I’m a strength and conditioning coach and these are the four resistance band exercises I do every day to improve and maintain mobility
Use this quartet of band-assisted movements to keep daily aches and pains at bay
Plagued by years of lower-back pain, strength and conditioning coach Matt Van Mol has developed a four-move mobility routine he now uses most days—and he’s confident it will help anyone who finds their shoulders, hips and lower back can seize up.
All you need, he tells Fit&Well, is a long-loop resistance band and four minutes.
“Mobility isn’t just how far you can stretch; it’s how much range you can actually control,” says Van Mol, who’s also the co-founder of resistance band brand Strong Band.
Using resistance bands, as demonstrated in this workout, helps achieve this in two ways.
“They can assist you into a deeper position so you can relax into a stretch, and they can add load at the end of your range so you get stronger there,” he explains.
“They’re also light and portable, which makes them simple to use daily, and consistency is what drives mobility gains.”
Best resistance band exercises to improve mobility
These four mobility exercises can be practised with any long-loop resistance band—though it’s advisable to start with the lightest resistance.
If you use a Strong Band resistance band, you can use the signature progress lines. “Our progress lines allow you to measurably increase band tension to progressively increase or decrease the [challenge of each] mobility exercise,” says Van Mol.
It takes the guesswork out of mobility training, meaning you can track progress and build consistency that will help realize real improvements.
1. Shoulder dislocation 2.0
Targets: shoulders
Reps: 10-12
- Hold the ends of your lightest resistance band with your hands wide apart so there is tension in the band.
- Raise your hands over your head, then rotate through your shoulder joint to bring the band down behind you.
- With the band pressed against your lower back, internally rotate at your shoulders to bring your hands close to each other in front of your thighs, with your knuckles facing.
- Reverse the movements back to the start and externally rotate your shoulders so your palms face forward and move your hands back, pressing the band against your hips.
- Adjust the level of resistance as your shoulders open up. As you get stronger and the movement feels more stable, walk your hands inward to increase the level of resistance.
Van Mol says: “The Strong Band shoulder dislocate is a staple in our program for mobilizing our shoulders before any pulling or pushing exercises. It encourages a deeper internal and external rotation against the resistance of the band for increased stability and strength in the shoulder joint musculature.”
Click through Van Mol’s Instagram carousel above to see him demonstrate the banded cat-cow, hinge pulse and side bend
2. Banded cat-cow
Targets: lower back
Time: 60sec
- Get on your hands and knees, with your butt close to your heels, and with a light resistance band wrapped around your lower back—the band should be taut so you can feel it gently pressing into your lower back.
- Inhale as you slowly arch your lumbar spine, keeping the rest of your back still.
- Exhale as you slowly round the same section of your lower back, again without moving the rest of your back.
- Continue for 60 seconds.
Van Mol says: “Using a band provides feedback on which parts of your spine should and shouldn't be moving. In this case, you’re focusing on moving your lower back, pushing against the resistance of the band, while keeping the rest of your back stationary. Sitting back on your heels allows for a more stable foundation to flex and bend the spine.”
3. Hinge pulse in kickstand stance
Time: 30sec each side
Targets: hips, hamstrings, glutes and lower back
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and the band looped around your right foot with your left hand holding the other end.
- Take a small step back with your left foot and lightly rest it on the ball of your foot—the majority of your weight should be on your right leg.
- Hinge forward from your hips, pushing your hips back, and readjust your grip on the band so there is tension in the band—this is your starting position.
- Sit back and slightly open up your right hip as you pull against the resistance of the band.
- Continue performing small pulses, feeling your hip move from internal to external rotation, for 30 seconds on each side.
Van Mol says: “Creating internal rotation then sitting back into the outside of your hips opens up space in the hip capsule that can be reduced from lots of sitting. The pulsing corresponds with sharp exhales, with the band helping you to sit you deeper into the hip. This exercise really helps re-learn what internal hip rotation should feel like.”
4. Band side bend
Time: 30sec each side
Targets: obliques and lower back
- Stand with one end of the band looped around your right foot and the other end held in your right hand so there is tension in the band. Place your left hand behind your head with your left elbow pointing left.
- Bend your torso to the right to feel a stretch down your left side.
- Return to the center and bend your torso to the left, working against the resistance in the band.
- Pause, then slowly return to the start under control.
- Perform this move for 30 seconds, then switch sides.
Van Mol says: “If your spine is the tower, your obliques and quadratus lumborum muscles either side of it are the scaffolding. Strengthening these takes some of the load off the spine and this banded version eases off in the most vulnerable position at the bottom of the exercise, while providing the added bonus of a big stretch in the bottom position.”
Matt Van Mol (pictured, right) is co-founder of Strong Band, a fitness company that makes resistance bands with progress lines to make it easier to track progress. Together with his co-founder, Cyan Koay (pictured, left), he is building Strong Band to make effective exercise and strength training more accessible via free online workouts, quarterly challenges and community pop-ups. Van Mol is also a strength and conditioning coach, nutritionist and behavior change specialist and the head coach for Life Beyond Illness, helping people build a healthy relationship with exercise and food while navigating recent or long-standing illnesses. He has a master’s in Development & Health Psychology, and his work explores how upbringing, social context and psychology shape our health behaviors and can lead to creating lasting change.
