Doing Regular Mobility Work Like This 12-Minute Flow Will Help You Move Better Today and for Years To Come

You know how you’re supposed to go to the dentist every six months to keep your teeth and gums healthy? Well, mobility workouts are kind of like the dental cleaning of fitness. Being consistent with performing exercises that increase your range of motion means you’ll be looking after the health of your joints for many years to come—and hey, isn’t that the goal?

On this week’s episode of Good Moves, Nike master trainer Traci Copeland leads you through a 12-minute workout that you can easily keep in your back pocket for years of workouts to come. “Today is all about mobility,” she says in the video. “We’re going to do a mobility flow that’s going to feel sort of like yoga. It’s perfect to do before or after a workout.”

Copeland kicks off the workout with cat-cows to warm up the spinal column and get your blood flowing. Then, you’ll move through the body limb by limb, mobilizing and stretching the hips, spine, and shoulderss until your time runs out.

Below, find the first three moves of Copelands’ fully-body mobility routine. Make sure to schedule a little extra time for your next workout so you can warm up or cool down with this sequence.

3 full-body mobility moves for your next workout

1. Cat-cows

Come to your hands and knees. Make sure your shoulders are above your wrists and your hips are right over your knees. Inhale and press your chest through your arms, arching your back, and engaging your belly as you lift your gaze and tailbone toward the ceiling. Exhale, round your spine toward the sky, drawing your navel toward your back, tucking your tailbone under, and gazing toward your thighs. Continue alternating between these two positions for 30–60 seconds.

2. Bird dogs

From the same position (shoulders over wrists, hips over knees), engage your belly to keep your back flat like a table. Then, without moving your torso, stretch your right leg back and your left arm forward until both are parallel to the floor. Then draw the elbow and knee of your extended limbs together beneath your stomach, as yor round your spine toward the ceiling, gazing toward your navel. Return to full extension and repeat four more times before switching sides.

3. Downward dog to upward dog

From your kneeling position, tuck your toes and lift your hips back, keeping your arms straight and lowering your chest toward the floor. On an inhale, roll forward into plank pose with your wrists directly below your shoulders and your knees off the ground. Keep your core engaged as you drop your hips and legs to hover above the ground and press your chest through your arms, arching your back. Use the strength of your midsection to press back into downward dog. Repeat for 30–60 seconds.