If there's one area of my body that always feels tight, it's my shoulders. I spend a lot of my time at my desk hunched over my laptop, which inevitably leads to tension and soreness. As a result, I'm always looking for ways to increase my shoulder mobility, especially simple exercises that I can incorporate into my daily routine.
That's why I was happy to find an Instagram reel created by mobility coach Anthony Green demonstrating a stretch that I've never seen before. The one-minute move can be performed at your desk and doesn't require any equipment.
As someone who regularly lifts weights, mobility work is very important to me. It ensures I don't get injured and improves my range of movement. To see if this exercise is worth adding into my routine, I tried the dynamic stretch for 60 seconds as recommended by Green.
Watch Anthony Green's Instagram reel
Before I did the shoulder stretch, I did a series of weighted shoulder exercises, including shoulder presses and kettlebell swings. I then did the same exercises after stretching to see if the one-minute mobility routine had made any difference.
Going straight into doing shoulder presses with an 8KG kettlebell, I noticed some tension in my upper-back and shoulders, which is always the case when I lift without warming up.
Next, I tried the mobility exercise. I immediately felt a release in my upper-back, but the stretch didn't quite reach the front of my shoulders.
The kettlebell swings and presses still felt easier after doing the move, but it didn't get rid of my upper-body tension. I felt some relief when I sat back down at my desk, but by the end of the day my usual shoulder knots were bothering me again.
Green does recommend doing this stretch on a daily basis and doing so could have more noticeable effects, especially for the upper-back. I also really like that you can do this exercise from your desk, which means it's an accessible way to get moving that doesn't involve rolling out a yoga mat.
I'll definitely try to do the move over a longer period of time to see if it helps with my tension. But for now, I'll stick with a more comprehensive warm-up before I start a shoulder workout.
