For those of us that are hyper mobile, our bodies are structured in a way that allows us to do lots of fun, bendy things. For activities that require flexibility, such as dance, gymnastics, acrobatics, advanced yoga poses etc, it’s considered desirable. The challenge it comes with, is that it can be much harder work to strengthen compared to someone with a less flexible joint structure. The collagen fibres in the connective tissue are weaker, and pose a higher likelihood of developing joint pain. This means it’s important to be strong, but in order to get the most out of your training, you’ll be better off making a few tweaks to how you approach it.

Here are a few tips and tricks:

Closed chain exercises

These are where you are in contact with a fixed surface. For example your hands on a wall/the floor compared to an open chain exercise, where the surface is not fixed, eg, holding hand weights.

Closed chain exercises give you more feedback and provide a nice, stable surface to support your joints. A good option can be to start with the closed chain and then progress to open later in your workout if your going to do them.

Use of props such as resistance bands/loops, Pilates rings, blocks and balls also provide a similar effect.

Focus On Form

Because floppy people flop. Proprioception tends to be poorer, meaning it can be hard for the hyper mobile person to feel where they are in space. This can get better with practice, but it’s important to take a few extra moments to find your form first. Do that first, then move, instead of rushing into things too quickly. This is particularly important if you’re experiencing painful symptoms or discomfort.

Again, props! They help hold you in place so you don’t bend/flop/twist out of your form. Eg, Yoga blocks or a Pilates ball between your knees during glute bridges or a tennis ball between your ankles during calf raises. As long as you don’t drop it, it stops your legs from splaying to the side or your ankles from rolling outwards.

Muscle Activation

This ties in with the point above. Sometimes, it can take a bit more brain power to get our muscles to work. While you don’t need to obsess over this 24/7, if it’s something you’re having trouble with and/or you’re in pain, it can be worth while to carve out a bit of time to spend on this. This is especially important if your joints hurt with exercise and/or your not seeing much in the way of strength improvements. Again, find your best form. As you move through the exercise, focus on the area you want to switch on. visualise the area switching on, lighting up or coloured in with your favourite coloured pencil. Aim to do this with a calm kind of focus over stressing, tensing and trying really hard. The more you do this, you’ll build stronger connections between your brain and muscles. It will get easier with practice.

Take the pressure off your joints

Being hyper mobile doesn’t mean you will get or have joint problems, but it a very common downside. It is something that can be relieved/managed and/or prevented through exercises. While this is a fairly broad topic, there are a few general tweaks that can be made to how you move that can make a big difference. These following points tie in with the tips mentioned above around muscle activation, form, props etc:

Exercises that decompress, and “make space” in your joints can be great for providing relief. A good example of this is hanging prep either on the Cadillac, monkey bars or similar (holding onto bars above your head, while your torso dangles below). This can be done with your feet on or off the ground/ladder step/other surface. It’s great for lengthening out your back after a long day of sitting and can also provide relief for your wrists and a good old stretch for your shoulders.

While it may sound very simplistic, the texture of your movements can make quite a difference to how your joints feel during exercise. Considering that strengthening the muscles around your joints is a very key part of symptom management and prevention, it’s important to find ways of strengthening that cause minimal to no aggravation on the joints themselves. Make your movements as smooth and silky as you can. Stiff, jerky movements done with stressed, tense energy can aggravate the discomfort that can be experienced with load, movement or daily activities.

Hope these tips help you. Now go do your exercises!

Book your hyper mobile self in for a studio session here.

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Photographer: Chloe Abotomy

Model: Cathrine Chin