The Ultimate Daily Mobility Routine to Do at Home During COVID 19
Daily Mobility Routine at the Time of Covid-19
Our bodies are meant to be moving! Often life gets in the way and we can find ourselves staring at screens, sitting down at a desk all day, or lying on the couch for long periods of time. Many of us have found simple ways to break up our sedentary time from walking during your lunch break, taking the stairs, or biking to work.
Unfortunately, during the uncertain time of COVID-19 our normal routines have been interrupted. For many, we are no longer getting those quick minutes of movement and sedentary time has been increased.
Benefits of Doing a Daily Mobility Routine
There are numerous benefits to creating a daily mobility routine. The biggest benefit comes from taking your muscles and joints through their full range of motion. Full range of motion in our body results in less injury as we are relieving our muscles of any tightness. Muscle tightness can also contribute to muscular pain or poor posture.
An appropriate mobility routine can help address these issues and reduce the discomfort and pain that often arises from sitting down all day. Daily mobility routines help to keep our muscles and joints in motion. Healthy joints are important to prevent diseases such as osteoarthritis that occur as we age
Most importantly, daily mobility routines decrease our sedentary time! Try breaking up your workday with fun, easy movement breaks that require no equipment.
Daily Mobility Routine
For a healthy adult, it is recommended that mobility training be completed at least 2-3 times per week. Ideally, you should be performing mobility exercises every day especially if you are experiencing a limited range of motion or are getting older. This can be done in as little as 10 minutes per day, or longer if you prefer activities such as Yoga or Tai Chi.
Depending on the movement selected, you may be required to hold a position for a certain time or perform a certain number of reps. If you are unsure of the number of reps and sets to perform, start low with 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps and build from there. A good rule of thumb when training is to keep two reps in reserve, this means that once you get to 10 reps, you should be able to complete two more. Adjust your rep and set range accordingly to suit your ability. You can even break your movement minutes up into 10 minute bouts if this is easier or more convenient for you!
Daily Mobility Exercises
Cat Cow
Quadruped Thoracic Rotation
Bird Dog
Downward Dog to Cobra
Begin with your hands underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath the hips. Push your hips up to the sky by straightening your legs, keeping your chest down and arms straight to come into the downward dog position. Your body should resemble an inverted ‘V’. Next, while keeping your legs straight, slowly descend to the ground into a low plank position. Extend your arms, push your shoulders back and point your head to the sky to come into the cobra position. Your hips should never touch the ground. Reset to the starting position and repeat the movement!
