Do These Four Mobility Exercises Everyday at Your Desk
It is now the norm for us, humans, to live very sedentary lifestyles.
The American Heart Association reports that, in the 2020s, sedentary jobs have increased 83 percent since 1950.
That is a remarkable statistic.
In an article for John Hopkins, Erin Donnelly Michos writes about how long bouts of sitting is associated with worse health outcomes including heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and cancer.
Many of us sit at a desk on our computers most of the day (filled also with texting on our phones) and then we go home and sit on the couch at night to watch our favorite TV shows.
Disclaimer. I am just as guilty as the next person when it comes to this stuff.
A way I’ve combatted this is with my standing desk and treadmill combo.
Another way is that I get in movement several times throughout the day in the form of dynamic stretching or mobility.
What’s the difference in flexibility and mobility?!
Great question.
Flexibility is the ability of muscle(s) to lengthen or stretch when needed.
Think of it like a rubber band. If you pull both ends and it stretches – like any good rubber band should – it’s flexible. If it doesn’t stretch – hopefully it doesn’t snap – it’s inflexible. It’s the same thing with muscles; they actually have elastic components designed to help them stretch.
Mobility is the ability of a joint to move actively through a range of motion.
This is not flexibility. If you think about your shoulder joint, which is shaped like a ball-and-socket, it’s designed so that you can move your arm forward, backward, side-to-side and in circles. If it can move like it should, the joint has healthy mobility. If, however, you can’t move in all of those directions – maybe you can’t keep your arms next to your ears when raising your arms overhead – that’s a lack of mobility. And, without it, you can increase your risk of injury or be responsible for larger movement issues down the road.
To be mobile is to move freely and easily.
Joint mobility refers simply to your joints’ ranges of motion. It can also mean your ability to maintain a position and support your joints.
Here are two helpful definitions of joint mobility:
The degree to which an articulation (where two bones meet) can move before being restricted by surrounding tissues (ligaments/tendons/muscles etc.). Otherwise known as the range of uninhibited movement around a joint.
The ability to maintain or control joint movement or position. Stability is achieved by the coordinating actions of surrounding tissues and the neuromuscular system.
For example, healthcare professionals measure the angles of range for how far you can bend and straighten your elbow. This is a good example because most of us have no limitations at all from elbow mobility in our regular lives (that is until you are recovering from a broken arm and have been in a cast for several weeks; it’s then that we become acutely aware of just how much of our movement we take for granted).
Here’s a more common functional example.
How far can you reach your hand up before your shoulder tightens up? When does your shoulder stop you when you try to scratch a spot in your back?
Those motions are limited by your shoulder mobility.
The goal of mobility is to develop postural stability throughout the kinetic chain without compromising mobility at any point in the chain. This boils down to the idea that parts of the body that should be stable are stable and the parts of the body that move should move correctly. All of this leads to postural stability, and postural stability is the foundation of learning how to move our bodies.
Moving through the major joints in the upper body, we will outline which ones favor mobility or stability, starting proximally (closest to the point of origin) and moving towards the distal end (farthest from the point of origin)
The lumbar spine favors stability. You may recall hearing cues like, “Move like a log” and “Don’t bend in your low back,” etc.
The hip favors mobility. Since there are a lot of attachments and actions happening at that joint, it needs to move freely.
The thoracic spine favors mobility, considering the shoulder attachments, clavicle, ribs, etc. attaching into this area, and think about all the movement that comes from our upper back/shoulder/chest area. It's also a significant component in developing and maintaining good posture.
The ankle joint favors mobility and stability.
The glenohumeral (shoulder) joint favors mobility. This joint is the connection between your shoulder and your arm. It is a highly mobile joint and has a considerable range of motion (ROM).
Once the body parts are stable in the right spots and mobile in the right spots, our bodies can be taught to move. Remember that all joints demonstrate varying levels of stability and mobility but tend to favor one over the other – depending on their role in the body.
What happens if someone is “unbalanced” by being too mobile in a stable joint or too stable in a mobile joint? Individuals who exhibit limited mobility and stability often resort to compensated movements when performing complex exercises or using advanced equipment. This leads to a higher risk of injury and/or muscular imbalances.
Here's the four exercises I would suggest you do daily:
1) TABLETOP THORACIC SPINE OPENER
Start in a tabletop position with your shoulders over your wrists and your knees under your hips. Bring one hand behind your head and open up your chest by bringing your elbow towards the ceiling. Bring your elbow back down and take it to meet your opposite wrist. Take these slow and controlled and enjoy the stretch.
2) PASSIVE SQUAT
Start with your feet wider than hip width apart and point your toes out slightly about 45 degrees. Drop down into a squat and bring your hands together and push your elbows into your knees. Breathe and enjoy the hip stretch. To modify: sit on a yoga block or low bench.
3) CAT COW
Start in a tabletop position with your shoulders over your wrists and your knees under your hips. Engage your core and flatten your back, creating a neutral spine. As you inhale, come into cow pose by dropping your belly and gazing forward. As you exhale, come into cat pose by rounding your spine, bringing your chin to your chest, and tucking in your tailbone. Take these slow and enjoy!
4) RUNNER’S LUNGE WITH REACH
Start in a high plank position with your shoulders stacked over your wrists. Bring one foot right outside the same side hand and hold. Think about alignment from the top of your head down to your heel. Reach the same side arm as the foot that's in front, up and back to the opposite leg, then bring it up and back to the ground. To modify: drop the other knee down.
I have a blog with some additional mobility drills highlighted here.
While these exercises cannot, alone, be a ons-size-fits-all solution to some of our more commonplace sedentary habits, they can initiate a conscious commitment to make sure that our joints stay mobile and our bodies are primed for stretching.
I’d love to hear about how you make small changes in your day to stand up and move.