Three things every home has that can improve your stretching routine, according to a flexibility expert

There are plenty of stretching aids that can help you to improve your flexibility and mobility—from straps to slant boards to yoga blocks—but given many of us rarely spare the time to work on this essential part of physical fitness, it’s unlikely we’ll have these tools at home.

Not a problem, says trainer Adam Richardson, who recently shared a video explaining how you can use three home fixtures to enhance your flexibility.

“These everyday objects can provide opportunities to move your body in all the weird and wonderful ways that we should be moving anyway, but our day-to-day lives don't always give us those opportunities,” Richardson tells Fit&Well.

How to use your home to support your mobility

Richardson shows how to use three common parts of the home—the doorframe, stairs and floor— to stretch, and release tension from muscles and joints.

1. How to stretch your upper body using a doorframe

Richardson describes the door frame as an “upper-body stretch station”. It adds light resistance and support to help open up and stretch the shoulders, lats (the muscles on the sides of your back) and chest.

Try this doorframe stretch:

• Stand a few steps away from the doorframe.
• Place both hands at the top of the frame.
• Gently push your chest forward.
• Hold for 15-30 seconds, or as long as you need to, breathing deeply throughout.

2. How to stretch your lower body using the stairs

Richardson recommends using your stairs to unlock tight hip and groin muscles. He also suggests using them for modified push-ups. If you live in a single-story house, use a stable low platform like a coffee table, stool or low chair instead.

Try this stairs-based hip opener:

• Stand at the bottom of the stairs and place one foot on the second or third step.
• Gently rock your hips forward so your front knee moves over your ankle.
• Hold the stretch, then repeat on the other side.

3. How to stretch your hips using the floor

“The floor is the unsung hero of happy hips,” says Richardson and many moves don’t require a mat for cushioning either, making them easier to fit into your day as a brief movement snack.

Try this 90/90 hip mobility move:

• Sit on the floor with your knees bent and both feet flat on the floor, wider than shoulder-width apart. Your hands can be on the floor behind you for support or clasped together and held in front of you.
• Keeping your feet on the floor, lower both knees to the right as far as your mobility allows. Ideally, both knees should make contact with the floor.
• Return to the center and repeat on the other side.
• Repeat for 30 seconds

Why you should stretch snack at home

Richardson champions the idea of being a “movement opportunist”.

“Rather than just seeing the stairs as something to walk up and down, you might now see them as an opportunity to get some more movement into your groin,” says Richardson.

You can habit stack your daily mobility moves, too. For example, why not try a shoulder stretch every time you go into the bathroom or a quick lower-body stretch on the stairs when you get home?

Over time, these small actions add up, and by creating a relationship between movement and your environment, mobility stops feeling like something you need to go to the gym for. Movement becomes a natural part of your life, gradually improving how your body moves and feels.