Christina Nicci

Your coffee is brewing anyway… might as well use those few minutes to move. ☕️

Here are 3 mobility moves you can do right at the kitchen counter:

The hip hinge with thoracic extension gives you a chance to work on hip flexion while also opening up movement through your upper back and shoulders.

The supported hip airplane challenges hip rotation, single-leg control and stability while letting you explore both internal and external rotation at the hip.

And the bent-knee calf raise puts more emphasis on the soleus, an important calf muscle for ankle function, walking, balance and controlling your body as you move forward over your foot.

Nothing complicated. Just a few intentional movements while you wait for your coffee to brew.

Small opportunities to move throughout the day add up.

If one side of your lower back tends to feel tight or overworked during leg day, the answer isn’t always to avoid training. Sometimes it’s worth looking at how well your hips, pelvis and trunk are controlling movement as force increases.

This warm-up builds that step by step.

The first drill gives you a low-load way to work on controlled rotation through the pelvis and trunk before adding much force.

The RNT single-leg bridge then adds resistance. The band pulls the thigh inward, so the glute and other muscles around the hip have to produce force while helping control the femur and pelvis.

Then the supported RNT split squat takes that same idea into a weight-bearing position. Now the hip has to control the thigh while the pelvis and trunk manage your body weight at the same time, which is much closer to what you’re asking your body to do during squats, lunges and other leg exercises.

The goal isn’t to “turn off” your QL or assume it’s the cause of your discomfort. Side lower-back pain can have many contributors. This is simply one way to prepare the hips, pelvis and trunk to share the work more efficiently before you start loading your legs.

Controlled movement → force production → weight-bearing control.

That’s the progression.

PART 1: Tight hip flexors from driving 🚗

If the front of your hips feels tight or sore after driving, it doesn’t automatically mean you just need to stretch them.

When you sit in the car, your hips stay in flexion for a long period of time, with very little exposure to hip extension. And if you’re driving, that right leg is also repeatedly working the pedals from that flexed position.

That’s why I like using these small movements before you even get out of the car.

First, slide one leg slightly farther forward, press the heel into the floor, and squeeze that glute. This briefly reduces some of the hip flexion you’ve been sitting in while getting the muscles on the back of the hip involved.

Then right before you get out, extend both legs farther forward, press through your heels, squeeze your glutes, and slightly lift your hips from the seat.

That gets your hip extensors producing force before you stand and walk, when your hips are about to move out of flexion and into extension again.

The goal isn’t to “shut off” or magically release the hip flexors.

It’s to give the front of the hip a brief break from the same flexed position and get the muscles that move you in the opposite direction working before you stand up.

This is Part 1.

In Part 2, I’ll show you a simple three-move routine you can do at home throughout the week to improve hip mobility, control, and strength so your hips may not tighten up as much during your drives.

If your lower back starts feeling tight or achy after sitting for hours, it doesn’t automatically mean you have “bad posture.”

Sometimes the bigger issue is simply spending too much time in one position.

Even with good posture, prolonged sitting keeps your hips mostly flexed and gives your hips, pelvis and lower back very little movement variety.

That’s why these movements can be so useful:

Hip extension:
Sitting keeps the hips flexed for long periods. Bringing extension back in gives the hip access to a movement that’s important for standing and walking, which can help reduce how much extra movement the lower back has to contribute.

Hip internal + external rotation:
Your hips are designed to rotate. Restoring that rotational movement can help the hips contribute more during walking, turning and changing direction instead of relying as heavily on movement through the pelvis and lower back.

Hip abduction:
This adds movement in another plane and gets the lateral hip muscles involved. Those muscles help control the pelvis when you stand, walk and shift your weight.

Mini hip thrust + abduction:
Mobility is only part of the picture. This adds force production through the glutes and surrounding hip muscles so you’re not just moving the hips, you’re also building their ability to contribute when you get up and move.

And one of the most important things you can do is still the simplest:

Get up and walk when you can.

The goal isn’t to find one “perfect” posture and hold it all day.

It’s to give your body more movement throughout the day so your lower back isn’t stuck managing the same position for hours. 🩵

I originally shared this because I wanted to talk about the importance of strength as we get older.

But afterward, I realized it meant something else too.

Social media shows us so many polished moments. The workouts. The accomplishments. The good days.

What we don’t always see are the frustrating moments, the setbacks, the things that catch us completely off guard.

I have those moments too.

My life isn’t perfect. I’m still learning, adjusting, laughing at myself sometimes, and figuring things out as I go.

And I think there’s something comforting about seeing a little more of that from each other.

Because sometimes knowing someone else struggles too is enough to make you feel seen, understood, and a little less alone. 🩵

Do your back and your hips bother you during long drive drives? Check your seat positioning.

If you do not have that option, there’s wedge cushions that position your pelvis into a more neutral alignment. But there’s also something called BackJoy. There are many different options for this brand, but I like it because it’s a more minimal approach and a lot of people have been using these with great success.

Today was a very real reminder that strength training is about so much more than how much weight you can lift or how your body looks.

Strength helps us maintain the physical capacity to handle everyday life, including the moments we never see coming.

Building and maintaining muscle and strength supports balance, mobility, independence and our ability to produce force when we need it. And as we get older, preserving that strength becomes even more important.

Train for the gym, yes. But also train for your life. 🩵

If you’re always searching for **mobility exercises, stretches for tight hips, lower back mobility, shoulder mobility, or ways to improve your flexibility and movement**, Body Axis™ was built to make that process easier.

**Body Axis™ is launching within the next week.** 💙

Instead of scrolling through hundreds of random mobility exercises and wondering which ones you should be doing, Body Axis™ helps you create a **targeted movement and mobility plan** based on the area of your body you want to work on and what you’re experiencing whether that’s stiffness, weakness, discomfort, limited mobility, or simply wanting to move better.

Your plan takes you through a progression of:

**Reset → Control → Integrate**

So you’re not just stretching. You’re working on **mobility, range of motion, muscle control, stability, and strength** to help your body move more efficiently.

Plans will be available for areas including the **hips, lower back, shoulders, neck and upper back, glutes, and feet and ankles.**

We are officially getting VERY close. 💙

👉 Join the Body Axis™ waitlist at JoinTheBodyInstitute.com to be notified when the app launches.

If you’re a side sleeper and keep waking up with shoulder discomfort, take a look at how you’re actually positioned.

Rolling too far forward can put more of your body weight through the front of the shoulder while keeping it compressed there for hours. And if your top arm falls across your body, that can pull the other shoulder forward too.

A few small changes can make a big difference:

Use a pillow that properly fills the space between your head and mattress so your neck stays supported.

Try rotating slightly back so more of your weight is distributed along the side of your rib cage instead of directly through the shoulder.

And support your top arm with a pillow so it isn’t hanging across your body all night.

You don’t necessarily have to stop sleeping on your side. You may just need to change how you’re doing it.