Strength Training for Hypermobility: How to Build Stability Without Overstraining Your Joints

Many people with hypermobility (diagnosed or not) describe the same pattern:

• Muscles feel tight

• Joints feel loose or “wobbly”

• Stretching gives relief…

• …until the tightness returns again

This cycle is frustrating, but it makes sense once you understand what’s happening in the body.

Hypermobility Isn’t “Flexible Joints” — It’s Low Passive Support

In hypermobility, the ligaments don’t provide the usual level of support.
So instead, the muscles step in to stabilise the joints.

This creates:

• Protective tension

• Overactive supporting muscles

• Fatigue

• Compensation patterns

• Instability during movement

So when someone with hypermobility feels “tight,” it’s not because the muscle is short — it’s because the body is trying to hold itself together.

This is why stretching often makes symptoms worse over time:
You’re reducing the only stability your system currently has.

The Real Solution: Stability > Flexibility

The goal is not to become looser or more “open.”

The goal is to:

• Create predictable control through joints

• Develop supportive strength

• Build load-sharing through the whole body

• Allow the nervous system to stop guarding

This is stability training, not traditional strength training.

Why “Core Strength” Alone Doesn't Fix Hypermobility

Most core training focuses on:

• Crunches

• Planks

• Bracing

• “Pull your ribs down”

But hypermobility doesn’t need bracing — it needs coordination.

The deep core stabilises the spine only when the:

• Ribs

• Pelvis

• Diaphragm

• Breath rhythm

are working together.

So improving posture and joint stability starts with how you breathe, not how hard you squeeze your abs.

Where Instability Usually Shows Up

In hypermobile bodies, the joints that tend to lose control first are:

AreaWhat tends to happenRib cage + pelvisLose coordination → posture collapsesHipsRotate or shift → glutes can’t stabilise effectivelyShouldersGrip and hold tension → neck tightnessFeet + anklesCollapse → knees and hips compensate above

The body then builds tension around instability, not because the muscles are “tight,” but because the system is protecting itself.

Strength Training That Works for Hypermobility

To create long-term change, training must:

• Avoid stretching into extreme ranges

• Build small, controlled ranges first

• Encourage the body to act as one coordinated system

• Reinforce breath → rib → pelvis → hip → foot alignment

• Develop stability under light, gradual load

This gradually teaches the nervous system:

“It’s safe to relax now. I don’t need to guard anymore.”

When that happens, the tightness reduces naturally.

Not because you stretched it —
but because the body no longer thinks it needs to hold on.

Safe Mobility Looks Different in Hypermobility

Mobility should feel:

• Supported

• Slow

• Connected to breath

• Within mid-range — not end range

If you feel looser but less stable after mobility work → that’s a sign to stop.

Your body is telling you clearly:

“I need support, not more space.”

How We Work With Hypermobility at Burleigh Biomechanics

We don’t stretch joints into bigger ranges.

We:

• Assess how you breathe

• Look at how your ribs and pelvis coordinate

• Map how your hips control load while walking

• Identify where the body is overworking to protect instability

• Restore deep core + pelvis + hip stability

• Teach the body to move as an integrated system

This is how posture becomes effortless and movement becomes pain-free.

Not forced.
Not stiff.
Not exhausting.
Just supported.

If You’re Hypermobile and Want Stability That Feels Natural

You don’t need another stretching routine or a “core workout.”

You need to understand the pattern your body is using to stabilise itself — and how to rebuild that pattern more efficiently.

That’s what we do in a Posture & Gait Assessment.

👉 Book a Posture & Gait Assessment
https://www.burleighbiomechanics.com.au/schedule-a-call-or-appointment

Final Thought

Hypermobility isn’t a limitation.

But it does require a different approach.
One that helps your body feel safe, stable, supported, and efficient.

Once the body trusts its own structure again, the tightness lets go — on its own.