I can do it on autopilot now \u2013 it\u2019s good for getting the habit of daily movement locked in,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m just moving, breathing and trying to get in touch with my body.\u201d<\/p>\n Cat\/cow<\/p>\n Table rock<\/p>\n Puppy pose<\/p>\n 90\/90 reach<\/p>\n Cobra<\/p>\n Egyptian rotation<\/p>\n Blackburn<\/p>\n Seiza rotation<\/p>\n Iron cross<\/p>\n Squat rotation<\/p>\n Why does this mobility routine work?<\/p>\n What limits mobility? Weakness and tightness in certain tissues represents part of the picture, but the brain also has a significant part to play. Your nervous system wants to protect you from injury, so if it thinks a movement is unsafe or beyond your capabilities, it might restrict your ability to access it. <\/p>\n Mobility routines are like a conversation with your body. If you can keep your breathing controlled while performing these exercises, you are telling your nervous system that these positions are safe and you are likely to want to access them again. If you can do this regularly, your mobility will improve. <\/p>\n Ellis likens it to any other form of training. If you want to become stronger, you consistently lift weights at the upper end of your capabilities. If you want to become faster, you spend time running at your threshold pace. By doing this, your body revises its limits over time and becomes more capable.<\/p>\n \u201cFor mobility work, you have to gently access that end range of a movement, then move away,\u201d he explains. \u201cBy doing this, the body goes, \u2018Oh, this isn\u2019t so bad,\u2019 and it will set a new baseline of mobility. Over time, you can increase that.\u201d<\/p>\n The key to improving, or maintaining, mobility is moving your body in a variety of ways on a regular basis. In Ellis\u2019 eyes, the best way to do this is by moving \u201clittle and often\u201d. The 10-minute flow above is a simple way of doing this. <\/p>\n Read more: Do these three things each week to be fitter than most Brits<\/a><\/p>\n Does mobility decline with age?<\/p>\n Maintaining mobility becomes harder the older you become. Your body has a richer history than someone half your age, and this often includes plenty of use, injuries and other health conditions such as arthritis. Hormonal changes can also contribute. <\/p>\n However, recent research suggests that mobility-diminishing conditions such as sarcopenia and dynapenia (the age-related loss of muscle and strength) are largely down to declining activity levels, rather than an inevitable part of growing older. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople prove all the time that this doesn\u2019t have to be the case if you stay active,\u201d Ellis says. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely not as easy when you grow older, especially on top of kids, work stress and whatever else life throws at you. But the body works on a use it or lose it basis. You have to keep moving.\u201d<\/p>\n Sometimes, when he demonstrates a squat or single-leg squat, people tell him they could \u201cnever do that\u201d and if they did their \u201cknees would explode\u201d. But this misses the point, Ellis says. <\/p>\n For improving mobility, there is a starting point for everybody. You just have to do moves that allow you to control your joints in the widest range of motion they can currently access comfortably. <\/p>\n \u201cYou might sit down in a chair and stand up again, or get up and down off the ground,\u201d Ellis says. \u201cThat is a mobility drill.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Regularly exposing your joints to the widest range of motion they can safely access is key to maintaining and improving mobility (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n