Stretching Doesn’t Make You Soft: Mobility for Men Over 40

If you’re over 40 and still think stretching is just for yoga mums or warm-up routines in high school PE, it’s time to grow up.

Mobility isn’t about doing the splits or touching your toes for Instagram — it’s about moving like a machine, staying injury-free, and being able to get off the floor without sounding like a bowl of Rice Bubbles.

You’re not getting softer by stretching. You’re getting smarter.

1. Why Mobility Matters More After 40

As we age, our joints tighten, connective tissue loses elasticity, and decades of lifting, sitting, or just living can start to catch up. Ignoring mobility in your 40s is like skipping oil changes in a high-mileage truck — you can get away with it for a bit… until you can’t.

Good mobility means:

• Less pain in your knees, hips, shoulders, and back
• Better form in your lifts
• Lower injury risk
• Faster recovery

More freedom to keep doing the stuff you love (lifting, grappling, chasing the kids, taking the bins out without throwing your back)

2. No, You Don’t Need a Foam Roller Shrine

Forget spending an hour a day contorted in bizarre stretches. Mobility training can be simple and efficient — just like the rest of your training should be.

Start with 10-15 minutes a day, ideally:

• After training (as a cooldown)
• On rest days (to boost recovery)
• Before bed (to help unwind)

3. Mobility Moves That Actually Matter

Here’s a no-BS list of mobility work that hits the areas most men over 40 neglect — and pay the price for:

Couch Stretch

How to do it:

1. Find a wall or couch.
2. Place one knee on the floor, with your shin and foot up against the wall (like your shin is vertical).
3. Step the other foot forward into a lunge position.
4. Keep your chest upright and squeeze your glutes.
   You should feel a deep stretch in the front of the hip and thigh of the back leg.

Loosens tight hip flexors from all that sitting. Brutal, but effective.
Hold each side for 1–2 minutes.

90/90 Hip Rotations

How to do it:

1. Sit on the floor with one leg in front of you, bent at 90°, and the other leg behind you, also bent at 90° (like two right angles).
2. Keep your torso upright and try to sit evenly on both hips.
3. Slowly rotate both knees to the opposite side, so now the front leg becomes the back leg and vice versa.
4. Keep your feet in contact with the floor throughout the movement.

Improves hip mobility and internal rotation. Crucial for squats, deadlifts, and BJJ.
2–3 sets of 10 reps each side.

Thoracic Spine Extensions (on foam roller)

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back with a foam roller placed across your upper back (roughly around the bottom of your shoulder blades).
2. Support your head with your hands and keep your hips on the floor.
3. Gently arch backward over the roller, opening up your chest.
4. Return to neutral and repeat. You can slowly move the roller up or down a little to target different parts of your thoracic spine.

Opens up your upper back so you can overhead press without looking like Quasimodo.
Roll back and forth for 1–2 minutes.

Shoulder Dislocates (with band or broomstick)

How to do it:

1. Grab a resistance band or broomstick with a wide grip (wider than shoulder-width).
2. With straight arms, lift it up and over your head, then all the way behind you.
3. Bring it back to the front, staying controlled the whole time.
4. If it’s too tight, widen your grip.

Great for opening the shoulders and chest.
10–15 reps slow and controlled.

World’s Greatest Stretch

How to do it:

1. Start in a high lunge with your right foot forward and left leg extended back.
2. Place your left hand on the ground and reach your right elbow toward your right foot.
3. Then twist your torso and reach your right arm up toward the ceiling, opening the chest.
4. Finally, straighten the front leg slightly to stretch the hamstring.
5. Return to start and switch sides.

Hits hips, hamstrings, glutes, and T-spine all in one.
Hold each position for 30 sec, repeat 2–3 times per side.

4. Hard Men Stretch Too

Being mobile doesn’t make you soft. It makes you dangerous longer.
Because what’s the point of building strength if you can’t move properly?
Mobility is the secret weapon — the stuff you do when no one’s watching that lets you keep training hard while the other blokes are stuck complaining about “old injuries.”

Final Word: Stretch Like You Lift

With purpose. With intensity. And with consistency.
You don’t need to become a human pretzel — just give your body what it needs to keep performing like a weapon.

Strong is good.
Strong and mobile? That’s next level.

Stay Strong