Why Mobility Should Be Your 2025 Health Resolution — And 5 Exercises To Get You Started
Working out and staying fit isn’t just about grinding it out on the treadmill or lifting heavy weights. Part of a healthy, functional lifestyle is making sure to incorporate mobility into your everyday life.
Mobility, which refers to the range of motion we have within our different joints, “determines our ability to move freely in our regular activities, without feeling pain or pressure,” Aly Giampolo, CPT, co-founder and bounce instructor at the ness, tells SheKnows. “The more we can set ourselves up so that our bodies are working with our maximum mobility, the more comfortable we will be in our daily lives as we age.”
With the all the many benefits of mobility training — increasing range of movement, reducing muscle tension and soreness, reducing risk of injury — it’s no wonder that this fitness trend is becoming more and more popular. According to the 2024 Year in Sport report that fitness-tracking app Strava shared with SheKnows, stretching and mobility was a top health and fitness goal set by users for 2025. It’s a great resolution to set, but if you’re cringing at the thought of adding yet another wellness thing to your to-do list, we’ve got good news. Turns out, mobility training is one of those sneaky things that we can do on the daily and, according to Giampolo, “as often as you’d like.” Her preference? “Incorporating small mobility snacks into each day,” she says. “Finding 10 or 15 minutes to work on a handful of mobility exercises into your day is the perfect way to ensure your joint health and range of motion are always at their best.”
Ten or 15 minutes to better functional health, fewer injuries, and more flexible muscles? Sign us up. If improving your mobility is on your 2025 to-do list, keep reading for Giampolo’s favorite mobility exercises that you can do right now.
Squat knee drive
How to do it: Start standing hips width or slightly wider. Perform a squat by sending your hips down and back as if you were sitting into a chair behind you. Then, drive through your left heel to straighten your left leg and stand tall, while driving your right knee up to a march in front of you creasing at the hip. Repeat with the other leg. Alternate side to side.
Why it’s important: According to Giampolo, this exercise is “a great way to work on hip and knee mobility,” she says. “The squat moves you into a deep, functional range of motion for the lower body, while the knee drive increases your mobility through each hip and simultaneously strengthens your stabilizing side.”
Down dog to plank
How to do it: Start in downward-facing dog, reaching your hips high, your heart to your thighs, and dropping your heels to the floor (or as close as you can get). Then, shift your weight forward into a plank position, stacking your shoulders over your wrists, your hips in line with shoulders, and extending a long line of energy from head to heels. Reach your tailbone up and return back to your downward facing dog position. Repeat.
Why it’s important: This move is the perfect combo of stretching and getting strong. “Down-dog is a wonderful position to stretch out the backs of the legs, open the chest, and relieve tension from the neck,” Giampolo explains. “Plank strengthens the body. The shifting of weight from one position to the other keeps your positions dynamic creating heat in the body and increasing mobility.”
Exercise: Plank, lunge, & twist
How to do it: Start in a plank position with shoulders over wrists and hips in line with shoulders. Step your right foot forward to the outside of your right hand into a lunge. Spiral your right hand upwards, rotating from the belly button all the way up through the fingertips to stack shoulder on shoulder. Reset your hand down and reset your foot to plank. Repeat on the other side.
Why it’s important: Don’t get intimidated by the plank portion — this move feels delicious through your whole body. “Plank creates heat in the body, while the lunge creates openness and stretch for the hips,” Giampolo says. “The addition of the twist helps with spinal mobility by rotating the entire upper body from the belly button through the top of the head as the gaze looks towards the fingertips.”
Exercise: Supported side plank spiral
How to do it: Start in your supported side plank position with your left knee and left hand rooted on the floor, your right leg extended long to your side, your right arm extended up to the ceiling, and your waistline reaching up towards the ceiling as if a string were pulling your ribs upward. (Basically a side plank, but with your bottom knee on the floor for support!) Spiral your right arm underneath your left armpit, folding your torso downwards, and re-extend the right arm upwards to re-stack your body in one vertical line. Repeat 10 times on each side.
Why it’s important: “The supported side plank position creates strength in the body, but the addition of the spiral creates mobility for the back body, shoulders, and neck as they find their full rotation down and up,” Giampolo explains.
Exercise: Superman with scapula retraction
How to do it: Start laying on your belly with your arms reaching out in front of you. On your exhale, squeeze your glutes to lift your arms and legs up off the floor like a Superman ab move. While in this hovering position, bend your elbows and pull your arms back towards your sides, feeling your scapula (the muscles in your upper back along your spine) activate. Extend your arms back in front of your body, then lower yourself back to your starting position and repeat.
Why it’s important: “Superman is a wonderful way to increase mobility and strength in our back body,” Giampolo says of this ab-and-back move. “The additional scapular retraction as you fly your wings strengthens your upper back even more, while allowing you to explore your full range of motion.”
Before you go, check out our favorite recovery essentials for post-workout TLC: