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Mobility — Workout 2

This 20-minute beginner workout focuses on 20 minute beginner mobility for spine and hamstrings. Led by Yasmin Masri, it targets spine, hips, hamstrings with evidence-based exercises designed for women of all fitness levels.

Exercise Breakdown

10 exercises in Workout 2

Warm-up1 exercise
1m
0:10
Warm-up: Full Body Bounces

Relax your spine, your neck, your shoulders, your elbows, your wrists, your hips, your knees.

full bodyspineneckshouldersarmswristshipsankles
low
Flexibility8 exercises
18m 50s
1:15
Duck Walks and Pike Walks

I don't care how low you can go, as long as you keep your spine open, anterior pelvic tilt.

quadshamstringshipsspinelower back
medium
4:05
Wide Pike Walks with Double Bounces

Make sure, anterior pelvic tilt.

hamstringshipsspine
medium
5:15
Lunge with Knee Bend and Extension

I don't lean forward. You should feel the stretch on your back hip flexor.

hip flexorsquadsglutes
medium
6:50
Spinal Waves with Hamstring Stretch

I really care about that range, that proper technique, getting elongation.

spinehamstringsshouldersneck
medium
9:45
Standing Knee Bends and Pelvic Tilts

Shoulders away from the ears.

hamstringsanklesspineglutes
medium
12:05
Toe Spreading and Pelvic Isolation

Separate the toes away from each other, and then get them back together.

ankleshamstringsspine
low
13:40
Low Lunge with Hip Oscillations

The bounce has to happen from the hip.

hip flexorsquadshamstringships
medium
17:35
Double In, Double Out Hip Rotations

You're supposed to feel it on your hip flexors and your quads.

hipsanklesquadship flexors
medium
Cool-down1 exercise
45s
20:55
Cool-down: Child's Pose

Open your knees slightly to the outside. Relax your spine.

spinehipslower back
low

Muscles Targeted

Primary

spinehipshamstrings

Secondary

anklesquadship flexors

Equipment & Modifications

Equipment Needed

  • block

Don't Have Equipment?

You can substitute with:

thick bookfirm pillowrolled towel

Available Modifications

  • Small duck walks for those unable to squat deep
  • Arms sideways (easier)
  • Arms behind neck (advanced)
  • Arms up (really advanced)
  • Hands down (beginner)
  • Use blocks if you cannot reach the ground
  • Use blocks to elevate elbows
  • Flex the feet if pointing toes hurts

Coaching Highlights from Yasmin Masri

Relax your spine, your neck, your shoulders, your elbows, your wrists, your hips, your knees.

Form

Even if you feel it a bit on your mid back or lower back, it's normal.

Safety

If you cannot place your elbows on the ground, place your elbows on the blocks.

Modification

Yasmin teaches with joy and authenticity. Her sessions are challenging but never punishing, and she celebrates small victories throughout.

Form

She celebrates your third rep with the same enthusiasm as your first.

Form

Health Benefits

Women who want to move freely again. If chronic pain, vaginal dryness sound familiar, the joint mobility work here directly supports your recovery. The spine, hips, hamstrings emphasis addresses the most common restriction patterns in women. Beginner level with modifications — depth comes with time, not force.

Relevant For

anxietyback painbalancechronic painflexibilityhip painjoint painknee painposturesciaticastress

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles does this flexibility workout target?

This session works through spine, hips, hamstrings as primary focus areas, with ankles, quads, hip_flexors getting secondary attention. For hip mobility exercises, what matters is the combination of active and passive range of motion work. Yasmin Masri sequences these 10 movements to progressively open tissue — starting gentle and building depth. A systematic review in Sports Medicine found this progressive approach yields better long-term flexibility gains than aggressive static stretching alone.

Do I need any equipment for this workout?

You'll need: block. Don't have these? A thick towel on carpet works fine as a mat substitute — I've coached women who started with nothing but a clear floor space and still got results. The equipment here supports comfort and alignment — it doesn't make or break the workout. This aligns with principles of flexibility workout that make sessions like this effective.

Is this workout suitable for beginners?

Yes. Yasmin Masri built this for people who are starting or restarting their movement practice. Every exercise has a clear entry point, and she demonstrates modifications throughout. Here's what I tell women who are nervous about starting: the first session is about learning the movements, not about intensity. Your body needs to build motor patterns before it can build capacity. Give yourself three sessions before you judge whether this works for you. This aligns with principles of back flexibility exercises that make sessions like this effective.

How long is this flexibility session?

About 20 minutes, including warm-up and cool-down. Yasmin Masri packs 10 exercises into that window — I want to be honest: 20 minutes doesn't sound like much. But research from the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that even 15-20 minutes of structured exercise produces measurable improvements in cardiovascular health and mood when done consistently. It's not about marathon sessions. It's about showing up regularly.

Are there modifications available?

Yes, and this matters more than people realize. Yasmin Masri demonstrates modifications including: Small duck walks for those unable to squat deep; Arms sideways (easier); Arms behind neck (advanced). I've worked with women recovering from knee replacements, managing chronic pain, dealing with diastasis recti. Modifications aren't 'cheating'. they're how you make the exercise YOUR exercise. The American Physical Therapy Association emphasizes that individualized modification is key to long-term exercise adherence. Skip the ego, take the modification.

What's the difference between hip mobility exercises and general stretching?

I get this question constantly, and the answer actually matters. General stretching typically targets muscle length in a single plane. Hip mobility exercises works through multiple planes of motion — flexion, extension, rotation, lateral movement — to improve how your joints actually function in daily life. This session uses active range of motion challenges alongside passive holds. Yasmin Masri's sequencing moves through spine, hips, hamstrings in patterns that mirror real-world movement. A hamstring stretches approach addresses not just muscle flexibility but joint capsule mobility, fascial glide, and neuromuscular coordination. That's why you'll feel improvements in how you move, not just how far you can reach.

How often should I do this flexibility workout?

3-4 times per week is the sweet spot for flexibility work. Your tissues need time to adapt and remodel — daily intense flexibility training can actually be counterproductive if you're not giving connective tissue time to recover. Alternate this session with complementary sessions from the same course. Rest days aren't lazy days — they're adaptation days. The research is clear: progressive overload applies to flexibility just as it does to strength.

Is this workout suitable for women over 35 or in perimenopause?

Flexibility work matters more for women over 35 than most people realize. Collagen production declines starting around age 30, and accelerates during perimenopause as estrogen — which stimulates collagen synthesis — drops. That's why joints feel stiffer, recovery takes longer, and range of motion quietly shrinks. This session counteracts those changes through progressive tissue loading. Yasmin Masri's approach targets the fascial system alongside muscle flexibility, which research in Frontiers in Physiology (2019) identifies as a critical but often overlooked factor in age-related mobility loss. Consistency here literally changes your tissue architecture.

How does this session address hip flexor strengthening exercises?

Hip flexor strengthening exercises requires a combination of joint mobility and muscular control through range. This session addresses both. Yasmin Masri includes active flexibility challenges — where you're building strength at end ranges — alongside passive holds for tissue adaptation. That dual approach is what the literature calls 'functional flexibility': not just how far you can go, but how strong and controlled you are at those ranges. A 2020 review in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy found that active flexibility training produced better functional outcomes than passive stretching alone.

Related Workouts & Topics

About the Trainer

Yasmin Masri

Yasmin Masri

Flexibility Trainer

From: Mobility