If you exercise often or spend a lot of time sitting down—both of which can lead to stiff muscles and joints—stretching could do you some good.
This routine created by James Stirling, better known online as the London Fitness Guy, features seven stretches in seven minutes to help you increase mobility throughout your entire body.
Inspired by the practices of yoga, the movements are a combination of both dynamic and passive stretches. This means that you'll be actively moving in and out of some of the movements, while others are a static hold.
You could do this flow regularly by adding it to your day first thing in the morning or tag it onto the end of your workouts, to mobilize the joints.
Watch The London Fitness Guy's seven-minute mobility routine
The movements in this sequence will support mobility and encourage flexibility in the spine. Moves such as lunge-and-reach and deep squat will also support strength in your muscles and joints. As well as minimizing aches and pains, this will reduce your chance of injury during sports and exercise.
As you age, joints naturally become stiffer so regular stretching and movement is very important and a simple routine like this one could be all you need to see improvements.
Flexibility vs mobility
Flexibility and mobility are often used interchangeably, but they are slightly different. Flexibility refers to your muscles' ability to stretch and lengthen, whereas mobility is your joints' ability to move through a range of motion.
Both are important if you want to build a strong, healthy body. Being stiff and inflexible, or being unable to move a joint properly, will negatively affect both your sporting performance and ability to perform everyday activities.
Try incorporating the above routine regularly into your morning wake-ups, if you want to boost your flexibility and mobility. Or break up your working day by doing this chair yoga for beginners sequence.
You don't need a lot of equipment for this routine, but laying down a good yoga mat will cushion your elbow and knees during the floor-based moves. Have a look at our guide to the best yoga mats, if you need help picking a new one.
