- What is Mobility Exercise?
- Are Mobility and Flexibility the Same?
- 3 Scientific Reasons Why You Should Train Your Mobility
- The 10 Best Mobility Programs
- The Best Mobility Exercises: 2 Techniques You Can Do Right Now
- Equipment to Train Your Mobility
- Conclusions About Our Best Mobility Programs
- Frequently Asked Questions about the Best Mobility Programs
- Academic Sources
With the best Mobility Programs, you will be keeping joints and muscles supple and flexible while building strength at the same time. Mobility Exercises have a lot of health benefits as well as being preventative of injury. They couple very well with weight loss or as a supplement to Calisthenics, bodybuilding and other sports. However, there are many sham programs. What these fitness fads have going for them is excellent marketing, but for what they have in publicity they sorely lack in actual effectiveness. Most Mobility Programs don’t work or are made by amateurs who give wrong instructions. These programs can be counterproductive or even dangerous for your joints and muscles. To help you make a wiser decision, we went ahead and compiled a list of the best Mobility Programs to choose from.
[Originally published on January 1, 2022. Updated December 8, 2023: added CaliMove Mobility 2.0 and Pliability, provided for Academic sources for health claims]
# | Mobility Program | Level | Length | Best Mobility Program For | Price |
1 | Cali Move Mobility 2.0 | Beginner | 24 weeks | Agility, Strength | $84.69 |
2 | VahVa Movement 20xx | Beginner | 24 weeks | Agility, Strength | $497 |
3 | The Movement Athlete | Beginner | Indefinite | Agility, Strength | $24.97/m |
4 | The Ready State Movement & Mobility 101 | Intermediate | Self-paced | Agility, Skill | $499 |
5 | Pliability | Beginner | Self-paced | Agility, Flexibility | $14.99/m |
6 | Legendary Flexibility by JujiMufu (Amazon.com) | Beginner | Self-paced | Flexibility | $40 |
7 | Metabolic Stretching | Beginner | Self-paced | Weight Loss, Stamina | $29 |
8 | GMB Fitness | Beginner | Self-Paced | Flexibility | $95 |
9 | Animal Flow on Demand | Beginner | 2 days* | Agility, Strength | $297.50 |
10 | Mobility for Athletes by Jogn Lindsey | Intermediate | 8 weeks | Agility, Strength | $40 |
What is Mobility Exercise?
Mobility exercise aims to increase the range of motion of your joints and associated muscles while increasing their strength and the number of repetitions you can do. With a good Mobility Program, you can become more agile and flexible while creating lean muscle mass. The best Mobility Programs usually consist of a warm-up session to activate the muscles, followed by a mixture of lessons to introduce new movements and a series of already taught movements in a “flow”. These flows are repeatable transitions from one exercise to another, to create a holistic routine that works out your entire body. Mobility Programs can range anywhere from a couple of weeks to months, although most people can expect to see greatly enhanced joint mobility soon after they start.
Are Mobility and Flexibility the Same?
Mobility and flexibility are related but not entirely the same. Where flexibility is all about increasing the range of motion of your muscles and joints, mobility also does that but while strengthening said muscles and joints. Mobility is much more about being able to repeat the same motion freely and comfortably, while flexibility may even focus on doing one move only once and then easing out of it (like the famous leg split). Both flexibility and Mobility Programs have their uses, depending on your goals.
In practice, women are more flexible than men and can achieve far more impressive flexibility feats through flexibility exercise than men can. Men, on the other hand, benefit most from Mobility Programs to strengthen their joints and the muscles around their joints. These are, of course, generalizations and women too can benefit greatly from following a Mobility Program, especially in combination with their Calisthenics routine.
3 Scientific Reasons Why You Should Train Your Mobility
Gaining and retaining a good range of motion is associated with several health benefits as well as being a great companion in strength and movement-oriented sports like Calisthenics, fitness and bodybuilding. It is a key factor in preventing joint and muscle injury while performing sports or simply due to your body aging. Here are three compelling reasons why you should be following one of the best Mobility Programs.
Fight Obesity, Activate Your Body
If you’re struggling with obesity and are too have for Calisthenics, many of the training exercises which, for instance, a Calisthenics Program offers are impossible for you. These programs require you to move your own bodyweight with your limbs, which may do more harm than good or be altogether out of the question. The best Mobility Programs are the perfect companions to a healthy weight loss diet to start burning calories, strengthen disused muscles and ligaments, and to prepare them for the future of Calisthenics exercise. Getting the ball rolling is the hardest part and you’ll find that it’s an uphill push. But with a good Mobility Program, you can make reaching that summit all the easier[1].
Prevent Injury, Increase Gains
For the sports enthusiast, be that the Calisthenics practitioner or bodybuilder or even a member of a sports team, a Mobility Program works on that all so important core and limb flexibility that staves off injury[2]. Gaining that extra edge in agility allows you to beat an opponent who can’t. It can also help make better progression in for instance weight or number repetitions. Once the internal gears of your machines are well oiled and maintained, you’ll find that getting stronger comes faster and easier.
Stay Healthy, Promote Longevity
With a distinct lack of bodily exercise in our contemporary daily lives, we’ve become used to sitting and doing mostly nothing. This has its benefits, such as prolonged use of our joints and in general a somewhat slower aging process[3]. Our sedentary lifestyle has increased our life expectancy by decades compared to, say, a 19th century factory worker or a medieval farmer. But we’ve arrived at the other extreme now as well, with some people hardly moving at all during their typical day. Obesity, stiffness and atrophy of muscles and ligaments are endemic (meaning, most people will suffer or are suffering from it). Heart and coronary disease have replaced all other illness as the number one cause of death — and it’s all due to us having become too inactive[4]. For many, a Mobility Program is the starting point for many to start becoming mobile again.
The 10 Best Mobility Programs
We have collected and reviewed the 10 best Mobility Programs for you. These best Mobility Programs are tried and tested to be effective. Unfortunately, we’ve noticed other blogs advocating certain programs which aren’t effective, or which are ill-suited for a large part of the demographic. We took special care to include only the best Mobility programs fit for any body type. Whether you’re looking to become supremely agile, want to couple a flow with your Calisthenics exercise, or want to activate your body to become fit and healthy; there’s a best Mobility Program for you in this list.
#1 Cali Move Mobility 2.0
10% off with our code: CWW10
Get it here:
- Level: Beginner to Master
- Price: $84.69 or 6x $18.14
- Length: 24 weeks
- Cali Move Mobility Program 2.0 Full Review
- Discount Code: CWW10 for 10% discount
Watch CWW Community Member Jelle’s Review of Cali Move Mobility 2.0
Calisthenics giant, Cali Move impresses again with the best Mobility Program on the market that is designed to get you from novice to master in 6 months’ time. Cali Move Mobility 2.0 starts with the basics, and you are gradually brought up to speed. This Mobility Program consists of three 8-week phases, each phase introducing new techniques for you to learn and all three are prefaced by a prep-week to iron out any baseline discrepancies. It is beginner friendly and if you have full faculty over your limbs and spine, you can start right away. You can also repeat lower phases until you feel confident enough in your abilities to progress to the next phase.
The program has a sleek representation in a bullet-list style. After going through the prep-week, you’ll know exactly what to do. Exercises taught are presented in HD video and each day’s flow is also presented in video format, by Calisthenics master Alex Lorenz. Compared to the previous Mobility 1.0, Cali Move Mobility 2.0 has a more diversified repertoire of exercises, and it randomizes the last phase. Especially the last repeatable phase to maintain your mobility was very repetitive in the previous version. This has now been fixed in Mobility 2.0.
For general purpose Mobility Exercises, going from beginner to expert, Cali Move Mobility 2.0 is the best Mobility Program.
Pros of CaliMove Mobility 2.0
- Very high degree of final mobility
- Beginner friendly
- Sleek UI design
- Sleek HD videos
- The best Mobility Program overall
Cons of CaliMove Mobility 2.0
- None
#2 VahVa Movement 20xx
Get it here:
- Level: Beginner to Master
- Price: $497 or 3x $167
- Length: 24 weeks
The Finish (but narrated in excellent English) VahVa Fitness has impressed us with their excellent online courses. Combining martial arts, dance and fitness, the Movement 20XX program pushes you to supreme agility. It is a beginner friendly Mobility Program, working flexibility and strength over a 6-month period. With lifetime access and a focus on building quality skills rather than meeting repetition quota’s, the program can be tailored too just about anyone. The program is presented entirely in HD video format, presented by Eero Westerberg and comes with full schedules for you to follow. VahVa Fitness’ ideology includes making mental changes and changing your habits along a Finish cultural mentality called “Sisu”, which can be translated roughly as “hardiness”.
Although expensive, VahVa Movement 20xx remains one of the best Mobility Programs you can get.
Pros of VahVa Movement 20xx
- Very high degree of final mobility
- Beginner friendly
- Sleek UI design
- Sleek HD videos
Cons of VahVa Movement 20xx
- Very expensive
#3 The Movement Athlete
Get it here:
- Level: Beginner to Master
- Price: 24.97/m or $497/∞
- Length: self-paced, indefinite
- The Movement Athlete Full Review
The Movement Athlete is an excellent, easy to use Calisthenics App you can take with you anywhere. Although not entirely focused on mobility, The Movement Athlete does err on the side of agility and skill-based bodily exercise. We’d characterize The Movement Athlete as an equal mix between Mobility Program, stability and strength training. The app is easy to navigate and use and presents all relevant information in an as-needed format. You’ll first be asked to do an assessment training, which determines your strengths, weaknesses and overall level of fitness. Based on this, the app devices a training plan for you with a progression curve based on goals you set. You can change your goals or tweak the training regimen yourself should you want a bigger challenge or tone down certain aspects instead.
Pros of The Movement Athlete
- High degree of final mobility
- Indefinite length
Cons of The Movement Athlete
- Not a Mobility Program, but a Calisthenics Program with a lot of focus on flexibility
#4 The Ready State Movement & Mobility 101
14-Day Free Trial Included
Get it here:
- Level: Intermediate to Professionals
- Price: $499
- Length: self-paced
- Full The Ready State Review
Often, the best way to learn something is to learn how to teach it to someone else. The Ready State’s Movement & Mobility 101 is a professional grade course taken by top coaches around the United States. Big organizations like the Washington Nationals, Arsenal, US Marine Corp and US Air Force use this Mobility Program to teach their coaches. Designed around empirical science gathered over decades from the NFL, NBA and NHL, the Movement & Mobility 101 course can turn you into a veritable expert in the field of movement and mobility. The course consists of 77 easy to digest video courses which cover subjects like movement, diagnosis, progression and mechanics.
We recommend this as the best Mobility Program for sports injury recovery and for use by (semi-)professional athletes.
Pros of The Ready State Movement & Mobility 101
- Very high degree of final mobility
- Best Mobility Program for sports injury recovery
- Sleek UI design
- Sleek HD videos
Cons of The Ready State Movement & Mobility 101
- Very expensive
- For intermediates/athletes
#5 Pliability (ROMWOD)
7-Day Free Trial Included
Get it here:
- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
- Price: $14.99/m (with annual subscription)
- Length: self-paced
- Pliability App Full Review
Pliability (ROMWOD) is an effective Mobility Program if you’re looking to maximize flexibility as well as your agility. ROMWOD was known for its heavy inclusion of Yoga and related techniques, which focus on achieving maximum range of motion. Pliability has included more mobility focused exercises to increase your strength as well. The app looks very lean and is very easy to navigate, with a sleek industrial design. Pliability holds over 1000 exercises and appeals to a broad audience. This can be a bit overwhelming as the app constantly recommends new exercises. That said, Pliability is a great app to increase your flexibility to its maximum and gaining some strength throughout your range of motion too. All the exercises are effective at what they aim to do, it’s just up to you to determine a limited set of exercises you’ll stick to.
Pros of Pliability
- High degree of final flexibility
- Sleek UI design
Cons of Pliability
- Can be difficult to get the right routine down
#6 Legendary Flexibility by JujiMufu
Get it here:
- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
- Price: $40.00
- Length: self-paced
Men can’t do side splits? Legendary Flexibility by equally legendary youtuber Jujimufu, opens new doors in male flexibility which you thought were only accessible to women. This E-book focuses on entirely on mobility and agility with over 225 pages of practical tips and how-to’s. It is rife with high quality, colored photos of how to execute exercises, along with embedded HD quality videos. Jujimufu gives instructions on how to gradually ease into various stretching techniques and does this from a home environment perspective. If you want quick and easy access to a flexibility manual, without any premade plans or flows, this is the Mobility Program for you.
Pros of Legendary Flexibility
- Highest degree of final flexibility
Cons of Legendary Flexibility
- eBook, not an interactive Mobility Program
#7 Metabolic Stretching
Get it here:
- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
- Price: $29
- Length: self-paced, indefinite
If you’re primarily after shedding weight and want to see results fast, you’ll have to break a sweat. With Metabolic Stretching, you will unlock your body through Mobility exercise while incorporating a highly dynamic element. Although Metabolic Stretching goes into lengthy detail as to why certain exercise routines, like cardio, don’t work to lose weight, we were more interested in the actual Mobility Program itself. The beginner level exercises are 15 minutes each. You’ll be doing 15 minutes of stretching and stretch-related exercises a day until you can “graduate” to the advanced level. At the advanced level, the daily routines are increased to 30 minutes and the exercises become more dynamic. Often, this means simply increasing the number of repetitions you do inside the same timeframe.
Pros of Metabolic Stretching
- Beginner friendly
- Only Mobility Program that’s suited for obese people
Cons of Metabolic Stretching
- Repetitive, especially after you graduate to the advanced level
- Likely a stopgap program before starting a dedicated Mobility Program
#8 GMB Fitness
Get it here:
- Level: Beginner to Advanced
- Price: $95 or 3x $35
- Length: self-paced
Strength, flexibility and motor control are the key factors in GMB Fitness’ Elements course. GMB’s Elements course sides more on the flexibility side but it will still see you build enough physical strength to support your own weight on your arms. The program starts very, very easy with 3 core techniques. Once you master those, new techniques are introduced into the pattern. These new techniques are variations off (and in increasing difficulty) of the core techniques. This way, you’ll be working on your body’s flexibility and gradually building up your agility and strength while taking only baby steps.
Pros of GMB Fitness
- Very beginner friendly
Cons of GMB Fitness
- A Flexibility App with a little more focus on strength as well
- Get repetitive quickly after you master some of the core and advanced techniques
#9 Animal Flow on Demand
Get it here:
- Level: Beginner to Master
- Price: starting $297.50
- Length: two-day workshop
Animal Flow on Demand offers excellent workshops on Mobility exercises for participants of all fitness levels. With hands-on, personalized coaches around you, you can maximize your results and perfect your technique. During the workshop, you’ll be trained in 6 key areas spanning wrist mobilization (important to prevent injury), activation exercises focusing on kneeling and squatting, mobility stretches like static stances and moving stretches and stances like squat walking. Once you’ve mastered the basics under the supervision of your coach, you will begin to learn switches and transitions from one stance or movement to the next. In the final stage, you will learn “flows”, the seamless transition from one exercise to the next in a single mobility workout routine.
Pros of Animal Flow on Demand
- In-person, professional trainers
- Hands-on, real-life events
- Beginner friendly
Cons of Animal Flow on Demand
- You must travel
- If you’re an absolute beginner, you won’t get very far in just 2 days
#10 Mobility for Athletes by Jogn Lindsey (FitApp)
Get it here:
- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
- Price: $40
- Length: 8 weeks
With more of an athletic mindset, Mobility for Athletes is designed to reach maximum performance in terms of mobility and stamina. This sleek app allows you to set your own pace and starts with the basic, core fundamentals. Workouts are 20 minutes a day, with an initial focus on flexibility, stability and unlocking your spine and joints. As you progress, more difficult techniques are added as well as more focus on building an athletic body. Your body is being prepped for dynamic sports at reduced risk of injury. This Mobility Program is a good addition to, for instance, a Calisthenics routine focusing on building physical strength, or for practicing sprints and other sports requiring explosive power.
Pros of Mobility for Athletes
- High level of final mobility
- Great for injury prevention during sports
- Great for athletes to run along their main sports
Cons of Mobility for Athletes
- Really only great for athletes to run along their main sports
The Best Mobility Exercises: 2 Techniques You Can Do Right Now
We could put a lecture here about the best exercises for your Mobility, delving deep into the subject matter of anatomical and physiological theory. Instead, we’ve chosen to give you 2 actionable techniques which you can do right now. These are generally considered the best Mobility Exercises, in that if you had to choose just one or two techniques to learn, we’d recommend these. One will be a bit more advanced than the other.
Best Mobility Exercise 1: Deep Squat
A Deep Squat is where you squat down fully, so that your thighs rest on your calves. From here, you can do multiple movements and stretches for a full Mobility workout. All Mobility Programs will include this exercise in their repertoire. If squatting is hard for you, you can sit down on staircase at the start, and move down a step every week until you can squat on your own. Here is an excellent flow exercise.
Best Mobility Exercise 2: The World’s Greatest Stretch
The World’s Greatest Stretch is a dynamic way to both stretch all the muscles in your body, while at the same time giving you excellent mobility of the spine, hips and shoulders. The most difficult part of this Mobility Exercise is the lunge. If you can’t get into a very deep lunge yet, simply stand straighter up. Each time you do this exercise, aim to move your feet apart a little further until you’re in a full lunge.
Equipment to Train Your Mobility
Many Mobility Programs will not require any Calisthenics Equipment at all from you, especially in the beginning stages. A towel, some comfortable clothes and sports shoes is all you really need along with enough space to perform your flows. For the more advanced Mobility Programs, and if you want to become really agile, the following equipment can help you achieve those goals.
- Gymnastic Rings: These allow you to do many basic hangs, like the German Hang.
- Foam Roller: These rollers are versatile tools to get more out of your stretches and mobility exercises.
- Massage guns: to target any knots in your muscles without having to foot a masseuse bill, you use a quality massage gun. Although not a complete sports massage, they are effective in spot treating any sore spots and knots.
- Stretch Out Strap: A strap which can help you stretch long muscles, like calves and hamstrings, much deeper and more effectively.
- Yoga Wheel: A Yoga Wheel is used to practice many core stretching exercises to greater effect. The wheels are comfortable to use and often feature a non-slip, rubberized surface for added traction.
- Multi-Level Back Stretcher: A Back Stretcher (not to be confused with a back scratcher), is used to stretch your back more easily but also to help you deepen the stretch over time.
Conclusions About Our Best Mobility Programs
Mobility, like strength, needs to be both trained and maintained. It’s not a matter of gaining a level of agility and then quitting, expecting for it to be retained. Mobility is extremely perishable and is in a way the opposite of strength training. Where building a moderate amount of strength can take a long time, becoming moderately agile can be achieved quickly by most individuals. Contrastingly and especially for men, a high level of strength might decline somewhat rapidly if you stop training but most of it will be retained for years to come. Mobility, though quickly gained, is also quickly lost. Stop moving and you will experience decay almost immediately. Whichever Mobility Program works best for you, the most important thing to takeaway here is that you never stop.
Pick the best Mobility Program for your individual needs, where you’re starting out from and where you see yourself 4 weeks from now and 4 months from now. Keep it up until you’re too old to do so. It’s your best shot at living a long and healthy life. In general, the best Mobility Program for just about anyone is the CaliMove Mobility 2.0 program.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Best Mobility Programs
Here are a few closing questions we’ve been asked a lot about Mobility Programs.
Depending on your body type and goals, we can recommend the Cali Move Mobility Program as a solid general go-to program. Anyone can start the Cali Move Mobility Program and see through it to become a master of agility. Some adjustments in how fast you progress through the levels are likely necessary if you’re starting out a bit behind, for instance due to obesity or long-term inactivity.
You can do mobility exercises 3 to 5 times a week, depending on your level of agility and what other sports you perform next to it. If you are obese or otherwise movement impaired, starting at 3 times a week is advisable. If you’re reasonably fit, 5 times a week is good as a standalone routine. For people who perform movement and bodyweight sports, doing light flows 2 times a week during resting days is sufficient. They can also use mobility exercises as a stretch and warm-up to their regular routine. A Mobility Program regulates your exercise moments to an appropriate degree.
If you had to choose the single best Mobility Exercise, it would be the Deep Squat. A second solid choice would be the World’s Best Stretch (yes, it’s really called that). In combination, these offer you a simple beginner’s full body stretch and mobility routine.
Academic Sources
[1] Messier, S. P., Loeser, R. F., Miller, G. D., Morgan, T. M., Rejeski, W. J., Sevick, M. A., Ettinger, W. H., Pahor, M., & Williamson, J. D. (2004). Exercise and dietary weight loss in overweight and obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis: The arthritis, diet, and activity promotion trial. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 50(5), 1501–1510. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.20256
[2] Pérez‐Gómez, J., Adsuar, J., Alcaráz, P. E., & Carlos‐Vivas, J. (2022). Physical exercises for preventing injuries among adult male football players: A systematic review. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 11(1), 115–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2020.11.003
[3] Bird, M., Hill, K., Ball, M. J., Hetherington, S., & Williams, A. D. (2011). The long-term benefits of a multi-component exercise intervention to balance and mobility in healthy older adults. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 52(2), 211–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2010.03.021
[4] Rodulfo, J. I. A. (2019). Sedentarism, a disease from xxi century. Clínica E Investigación En Arteriosclerosis (English Edition), 31(5), 233–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artere.2019.04.001
Do any of these programs sell downloadable or on disk videos? I don’t have Internet at home but I could download them at the library and watch them at home or use a dvd.
Hey Cait! Thanks for your message, I don’t know 100% sure, but you could try Calisthenics Movement (#1) or VAHVA Fitness (#2). With The Movement Academy you have an application which is easier to download video’s. Please let us know which one you choose and if you liked it! Cheers!