Tom Merrick's beginner flexibility follow-along works because it's easy to repeat. Here's how to make it a habit your clients actually keep.
Most clients skip mobility because it feels vague, time-consuming and equipment-dependent. Merrick's no-equipment routine solves the first two. This breakdown covers what his beginner flexibility session teaches in our own words, adds our take on programming mobility for a real client roster, and shows how to turn a one-off stretch video into a tracked, repeatable habit between training sessions.
By Markus Evers · September 2026 · a Coachway video breakdown
the short version
Merrick's beginner routine is a no-equipment, full-body follow-along built on one idea: settle into each position, breathe, and let range accumulate through frequent, relaxed practice rather than forcing depth. The one thing a coach should do about it: stop treating mobility as a vague suggestion and package a fixed follow-along as a recovery-day or onboarding habit - with an ordered checklist and simple adherence tracking - so stretching becomes something you can actually monitor.
Tom Merrick - 25 Minute Beginner Flexibility Routine V3 (FOLLOW ALONG)
Source: Tom Merrick (Bodyweight Warrior) on YouTube - "25 Minute Beginner Flexibility Routine V3 (FOLLOW ALONG)". Watch on YouTube. We embed the public video and summarise it in our own words; the video, title and channel belong to Tom Merrick, and nothing here implies his endorsement of Coachway.
Who is Tom Merrick, and why coaches watch
Tom Merrick runs the Bodyweight Warrior channel, one of the go-to YouTube destinations for calisthenics, mobility and flexibility content. He is best known for accessible, no-equipment follow-along routines that a complete beginner can start on their living-room floor. For coaches he fills a specific gap: clients constantly ask "how do I get more flexible?", and most of us don't have a credible, brand-name routine to hand them. Merrick's follow-alongs are exactly that - a trusted, approachable method you can point a client to without reinventing a mobility program from scratch. This page isn't "should I copy his routine," it's "how do I turn a routine like this into a habit my clients actually keep."
What the routine actually teaches (our summary)
This is our summary of the ideas in the video, in our own words - not a transcript. Watch the original for the exact sequence, timing and cues.
- 1
It's a no-equipment, full-body follow-along. The whole session runs on the floor with body weight alone - nothing to buy, nothing to set up. That is what makes it something every client can start today, at home or travelling.
- 2
It works methodically through the body. Neck and shoulder openers, then chest and lat stretches, then spine and hip mobilisations, then hamstrings and glutes, finishing with adductors and groin - a head-to-toe order that is easy to remember and repeat.
- 3
Relaxed breathing is the core cue. The instruction is to breathe and settle into each position, not to grit through it. Tension and forcing are the opposite of what makes a stretch productive here.
- 4
Range comes from frequency, not intensity. The routine is built to be repeated often; gains accumulate from consistent daily-ish practice rather than one aggressive session. Short and repeatable beats long and dreaded.
- 5
It's accessible mobility, not clinical treatment. The routine is framed as general at-home flexibility for healthy people - a habit, not a therapy for a diagnosed injury or a painful joint.
Coachway's take
We love this as a coaching asset, and not because the individual stretches are novel - they aren't. The value is that it's a fixed, repeatable, zero-barrier routine, and that is exactly what mobility is missing for most clients. The reason clients don't stretch isn't that they lack stretches; it's that "you should mobilise more" is vague, has no defined dose, and never gets tracked. A named follow-along fixes all three at once.
Where we'd add nuance for a coaching business: the point Merrick teaches - range comes from frequency, not intensity - is also the whole game for adherence. Don't hand a client a 45-minute mobility marathon they'll do once. Give them a short session they'll repeat four or five times a week, and make session length the variable you protect. A 12-minute routine kept every week beats a 30-minute one abandoned by Thursday.
The coaching-specific job he doesn't have to do is screening. Merrick is publishing a general routine for a healthy audience; you're programming for named individuals, some of whom are messaging you about a sore back or a cranky knee. Hold the line clearly: a general flexibility follow-along is movement education, not treatment. If a client reports pain, a recent injury, numbness, or anything that reads as medical, that's a referral to a physio or doctor - you screen and refer, you don't diagnose or treat. Used as general mobility for healthy clients, a routine like this is a great habit; used as self-treatment for an injury, it's out of scope.
So our version of his approach is: pick one short follow-along, set a realistic weekly frequency, attach it to a recovery day or the onboarding week, and then - this is the part that makes it stick - track it like any other habit so you can see whether it's actually happening, instead of hoping.
Package the routine once, track it across the roster
A mobility habit only sticks if it's built into the plan and monitored. That's what Coachway's workout builder is for: build the flexibility follow-along as a reusable "recovery day" or onboarding template - an ordered list of positions with your own cues and a linked video - then assign it to a client and reuse it across the whole roster instead of re-explaining stretching every time. Clients follow and log each session in the client app, and you see adherence in client progress, so "did you do your mobility?" stops being a guess. Start a 14-day free trial and build your first recovery-day template.
One line to keep visible for your team: a general flexibility routine is coaching education, not medical advice - screen for pain, injury or medical flags and refer those out rather than coaching through them. If you want the strategy layer, our breakdown of Kelly Starrett on mobility for coaches covers the wider mobility argument, and our guide to how to warm up for a workout covers the pre-training end of the same movement toolkit.
Mobility-day checklist (no equipment, ~20 min)
A copy-paste routine outline you can hand any healthy client as a recovery-day or onboarding habit. It follows the head-to-toe order Merrick's routine uses, with our coaching defaults for hold times and a hard "no bouncing, no forcing" rule. Swap positions to suit the client; the point is a short session they'll repeat, not a perfect one they'll skip. General movement education only - not for a diagnosed injury or painful joint.
Mobility-day follow-along
The routine
| # | Position | Area | Default hold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neck side-leans + shoulder reaches | Neck, shoulders | 30s / side |
| 2 | Chest opener on floor + lat reach | Chest, lats | 45s / side |
| 3 | Child's pose to rocking spinal twist | Spine | 60s flow |
| 4 | 90/90 hip switches | Hips | 8 slow reps / side |
| 5 | Cross-leg glute pull + deep squat hold | Glutes, hips | 45s each |
| 6 | Seated pike (back long, not rounded) | Hamstrings | 60s |
| 7 | Frog + side lunge | Adductors, groin | 45s each |
How to use it: no bouncing and no forcing - exhale and settle a little deeper each breath. Program it 4-5x/week; range comes from frequency, not intensity. Hold times are our coaching defaults, not figures from the video. If a client has a diagnosed injury, pain or a medical concern, refer out rather than coaching through it.
MOBILITY-DAY FOLLOW-ALONG (via Coachway) - no equipment, ~20 min, general movement education (not medical advice) THE ROUTINE (head-to-toe order; hold times are our coaching defaults, not from the video) # Position Area Default hold 1 Neck side-leans + shoulder reaches Neck, shoulders 30s/side 2 Chest opener on floor + lat reach Chest, lats 45s/side 3 Child's pose to rocking spinal twist Spine 60s flow 4 90/90 hip switches Hips 8 slow reps/side 5 Cross-leg glute pull + deep squat hold Glutes, hips 45s each 6 Seated pike (back long, not rounded) Hamstrings 60s 7 Frog + side lunge Adductors, groin 45s each HOW TO USE: No bouncing, no forcing - exhale and settle 1cm deeper each breath. Program 4-5x/week; range comes from frequency, not intensity. SAFETY: General mobility for healthy clients only. Diagnosed injury, pain, numbness or medical flags = refer to a physio or doctor, do not coach through it.
Flexibility routines for clients - FAQ
How do beginners actually get more flexible?
For most beginners, flexibility comes from consistent, relaxed practice rather than the occasional aggressive stretch session. That is the through-line of Tom Merrick's follow-along: settle into each position, breathe, and let range accumulate over frequent short sessions instead of forcing depth in one go. The practical read for a coach is that adherence beats intensity - a client who runs a gentle 15-20 minute routine four or five times a week will out-gain the one who does a punishing stretch once a fortnight and dreads it.
Do you need equipment to do a beginner mobility routine?
No. Merrick's beginner routine is a no-equipment, follow-along session you can do on the floor with body weight alone - neck and shoulder openers, chest and lat stretches, spine and hip work, hamstring and adductor positions. For a coach that is a gift, because a zero-barrier home routine is something every client can start today regardless of gym access or travel. It also makes it the perfect thing to slot in as a recovery-day or onboarding habit rather than something that competes with training time.
How often should clients do a flexibility routine?
The principle Merrick teaches is that range comes from frequency, not intensity - a shorter routine done most days beats a long one done rarely. As a general coaching default that usually means four to five relaxed sessions a week, kept short enough that a client will actually repeat them. The exact dose is a negotiation with the client's schedule and how sore or busy they are; the win is turning stretching from a vague 'you should mobilise more' into a fixed, trackable habit they keep between strength sessions.
Is stretching the same as physical therapy or injury treatment?
No, and this is an important line for coaches to hold. A general flexibility follow-along like this is accessible movement education, not clinical treatment - it is not a fix for a diagnosed injury, a painful joint, or a medical condition. A coach's job is to screen and refer: if a client reports sharp pain, a recent injury, numbness, or anything that looks medical, that is a referral to a physiotherapist or doctor, not a stretch to push through. Used as general mobility for healthy clients, a routine like Merrick's is a great habit; used as self-treatment for an injury, it is out of scope.
More movement + mobility breakdowns
- · Kelly Starrett on mobility for coaches - the wider mobility argument behind a routine like this.
- · How to warm up for a workout - the pre-training end of the same movement toolkit.
- · The full roundup: fitness YouTubers coaches should study.
Keep building the movement side
all guidesKelly Starrett on Mobility: The Couch Stretch Test (Coach Breakdown)
Kelly Starrett's couch stretch mobilization test, broken down for coaches: why test-retest beats a generic stretch routine, and how to add mobility screening to a client roster without overstepping into treatment.
Read the guideHow to Warm Up for a Workout (Coach Guide)
A warm-up has two jobs: raise body temperature, then prime the exact lifts ahead. The general warm-up, dynamic stretches, and the ramp-up sets that climb toward the working weight - plus why static stretching belongs after.
Read the guideSleep and Recovery for Training: A Coach's Guide
What sleep and recovery really do for training - hormones, performance, appetite, and how much - plus how coaches build recovery into client check-ins.
Read the guideFree tools for this: Weekly Training Volume Calculator · Bench Press Calculator · DOTS Calculator
Turn mobility from a suggestion into a tracked habit
A flexibility routine only pays off if clients actually repeat it. Coachway lets you build a no-equipment recovery-day follow-along once, assign it across your roster, and see who's keeping it - clients log each session and adherence shows up in their progress, so 'did you do your mobility?' stops being a guess. Start your 14-day free trial and package your first mobility habit today.
