Boost Your Range of Motion With This 5-Minute Full-Body Mobility Workout

If you’ve been clued in to the fitness world for long enough, you’ve probably heard rumblings about working on your range of motion. But what does that actually mean?

In simplest terms, range of motion is how far a joint can move in any direction, according to Athletic Physical Therapy. When your range of motion is limited, it’s harder to move around with ease, your injury risk goes up, and things like reaching, balancing, and lifting become more difficult. To prevent this, it’s important to do full-body mobility workouts on a regular basis. The best part? You only need to carve out a few minutes of time in your day.

Not sure where to start? Try this 5-minute full-body mobility workout from Or Artzi, CPT, a lead group fitness instructor at Equinox and creator of the fitness platform Orriors. You’ll feel relaxed to the max when you’re done.

Join the club

If you’re following along with our January 2025 Good Moves Club Winter Challenge (sign up here if you haven’t already!), this is the workout for day 10, week 2. You can follow along with Artzi and the full-length workout below.

The workout

Do each exercise for 30 to 60 seconds. Complete one round.

1. Foldover

1. 1.
   Stand with your feet hip-width apart, a slight bend in your knees. Roll your shoulders back, and extend your arms behind your back. 
2. 2.
   Hinge at your hips to bring your torso and arms forward and down toward your feet. Bend your knees as much as you need to.
3. 3.
   Grab your left elbow with your right hand and grab your right elbow with your left hand. 
4. 4.
   Rock to the left, then to the right, then back to center.
5. 5.
   Slowly roll up to standing position, then release your arms back to the starting position.
6. 6.
   Repeat. 

2. Hip flexor stretch

1. 1.
   Start in a half-kneeling position with your left foot out in front. 
2. 2.
   Place your hands on your hips. 
3. 3.
   Lean back slightly so you feel a stretch in your right quadriceps and hip flexors.
4. 4.
   Hold for the allotted amount of time, then switch sides. 

3. Quadruped T-spine mobility (left side, then right side)

1. 1.
   Start on all fours with your palms and knees on the floor. Align your elbows and shoulders over your wrists and your hips over your knees.
2. 2.
   Place your left hand behind your head with your left elbow flared out to the side. 
3. 3.
   Rotate your torso to the left as far as you can. 
4. 4.
   Then, rotate your torso to the right as far as you can so your left elbow touches your right elbow. 
5. 5.
   Do all reps on one side, then switch. 

4. Thread the needle (each side separately)

1. 1.
   Start on all fours with your hands and knees on the floor. Align your elbows and shoulders over your wrists and your hips over your knees.
2. 2.
   Lift your right hand off the floor and, twisting your torso to the right, extend your right arm straight up in the air. Let your gaze follow your right hand. 
3. 3.
   Rotate your torso to the left and thread your right arm underneath your body. 
4. 4.
   Rotate your torso to the right, extending your right arm straight up in the air. Let your gaze follow your right hand. 
5. 5.
   Rotate your torso to the left and thread your right arm underneath your body. 
6. 6.
   Continue repeating all reps on one side before switching sides. 

5. 90-90 stretch

1. 1.
   Sit with your right leg bent in front of you at 90 degrees and your left leg bent at 90 degrees behind you. Keep your spine straight and chest lifted. Place your hands behind you for support.
2. 2.
   Maintain an upright torso as you lift and rotate your hips, switching the positions of your legs so that you’re in the opposite 90-90 position.
3. 3.
   Repeat, focusing on smooth transitions.

6. Half-kneeling hamstring stretch (each side separately)

1. 1.
   Start in a half-kneeling position with your right foot out in front. 
2. 2.
   Lean forward and place both hands on the floor, one outside your left foot and one inside.
3. 3.
   Extend your left leg and push your hips back until you feel a deep stretch in your left hamstring.
4. 4.
   Hold this stretch for the allotted amount of time, then switch sides.