When in Doubt Add a Mobility Day

Whether you are new to exercise or have been pushing the advanced end of the fitness spectrum for years (or anywhere in between), the workout below is an ideal way to get started again, work around illness / injury, or add a much needed easy recovery day if needed.  Here is how it works:

Here is the MOBILITY Day:

Repeat 5 times
Easy cardio - 5 minutes
(bike, elliptical, row, swim, walk)
Stretch, foam roll, or massage tool - 5 minutes

That is it! If you need some stretching to do with more guidance, check out how I like to do this part of the workout each set:

Combo of stretch / foam roll:
Set 1 – Feet, ankles, calves, shins, knees
Set 2: hamstrings, thighs, ITB (sides)
Set 3: Hips, butt, lower back
Set 4: Torso, shoulders, arms (PT Reset)
Set 5: Anything that is tight…

See Static Stretches for ideas:

PT RESET: (Rear Shoulders to Lower Back)
Rev Pushups -20 
Birds -20 
Arm haulers-20 
Swimmers 1 min 

PS: I promise you - this will be LIFE CHANGING
(Click to learn how / why I created it)

If you have a preferred stretching routine (like yoga / Pilates) use that just mix in quick 5 minute sets of cardio to keep the blood pumping, body warm, and burning more calories than just stretching alone. 

Advanced Level Athletes

Add the above "easy day" to your week as a rest day or in place of a hard workout if you are not feeling well (fighting illness, tweaked a joint / muscle, or feeling burned out. Being burned out could be a combination of not sleeping well, eating well, or just doing too much in your day of training, work, school, or life in general.

The Spec Ops candidates I train all are doing this workout followed by a swimming, pool skills, and treading session. The added mobility work is helping people get into better swimming and treading position making swimming faster and treading easier (even egg-beater). 

        
      Vertical Frog Pose (egg beater)   Ankle Stretch (swim with fins prep)

Check Out How We Apply It in the Pool (Drownproofing / Treading / etc)

For Those Of You Who Lost Their Mojo

If it has been a while since you exercised regularly, the Mobility Day is one of those workouts you can do 5-6 days a week when you first get started. You can turn some of the stretching / mobility sets into some calisthenics movements as well similar to how we do our Systems' Check Workout (after illness or injury down time). 

Stay Consistent with the Mobility Day and the
Progressions Will Follow

For You OGs Out There...

(More Workouts That Incorporate Mobility Days into the Program)

Do you ever find yourself thinking "I am too old to be in good shape again." and "I will never enjoy training that is "easy" as it is not fun or challenging" I know I did! But some of the things I thought were "too easy" some of the toughest challenges I have ever had to endure (flexibility and mobility)!  REALLY!

Been There...

Well let me tell you, I know exactly how you feel because I've been there myself... more than once!  When all is said and done, my guess is you really just want to go back to being able to perform like you used to with less pain and less excess weight and be the asset your family needs in potentially dangerous situations either natural or man-made. (ie...Fire, Floods, Winter Power outage, Robberies or Attacks).  

If this sounds at all like you... 

I'd like to invite you to check out my Tactical Fitness Section at StewSmithFitness.com that focuses on helping people become an asset again. To be ready. Ready for any situation. You never know…Your life, a loved one’s life, or someone you are trying to help - their life may somehow depend on your fitness level. Can you carry someone out of a burning building? Can you quickly react to any man-made or natural threat? Can you run, sprint, jump, lift, swim, carry…? Are you an asset or do you need assistance in these situations?

This is WHY we train - to be an asset in any situation when needed...

The Tactical Fitness Over 40 (Four Part Series).

This program offers step-by-step instruction with such titles as: 

Part 1) Rebuilding the Foundation (12 weeks) Beginner

Part 2) Taking It to the Next Level (12 weeks) Intermediate

Part 3) Ready to Compete (12 weeks) High Intermediate / Advanced

Part 4) Tactical Fitness for the Athlete over 40 (16 weeks) Advanced

This 4-part series totals 52 weeks of training and can change your life in less than a year so you can rebuild yourself and be proud of your progress and abilities without risk of reinjuring yourself, as you will learn about some life-changing workouts. IN FACT, check this out for FREE: 

See Mobility Day - This is life-changing, and I am offering it to you for FREE even if you don't buy a thing.  Just adding this 1-2 times a week will help you rebuild and move with less pain.  See "Don't Skip Mobility Day" because if you learn only this ONE thing from this series, it will change your life! 

You will learn much more than that!  There are some new rules depending on the extent of previous injuries, but you can see huge results IF you follow these new RULES for Fitness Over 40 (and 50+).

In as little as the first week, this program starts out easy with habit-forming workout challenges and progresses each week logically until you are who you used to be. 

I promise: just because you’re an OG does not mean you can’t perform at a level that can save your own life and the lives of others around you.  You can still train hard – you just have to train smarter."

Even the Spec Ops Candidates are being introduced to taking Mobility Days and they are finding it helpful with treading water, swimming with fins, streamline body positions when swimming, injury reduction, and performance improvement.