Move Better at Any Age: What Mobility Really Is and How to Improve It in 10 Minutes a Day

Can you sit down on the floor and get back up without using your hands? Squat down to pick something up without your heels lifting? Reach overhead to a high shelf without arching your lower back?

All of those come down to mobility. It is one of the most talked about words in fitness and one of the most misunderstood. Here is what it actually means and how to improve it, whether you are 25 or 75.

Mobility vs Flexibility

People use these words interchangeably, but they are not the same thing.

• Flexibility is how far a muscle can be stretched, often with help from gravity, a strap or another person. Lying on your back and pulling your knee to your chest tests flexibility.
• Mobility is how far you can actively move a joint, under your own control, and use that range. Squatting deep on your own, with good balance and control, takes mobility.

You can be flexible without being mobile. Plenty of people can pull their leg into a deep stretch on the floor but cannot get into a deep squat on their own. The missing piece is usually strength and control at the end of the range.

So mobility is really flexibility plus strength plus control.

Why Mobility Matters

Mobility is what lets you do everyday things comfortably: getting in and out of the car, tying your shoes, reaching the top shelf, getting down on the floor with your kids or grandkids, and getting back up again.

That last one may matter more than you think. In a 2012 study (Brito and colleagues), more than 2,000 adults aged 51 to 80 took a simple test: sit down on the floor and stand back up, using as little support from hands and knees as possible. People with the lowest scores had about 5 times the risk of dying during the roughly 6-year follow-up compared to those with the highest scores, after adjusting for age, sex and body weight. Each 1-point improvement in the score was linked to a 21 percent improvement in survival.

That does not mean practicing the test will add years to your life. It is an association, and the test reflects overall strength, balance and mobility. But it is a powerful reminder that being able to move freely is a big part of staying healthy and independent.

What Limits Your Mobility

A few common things get in the way:

• Lack of use. Joints and muscles adapt to the positions you spend time in. If you sit most of the day and never squat deep or reach overhead, your body gets less comfortable with those positions.
• Weakness at the end of the range. Your nervous system tends to limit how far you move into positions where you feel weak or unstable. That is a protective response.
• Tissue stiffness. Muscles and connective tissue can become less tolerant of being stretched.
• Joint structure. Some people’s hips or shoulders are simply built for a little more or less range. Not everyone will (or needs to) squat all the way to the floor.
• Past injuries or pain. These can limit range and may need specific attention from a physical therapist.

What the Research Says Actually Improves Mobility

Strength training improves range of motion about as well as stretching. A 2023 meta-analysis of 55 studies (Alizadeh and colleagues) found that resistance training with external loads increased range of motion, with no significant difference compared to stretching. An earlier 2021 meta-analysis (Afonso and colleagues) reached the same conclusion. Untrained and sedentary people saw the biggest improvements.

It works at any age. In the 2023 analysis, age did not change the effect. Older adults improved too.

Stretching works if you do enough of it. A 2018 review (Thomas and colleagues) found that total weekly stretching time mattered more than how long you stretch in one session. At least 5 minutes per week per muscle, spread across about 5 days per week, was associated with gains.

Range of motion alone is not the whole goal. A review of flexibility training in adults over 65 (Stathokostas and colleagues, 2012) found that stretching programs could improve range of motion, but the effect on everyday function was mixed. That is a strong argument for combining stretching with strength work, which builds the control you need to use your range in real life.

5 Ways to Improve Your Mobility

1. Lift through a full range of motion

The simplest way to build mobility is to load the ranges you want to own. Squat as deep as you can with control, use split squats and lunges, do Romanian deadlifts with a good hamstring stretch and press overhead if your shoulders allow it. Lighter weights through a bigger range often do more for mobility than heavy weights through a short one. (For the movement patterns to cover, see The 7 Movements That Make Everyday Life Easier.)

2. Pause at the end range

Pausing for 1 to 3 seconds at the bottom of a squat, lunge or stretch position builds strength and comfort right where you tend to feel weakest. Tempo notes like 3-1-1-0 build this in. (See How to Read Tempo Notes.)

3. Stretch the areas that need it, often

Pick the one or two areas that feel the most limited, like your hips, ankles or upper back, and stretch them for a few minutes most days of the week. Short and frequent beats long and rare. (For more on how and when to stretch, see The Truth About Stretching.)

4. Spend time in the positions you want

Sit on the floor while you watch TV. Hold a deep squat while holding onto a counter. Practice getting down to the floor and back up. Your body adapts to what you do regularly, so make these positions part of your day.

5. Be consistent and patient

Mobility improves slowly, over weeks and months. A little almost every day beats an hour once a week.

A Simple 10-Minute Mobility Routine

Do this most days, before a workout as a warm-up or in the evening on its own. Move slowly, breathe and stay in a comfortable range. Mild stretching discomfort is fine. Sharp pain is not.

• Cat-cow: 8 to 10 slow reps. Round and arch your back on hands and knees.
• Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch: 30 to 45 seconds per side. Squeeze the glute of the back leg.
• 90/90 hip switches: 6 to 8 per side. Sit on the floor with both knees bent and rotate your knees side to side.
• Knee-to-wall ankle rocks: 10 per side. Facing a wall, drive your knee toward the wall while keeping your heel down.
• Goblet squat hold: 3 holds of 20 to 30 seconds. Hold a light weight, or a counter, and sit tall at the bottom.
• Open books: 8 per side. Lie on your side with knees bent and rotate your top arm open, following it with your eyes.
• Wall slides: 8 to 10 reps. Back against a wall, slide your arms up overhead while keeping your ribs down.

Newer to exercise or have balance concerns? Hold onto a sturdy chair or counter for standing moves, do the squat hold to a chair or bench, and practice getting up from the floor using a chair for support.

A Few Important Notes

• If you have a recent injury, a joint replacement or pain that does not go away, check with your doctor or a physical therapist before starting a new routine.
• Some joints are built to move less than others. Chasing someone else’s range is not the goal. Owning your own, with strength and control, is.

The Bottom Line

Mobility is your ability to move through a range of motion with control, and it matters more every year you get older. The good news is that you can improve it at any age. Lift through a full range, pause in the positions where you feel weakest, stretch your tightest areas a few minutes most days and spend time in the positions you want to keep. Ten minutes a day is enough to start feeling the difference.

Sources

• Brito LBB, et al. (2012). Ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor of all-cause mortality. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. DOI
• Alizadeh S, et al. (2023). Resistance training induces improvements in range of motion: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine. DOI
• Afonso J, et al. (2021). Strength training versus stretching for improving range of motion: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Healthcare. DOI
• Thomas E, et al. (2018). The relation between stretching typology and stretching duration: the effects on range of motion. International Journal of Sports Medicine. DOI
• Stathokostas L, et al. (2012). Flexibility training and functional ability in older adults: a systematic review. Journal of Aging Research. DOI