You might be exercising regularly and making healthy food choices, but if you want to hit your fitness goals you need to prioritize mobility training according to Jennifer Aniston’s trainer.
Dani Coleman, the director of training and head trainer for Pvolve, says that mobility work is just as important as diet and exercise. It improves joint function and your range of motion so that you can move more efficiently. When you can do that, you can train harder and do daily activities with ease.
Coleman trains Hollywood actress Aniston three to four times a week for around 45-60 minutes and always includes mobility work in her warm-ups.
"Mobility is an easy thing to add to your workouts," says Coleman. She recommends spending 5-10 minutes doing mobility exercises, three to four times a week. Here are two of her favorite moves.
Hip circles
Coleman recommends prioritizing hip and spinal mobility exercises, especially those with a rotational element—which is why hip circles often feature in her classes.
You’ve probably seen people doing this classic warm-up move in gym class. You simply stand, place your hands on your hips, and move them in a circle one way then the other.
"As you start to age your mid back and your hips can tend to lock up so everything kind of starts to move in tandem," says Coleman. Hip circles can help you get some mobility back into those areas.
Chair stand
The second move Coleman recommends is a simple chair stand, which means standing up from a seated position without using your hands.
"This gets tough to do when you age, so it’s really important to practice," she says.
Doing this move will improve your hip, knee and ankle mobility. It takes a bit of lower-body strength, too, so you might find it works your leg muscles.
Why mobility work is important
Mobility training is important as it helps us maintain a full range of motion in our joints so that we can nail proper form during exercise. It also helps us move more easily when we're doing everyday tasks, like bending over to tie our shoes or putting away our shopping.
Coleman confirms that Aniston is always game for trying mobility moves and exercises she suggests.
"Honestly, there's nothing I could throw at her that she wouldn't be up for trying. We’re at that point where she trusts me to kind of just put her through it. I haven’t found an exercise she doesn’t like yet, but I’ll keep you posted if I do!"
-
"This warm-up is especially necessary on cold days"—a physical therapist shares a five-minute mobility routine for runnersRunning It will help you avoid injury and get more out of your run
-
The four exercises a physical therapist recommends to help you build deep core strength and relieve back painWorkout Swap sit-ups and crunches for these functional movements.
