About fifteen years ago, I injured myself doing an overhead squat. I was deep into Olympic weightlifting — squatting four days a week — and I completely neglected my mobility work. When I finally did injure myself, I could barely walk for an extended period of time. That was the moment everything changed for me.
Strength Without Mobility Is a Time Bomb
I was strong. That was never the problem. But when you lean so hard into your strengths, you start neglecting the things that are actually putting your body out of balance. And over time, your body compacts. Joints tighten. Movement patterns deteriorate. The injury forced me to face something I’d been ignoring: I had no mobility practice. None. And at 40-plus, that’s not sustainable.
Step 1: Start With Your Ankles
The ankle is the foundation of everything. Tight ankles affect your squat depth, your gait, your knees, your hips — it’s a chain reaction upward through your whole body. My journey started there. Simple ankle circles, loaded dorsiflexion work against a wall, calf stretching held for two minutes at a time rather than a quick 30-second bounce. Within a few weeks, my squats felt different. My knees tracked better. It sounds small, but fixing the base changed everything.
Step 2: Work Through the Whole Chain
Once the ankles opened up, I worked upward — hips, thoracic spine, shoulders. The hips were the biggest revelation. Most adults have chronically tight hip flexors from sitting, and it affects everything from lower back pain to how well you can breathe. I spent a lot of time in deep hip flexor stretches, pigeon variations and hip 90/90 work. The thoracic spine came next — getting rotation back into the mid-back that most people lose completely by their 40s. It’s not glamorous work, but the payoff in how you feel day-to-day is enormous.
Step 3: Consistency Over Duration
The biggest shift was realising I didn’t need hour-long mobility sessions. I needed ten to fifteen minutes, done consistently, almost every day. Morning is when I do it — before the day gets away from me. Just enough to open up the body, wake up the joints, and remind my nervous system that full range of motion exists. What surprised me most was that mobility work also calmed my mind. There’s something about moving slowly and deliberately, without any performance pressure, that genuinely relaxes you. It became something I looked forward to.
If you’re waking up stiff, getting niggles in your knees or lower back, or just feel like your body is getting harder to move — start with your ankles. Watch the full video above where I break down the exact process I used, and the specific movements that made the biggest difference.
Related reading: 5 Movements That Help You Live Longer · 5km to Half Marathon in 3 Months · 5 Health Habits I Do Every Day
Related reading: Why Rest Days Are Part of the Program
Want help putting this into practice?
I work with busy parents across Melbourne’s inner south — coming to you, no gym needed. If you’re ready to stop starting over and actually build something that sticks, book a free assessment.
