Happy New Year from Oxygen!

It's the first week of a new year, and after the 2021 most of us had, we're thrilled at the prospect of a fresh start!

Whether or not New Year's resolutions are your thing, one aspect of fitness that even dedicated gym rats often need some work on is mobility. In this week's newsletter, you'll find no shortage of movements that will help you improve your mobility, flexibility and joint health. The best part? They'll complement virtually any workout plan perfectly.

If you're really looking to kick it up in 2022, use your Outside+ login to get started on our 28-day New Year Kick-Start plan. Designed by trainer and physical therapist Genevieve Gyulavary, this plan includes both straight-up strength training plus metabolic conditioning and mobility-focused routines to take your athleticism to the next level.

We've got you covered on the nutrition front with some Dry January don'ts below, plus an Any-Goal Meal Plan that's the perfect match for the aforementioned 28-day program.

Keep killin' it as we roll into this New Year, Oxygen fam! We'll be right here with you.

— Rose McNulty, Senior Digital Editor

6 Stretches to Improve Total-Body Flexibility

In fitness, muscles tend to get all the glory. Not surprising, considering we’re visual creatures, and besides, a well-defined hamstring tie-in looks darn good. But if you want to understand how to move more efficiently, prevent injuries and get stronger, you need to look beyond your glutes — and triceps and biceps and quads — and consider the admittedly less sexy, but equally important counterpart, the fascia.

Fascia is often characterized as the connective tissue that encapsulates your muscles, but its actual function is far more complex.

“Fascia helps mitigate forces on certain parts of the body so there isn’t overuse of muscle tissue in one region and the degradation of tissue in another,” explains Chuck Wolf, MS, FAFS, director of Human Motion Associates in Orlando, Florida. In other words, fascia serves to distribute force throughout the body by reducing it in one area and absorbing it in another, thereby enhancing mobility and preventing injury.

After studying the way fascial tissues worked together as the body moved in different planes of motion, Wolf devised the concept of the “flexibility highways.” Each of these six highways is made up of a chain of tissues that work together to perform a particular type of movement.

For each flexibility highway, Wolf outlines a stretch progression designed to improve the elasticity and resilience of your fascia. Incorporating these movements into your warm-up or cool-down can help prevent injury, correct movement inefficiencies and give you more power in your favorite athletic activity.

Work on those flexibility highways with these 6 stretches »

NEW YEAR, NEW GAINS

The 28-Day New Year Kick-Start Plan

Outside+

JOINT HEALTH

4 Mobility Exercises for Better Joint Health

NUTRITION

7 Dry January Don’ts, According to Health Pros

Articles from across the network:

These 4 Yoga Poses Will Sculpt Your Obliques and Side Abs—No Crunches Required

Side Plank Pose is just the beginning. — From Yoga Journal

Become a Better Runner in 2022 with This Complete Training Guide

New year, new speeds. — From Women's Running

Meal Plan Express: 1 Week of Speedy Recipes That Take 30 Minutes or Less

This is your ultimate busy-week meal plan with 7 days of nutritious meals planned out for you (shopping list included) and every recipe ready in 30 minutes or less. — From Clean Eating

Don't forget to use your Outside+ login to get exclusive access to content across the Outside network!