You Can Crank Out This Mobility Workout in 10 Minutes Flat

You can count mobility as the highly-underrated cousin of flexibility. The term refers to a muscle’s ability to move within the joint, and when you train it, everything (literally, everything: standing up, carrying heavy things, taking the stairs) becomes way, way easier. On this week’s episode of Well+Good’s Trainer of the Month Club Ash Wilking—Nike master trainer and Rumble instructor—boils your mobility work down to 10 minutes.

“The one thing I always say is it’s not about being flexible—it’s about finding strength in your mobility,” says Wilking at the top of the video. “So let’s go through this 10-minute mobility circuit. We’ll focus on multiple joints, controlling and articulating all those rotations.” From your neck to your ankles, you’re about to feel a lot looser.

Get limber with this 10-minute workout for mobility

1. Neck: Stand up tall. Being drawing rainbows with your nose: left chin to left shoulder, nose to the sky, right chin to the right shoulder. After 30 seconds in one direction, switch sides for another 30 seconds.

2. Shoulders: Extend your arms straight out in front of you and ball your fists. Shrug your shoulders up to your ears, push them back, then down, then forward. Continue this movement for 30 seconds, then switch directions for another 30.

3. Wrists: Bend your elbows and make sure they’re brushing your waist. Extend your fingertips forward and make high five hands with your palms facing up to the ceiling. Flex the hands so they face the front of the room. Roll the wrists, fingertips pointing out, until your thumbs are side by side. Snap the wrists down so that the tops of your hands face forward. Flip the fingertips upward and then snap the wrists down once more so that your palms are open toward the front of the space.

4. Hip kickback: Stand up straight, ball your fists, and bring those arms straight forward once more. Pour your weight into your left foot and tuck your right knee into your chest. Without straightening your knee, kick the right leg back. Complete a full 60 seconds.

5. Hip circle: Without moving your upper body, tuck your right knee into your chest once more. Slowly open the right knee to the right side as if it were a gate. When you’ve gone as far as you can without moving your hips, slowly return the knee back to center. Complete a full 60 seconds.

Repeat moves four and five on the left side.

6. Ankles: Runners! Listen up, this one is for you. Stand up straight with your hands on your hips. Raise your right foot as if you were putting it onto a gas pedal. Press the foot down, turn the toes to your right side, lift the toes up and to the right and hold—then windshield-wiper the foot across so it’s pointing inward. Drive it down, then come back to center. At the 15-second mark, switch directions. At the 30-second mark, switch feet.

7. Shoulders, the encore: Come to your knees and take your arms out into a scarecrow position with your elbows bent and your fingertips pointing straight up to the ceiling. Pull your elbows together to touch without compromising the angle of your arms. When your fingertips press together, try to bring your elbows up and over your head. Continue the same movement for 60 seconds.

8. Spine: Come to all fours with your knees directly under your hips and your wrists directly under your shoulders. On an inhale, press your chest forward, dipping your back toward the ground with your abs engaged. On an exhale, press into your hands and curl your spine up to the sky.