14 Mobility Exercises Anyone Over 35 Should Add to Their Day

Mobility exercises are important at any age. But they’re especially key as you get older (hello, 35-plus age range!), both to help you feel as good as you can each day and to set your body up for success for the long haul.

Doing regular mobility work can help you move through life as comfortably and efficiently as possible, even as your body changes with time.

“Mobility is important because it helps reduce pain and maintain function as we get older,” Dr. Jessica Leung, DPT, tells SELF. “It helps address challenges with walking, balance, and stamina, and reduces risk for falls or fatigue.”

Here’s everything you need to know about how mobility exercises affect your body, how to slot them into your daily schedule, plus a whole list of moves to try so you can feel your best.

Mobility versus flexibility versus strength—what’s the difference?

Mobility, flexibility, and strength often get lumped together, but they’re not interchangeable.

“Strengthening is more so developing the force necessary to stabilize your joints and support mobility,” Dr. Leung says. “Whereas mobility is the amount of controlled range of motion you have in a joint.”

Flexibility is your muscles’ ability to relax and lengthen—think how far you can stretch into a butterfly stretch, Dr. Leung explains. Together, they create a body that not only moves freely, but also moves well and stays resilient.

Why mobility exercises are essential

When we talk about mobility exercises, we mean anything that improves motion through your joints, muscles, nerves, and connective tissues. This can include dynamic stretches (exercises where you move fluidly through a joint’s range of motion) as well as static stretches (where you hold still in a certain position). And as the decades fly by, this type of movement can actually help mitigate some of the not-so-pleasant changes that naturally happen in our bodies over time.

For one, our joints can become less lubricated, and the space between the segments of our spine can narrow, Winnie Yu, PT, DPT, CSCS, a NYC-based physical therapist and strength coach, tells SELF.

These shifts can increase your chances of certain injuries and conditions such as herniated discs, bone spurs, arthritis, and spinal stenosis, or the narrowing of the spaces within the spine that causes pressure on the spinal cord and nerves.

“Especially if you target mobility early on, and you integrate it as part of your lifestyle, you can reduce risk of injuries,” Dr. Yu says. On a less serious scale, mobility work can also combat chronic annoyances like back aches and cranky hips that get in the way of you feeling your best day to day.

That’s particularly true for those of us who spend a big chunk of the day sitting, which tightens up the hips and back and encourages not-so-ideal posture. On that end, mobility exercises can help you stand (or sit) up straighter while also easing the tightness that comes from all that time parked on your butt, Dr. Yu explains. A 20-something may not feel all that achy from a day spent hunched over a computer, but those of us in our mid to late 30s (and beyond) likely will, which is why targeted stretches can be lifesavers.

Weaving in mobility moves can also benefit your workouts. That’s because if you’re tight in certain areas—say, your upper back, mid-back, or hips—you can compensate by overusing other areas, like your shoulders, neck, and lower back, ultimately upping your chances of strain and injuries there. By loosening up problem areas, you can potentially sidestep these issues altogether, improving your ability to work out for the long haul.

How to fit mobility exercises into your day

You can either group these moves into standalone sessions to do throughout the day or consider them a great warm-up for your workout.

For the latter, pick dynamic versions (ones where you’re moving in and out of a position) rather than static ones, where you get into a position and hold. That’s because dynamic moves can improve range of motion, boost muscle tissue extensibility, and promote blood flow to the muscles you’re going to be working. This can reduce your risk of straining muscles while also leveling up your performance, since your tissues are more pliable and ready to work, Dr. Yu explains. In other words, you’ll get more bang for your workout buck.

Your mobility routine doesn’t have to be long.

“Even ten minutes here and there each day, just to maintain is something that will help in a longer-lasting way,” Dr. Leung says.

As for which exercises to pick, let your body be the guide. If you just want to do some preventive mobility work, choose moves that hit both your hips and back—for example, the half-kneeling side stretch and 90-90 with side reach. If you’re noticing your back is especially tight, then prioritize exercises that really hone in on that area (like cat-cow and side-lying open book, for instance). Vice-versa with your hips. If those are what’s really bothering you, focus on moves like dynamic hip opener and hip switches.

You’ve also got options for how to structure the sequence: If you’re someone who generally doesn’t have any aches or pains and you’re doing mobility work preventively, you can perform it as a circuit style, Dr. Yu says. But if you’re really tight in a specific area and that impedes your motion elsewhere, you’d be better off starting with stretches that target that spot, and complete all your rounds before moving on to other kinds.

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• Start in a half-kneeling lunge position by stepping your left leg in front, bending it to 90 degrees, and planting that foot firmly on the ground. Rest your right knee on the ground and extend your right shin directly behind it. Place your left hand on your hip and let your right hand rest by your side. This is the starting position.

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• Reach your right arm up and over to your left side as you bend your torso to the left. Pause when you feel a stretch on your right side, then return to the starting position.

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• That’s 1 rep. Continue for 10–12 reps, then switch sides and repeat.

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