If you want to develop your flexibility or take care of your joints, then it can be interesting to develop your joint mobility. This can be done gently as a warm-up to your workouts. To show you our exercises, we will start from the head and go down to the feet.
Joint mobility of the neck and nape
The first exercise we propose is to work on the mobility of your neck. This will help you avoid any contractions and problems when you move on to stretches designed to develop your muscular flexibility. To do this, you can perform several movements for about a minute each:
- The up-down movement (as if to say yes)
Look up, stretch your jaw up, then look down and stretch your jaw against your neck.
- The right-left movement (as if to say no)
Hold your head straight and turn it successively to the left and to the right. Raise and lower your chin slightly.
- The circular movement
In one direction and the other, form an oval with your chin, up and down, then, form a circle to the left and right with the top of your head.
Work on the mobility of your shoulders
To warm up your shoulders, stand up straight and test the following movements for one minute each:
- Vertical rotations
Place both arms straight out over your head, and lower them clockwise to body level, bringing them back behind you to raise them over your head. Also do this rotation in a counter-clockwise motion.
- Horizontal rotations
Place one of your arms straight in front of you and the other behind you, exchanging their places by passing by the sides of your body. The right arm, in front of you, will stretch to the right and back, and vice versa.
Maintaining elbow mobility
Next, let’s move on to the mobility of your elbows. To work on your elbow joints, we suggest two simple exercises:
- Simple open and close,
To do this, place your arm outstretched in front of you, palm facing the sky. Bend and unfold your arm so that your fingertips touch your shoulder.
- Rotations
Place your right arm straight out in front of you, palm up. Place your left hand under your right elbow. Bend your right arm, and pass it between your body and your left arm by rotating your shoulder. Once under your left arm, with your left hand still on your right elbow, extend your right arm in front of you, this time with your palm facing the ground.
Joint mobility of the wrist
Let’s now work on your wrists. You can start by warming them up by rotating each one independently, in one direction and then in the other. Then join your hands and rotate them back and forth.
Keeping your back and pelvis mobile
We suggest two simple joint mobility exercises for your back and pelvis. These are particularly recommended for back pain:
- For the back,
Get on all fours. Roll your back up towards the sky by tucking your head inside your shoulders, towards the ground. Then, dig your back towards the ground while straightening your head towards the sky.
- For the pelvis,
Stand up straight with your legs apart at the height of your pelvis. Rotate your pelvis hourly and then counter-clockwise. You can also do vertical rotations. To do this, bend your knees slightly, and stretch one of your legs successively so that only one side of your pelvis rises.
Work on the joint mobility of your knees
Let’s move on to your lower body with your knees. As with your elbows, we suggest two simple mobility exercises:
- Simple opening and closing,
While bringing your knee up in front of you or leaving your leg along your body, close and open your leg straight in front of you: stretch your leg, then fold it so that your ankle comes to stick (or almost) to your thigh.
- Knee rotation,
While holding your knee out squarely in front of you, rotate your foot slightly, hourly, and counter-clockwise.
Finish the work of mobility by the ankles
We will proceed with the ankle exercises to finish your joint mobility work. As with the knee and elbow, we offer two:
- Simple opening and closing,
Extend your foot in front of you, and push your toes far in front of you to stretch the ankle as much as possible. Then, close this one by stretching your toes towards your shins.
- Rotations,
Either in front of you or standing with the ball of your foot on the ground, rotate your ankle. Rotate your foot and toes in one direction and then in the other, as if drawing a circle.
You have now reached the end of this article, and we hope it has helped you find new exercises to develop your joint flexibility easily. Feel free to share your favorite moves with us!