Alanna Tassone
Hip Mobility
Find you’re limited with your workouts? You have little range of motion, hips often have a pinching feeling and you get low back pain? It’s time to work on your hip mobility. It doesn’t matter if your powerlifting, bodybuilding or just going to the gym for your health. Avoiding hip mobility work will catch up with you overtime and playing catch up is never fun.
Hip mobility work can be broken down into 3 sections:
- Flexibility – increasing your range of motion (ROM)
- 90/90 stretch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYvMMw8z3rE
- Cossack Squat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_Ilhz2q4m4
- Stability- learn how to work with your new ROM
- Pistol squat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEi1iUMMZKg
- Single Leg Stiff Leg with KB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9bHy3ojQWA
- Strength – isolation and single leg movements
- Hip Thrusts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUdIL5x0fWg
- Glute ham raise https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a16KiAkdfSw
Hamstring and Pelvic Issues in Relation to Hip Mobility
Working to improve core stability will help to improve pelvic range of motion. This will help to move the pelvis into a neutral (ROM.) This can also impact people with tight hamstrings, by improving your pelvic (ROM) you can reduce the tension placed on your hamstrings. Regularly including the exercises bellow, will significantly improve your mobility!
- Reverse active straight leg raise (use bands and try to keep leg straight as possible https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ata5VJ-DRx0#action=share
- Single leg hip lift and Single leg hip lift with band above knees https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g2-_CUzjeE#action=share
- Psoas March (great test for hip flexor tightness and improves spinal stability) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhmkkGCH2h4#action=share
Misconception
People often worry about the strength of their hips and avoid load bearing exercise. Strong hips need load bearing exercises for bone density and long term strength. The older people get, the more people struggle to get up from seated positions, take the stairs, get out of bed etc.
It’s important NOT to avoid these exercises. Instead make sure to combine active mobility work and gradually increase weight during weight bearing exercises, like squats, for long term strength.
Don’t forget that form is everything, bad form can put unnecessary strain on your hips, knees and back. When exercises like squats are done properly, you shouldn’t feel any pain. Proper squats can even take the pain out of your hips because they work to develop the glutes. Strong glutes work as external rotators and can the take pressure off your hips to avoid hip pinching.
Resources:
https://wodprep.com/blog/hip-mobility-exercises/
https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/3605/myths-and-misconceptions-lunges-and-squats
https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/better-way-squat-try-your-butt-will-thank-you-ncna717406
https://www.fightagainstchickenlegs.org/articles/tight-hip-flexors-and-hamstring-pain/