In the second part of this series, where we give you a special look into our classes, we start to head towards the summit of our metaphorical hill. Now that your body and mind are warmed up, we move on to mobilising exercises. So, what are they, why do we include them in our classes, and how do they benefit your workout?
What are mobilising exercises?
These exercises are essential for joint mobility. Here’s why:
- They are low impact, which is why we do them directly after the warmup.
- They help build the range of movement in our joints and strengthen the muscles that support our joints.
- They form an important part of each class, even your first, as they set you up for the routines that follow.
The goal is to have joints that move freely and easily (or as freely and easily as possible); this improves over the weeks with regular class sessions
Why is this important?
When you can move your joints more freely, you put less strain on them. This means you are less likely to injure yourself by falling, tripping, or trying to do an activity that overburdens them. Consider a latch or a door hinge. The stiffer they are, the more likely they will break. Mobilising exercises unlock your body so you can safely exercise.
Good joint mobility is also important for everyday tasks and actions such as ‘sit to stand’, dressing and walking, which are essential for independent living. So, the benefits go far beyond the class.
Examples of mobilising exercises
Neck to each side – this gentle exercise ensures we move and loosen up the neck muscles before we progress to more physical exercise. Helps to prevent painful neck muscle strains and trapped nerves.
Shoulder rolls: Rolling our shoulders will make sure we have properly loosened the shoulder joints, which will help prevent conditions such as frozen shoulder.
Mobilising the wrists: This gentle exercise helps to ensure the wrist joints are sufficiently loosened before we move further into the workout, helping to prevent sprains in this vital joint…. and of course ensuring we have the flexibility to enjoy a cup of tea.
Mobilising the waist: Gently twisting the waist helps the joints in our spine sufficiently loosen, protecting us from back pain and injury.
Leg pendulum: Gently moving our legs, either by lifting our heel or sliding it across the floor, allows us to sufficiently loosen our hip and knee joints and further warm up our thigh, calf, and shin muscles before moving further into the workout. Therefore, it helps to prevent injury in our lower limbs.
Point and flex: This exercise ensures your ankles and wrists are fully mobilised and sufficiently loosened so you don’t sprain these vital joints.
Shaking your hands and tapping your feet after exercising helps to restore normal blood flow to your extremities.
Live group classes
There are many benefits to exercising alone, convenience and flexibility being one, but there are equally as many benefits to exercising in a live class as a group. And we work in more flexible ways than you might think. Come and find out for yourself.
See what seated chair exercise classes we have coming up.