November 19, 2020, 5:19 am | Read time: 7 minutes
In the 10-Minute Workouts series, FITBOOK presents effective training sessions for in-between times. The protagonists are people with solid knowledge in their fields, including well-known athletes and trained fitness coaches. Among them is entertainer Fernanda Brandão. This time, she brings a mobility yoga workout for a more flexible, strong body.
The German-Brazilian Fernanda Brandão became Germany’s youngest licensed fitness trainer at just 16. She gained wider recognition as a judge on “Deutschland sucht den Superstar.” The magazine “FHM” named her the “Sexiest Woman In The World” in 2011. In recent years, Fernanda Brandão developed her own fitness concepts, “Ginga” and “Roots.” Now, for FITBOOK, she presents a 10-minute workout combining mobility and yoga.
What is the idea behind this 10-minute mobility workout?
Many people split their workouts into strength and endurance exercises. But what good is a strong, trained body if it can’t move smoothly through the motions that matter in everyday life?
That’s why Fernanda Brandão gives us a brief insight into the world of yoga with her 10-minute Mobility Flow workout, aiming to make the body more flexible. Mobility training is important for posture, our joints, and consequently for overall well-being.
Which Muscle Groups Are Trained?
Primarily, Fernanda Brandão’s Mobility Flow challenges the muscles of the core, including the lower back, hip flexors, and extensors, as well as the muscles that flex and extend the hips.
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What Should Be Noted About This 10-Minute Workout?
Ultimately, this 10-minute Mobility Flow workout is not about speed and exhaustion, but about performing each exercise slowly and with control. Fernanda Brandão can certainly make you work up a sweat, but today the focus is on executing each movement calmly and with control.
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What Is the Idea Behind This 10-Minute Mobility Workout?
Let’s get started. The 10-minute Mobility Workout begins in a cross-legged position, with your back straight. Now take a deep breath in through your nose and then exhale deeply, even noisily, through your mouth. As you inhale, allow your shoulders and upper back to lift. Take three breaths.
Circle the Upper Body
Place your hands on your knees and make circles with your upper body, keeping your seat firmly on the ground. Now let your upper body circle around your spine from the pelvis. The first round clockwise, then circle the upper body once more in the opposite direction. The spine should be in motion.
Open Chest and Shoulders
Place your hands on your knees again. Now, as you inhale, push your lower back up and stretch your chest forward. As you exhale, pull your chest inward. Your shoulders come forward, and your back rounds, lower your head in a controlled manner. Tilt your pelvis.
Twist Right and Left
From the starting position in a cross-legged seat, raise your arms over your head, keeping them parallel. Hold the position as you lift upward, then rotate your entire upper body to the right. Gently place your hands on the floor (left hand in front, right hand behind your body). Don’t look forward; instead, turn your head to the side or back. Exhale.
On the next inhale, bring your arms back up, turning your upper body to the center and keeping your arms raised. Hold briefly and, as you exhale, turn to the left side. Place your hands on the floor again, turning your gaze backward or at least to the side if your flexibility allows.
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Bend Forward
Turn forward, arms up, and now gently lower your entire upper body forward. Keep your hands as far away from your shoulders as possible and feel the stretch, lengthening your upper body. Hold.
As you inhale, roll your back up and return to a neutral position.
Open Chest and Shoulders
Inhale and place your arms side by side behind your back. Exhale–and on the next inhale, pull your upper body upward. Look up at the ceiling, opening your chest and shoulders. Release.
Cat-Cow Flow
Come into a tabletop position. Keep your neck as an extension of your spine and hold it straight. It’s important to maintain a right angle between your upper body and arms, as well as between your upper body and legs. Your hands should be directly under your shoulders, and your knees directly under your hips.
As you inhale, lift your head up and push your hips toward the ceiling to create an arch in your back. As you exhale, make a cat arch and round your back completely. Tilt your pelvis. Let your neck hang and push away from the mat with your hands and knees. Then go back into the cow position and once more into the cat position.
Also interesting: Fernanda Brandão reveals her dream body secret!
Open Chest and Shoulders
Return to a tabletop position. Let your neck be an extension of your spine and keep it straight. Now, lower yourself down while inhaling, feeling your shoulder blades touch. Push back up by activating your shoulders, moving them away from your ears. Repeat this two or three times.
Hip Circles
Now activate your hips by moving them in controlled circles around your knees. Push all the way back toward your heels, then move forward over to the side, to the other side, and back again. Imagine your hips tracing the shape of a hula hoop.
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Extended Child’s Pose
From the tabletop position, move into an extended child’s pose. Open your knees wider than hip-width apart. Now push your hips back with a straight back, bringing your hips to your heels. Rest your body on the floor between your legs. Lower your forehead to the ground and place your hands far in front of your head on the floor. Keep tension in your arms.
Cobra Pose
Roll up as you inhale and move from the tabletop position into a hip stretch. This position is called the cobra pose.
Downward-Facing Dog
Come into a tabletop position. The neck should be an extension of the spine and held straight. It’s important to maintain a right angle between the upper body and arms, as well as between the upper body and legs. The hands should be directly under the shoulders, and the knees directly under the hips.
As you inhale, pull your head up and push your hips toward the ceiling to create an arch in your back. As you exhale, round your back like a cat, letting your neck hang. Push away from the mat with your hands and knees. Then go back into the cow position and once more into the cat position.
Also interesting: Fernanda Brandão reveals her dream body secret!