Full-Body Mobility in Just 5 Minutes with This One Move

Gain mobility in your hips, shoulders, and upper back with this one exercise. This exercise can be done anywhere and is a great way to target sticky areas and increase movement.

Two images of a woman on elbows and knees on a yoga mat performing a mobility drill with text between the images.

Once we stop doing certain movements, we lose the ability to do them. Couple that with a decline in activity and increased sitting and areas like our hips and upper backs become tight. This tightness often shows up as discomfort, pain, and tension.

To combat this, use exercises like this mobility drill in your daily routine to gain some movement in problem areas.

As a certified strength coach, I program mobility drills each and every month in the SMASH home workout program to keep everyone feeling good. They don’t need to take up a bunch of your time but working them in throughout the day can make a huge difference.

Benefits of Froggy Rocks and Rotations

More movement: This drill targets the hips, shoulders, and upper back all at once to help you gain a better range of motion.

Less tension and pain: By using this mobility drill frequently, you can ease up a lot of tension in the body.

Simple: This drill requires no equipment and can be done anywhere. It can also be progressed to make it more challenging when you need to.

How To Do It

This mobility drill targets the hips in a froggy position as well as the upper back and shoulders through rotation.

Come into a frog position on your elbows with the knees out wide and feet directly in line with the knees, keep a slight arch in the back.
Push the hips back to feel a stretch in the inner thighs.
Then, rotate one elbow up toward the ceiling letting your eyes follow your arm.
Bring it back down and thread it through, under the chest toward the supporting arm. Bring the shoulder toward the floor.
Return it back to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
Once both forearms are back on the floor, pull the hips forward and push them back to begin again.

Perform the mobility drills for 60 seconds or 10 repetitions.

Three side by side images of a woman performing a mobility drill on the ground.

How To Progress it

There are a few ways you can vary this exercise to increase the intensity when you’re ready.

Add a small weight: Hold a small weight or water bottle in the hand of the working arm as you rotate up.

Band: Attach a band to an anchor point and use it as resistance as you pull the arm and as a support to thread the arm through.

Position: Another option to gain range is to do this exercise in a half-froggy position. Keep one leg out straight to the side and the other bent on the knee to rock back.

How To Use It

This is a mobility drill that can be done daily or every other, multiple times per week. It is best used with other hip mobility drills.

Keep in mind as well that it works even better if you’re already warmed up in areas you’ll be working. This can be done with exercises like figure 4’s, wall pulses, and thoracic rotations.