Hip Strength And Flexibility

Hip strength and flexibility is an extremely important component to our health and fitness. If our hips don’t move properly then it affects our performance as well as many other areas of our body, including our back, spine, glutes and even our mood! The most common injuries that I see as a personal trainer are in the shoulders and hips. Today, I’m talking all about the hips! Whether you’re an athlete or not, you can experience tightness in the hips which can negatively impact your daily life. Possible issues with hips include pain and decreased mobility. The complaints that I hear often about the hips are muscle strains, due to continuous improper form, muscle imbalances or overuse in certain sports. The other common complaint about the hips are in regards to hip tightness. Which isn’t surprising, from all of the sitting we do in our cars, at our desks, and on the couch. Sitting actually shortens and weakens the glute muscles which negatively impacts hip mobility. Knowing how to fix weak, tight or injured hips is crucial when eliminating chronic pain in your daily activity and improving power during physical activity. The hip joint is a very complex joint. It contains over 15 muscles that work together, so when identifying the exact cause of your pain, it can be complicated. If you have tried everything (i.e. rest, foam rolling, hip strengthening exercises and stretching) to alleviate hip pain and nothing works, then you should get professional help from a Doctor. When healthy hip muscles work together properly we are able to have full range of (pain free) motion which allows us to move to our full potential. Healthy hips give us power, but when we don’t have power our performance decreases, which can be quite frustrating. Why Does Hip Strength and Flexibility Matter? Our hips help us move in all directions and allow us the ability to do most activities. When we take care of our hip health we can counteract the effects of sitting and increase our range of motion and live pain free. Hip strengthening and flexibility exercises help loosen the tight muscles surrounding your hips, which will then improve other areas such as possible spine and lower back pain. Plus, having everything nicely aligned throughout the core muscles can lower your risk for workout-related injuries. Even simple, daily activities such as bending to pick things up, doing yard work, or balancing on uneven surfaces will become easier when you have strong hips. Improving Hip Strength and Flexibility Building healthy hips means implementing both strength and flexibility exercises. Implementing strength training and stretches for hip mobility and flexibility into a training program might sound tedious and the last thing that you want to do, but your hips, back, legs and mood will all thank you! We use our hips every day for walking, sitting, running, jumping etc. If they aren’t working properly then it will literally bring you down. The following are exercises that you can start with in order to improve your hip health. Do these exercises 2 to 3 times a week for 3 to 4 weeks straight before switching up your routine. As our body gets used to certain exercises it is important to switch things up so that we don’t become accustomed to certain exercises or create muscle weakness or imbalances in other parts of the body. Always challenge the body in new ways in order to benefit from the long term results. I think that we can all agree that moving freely, without pain is a beautiful thing! Exercises: Flexibility - Spend 2-3 minutes on each leg with the following exercises. 1. Trigger point ball massage 2. Kneeling wall stretch 3. Runners lunge stretch 4. Pigeon Pose Strengthening and Mobility - Complete 3 sets of 15 reps for each move. 1. Side plank leg kick and raises (left and right side) 2. Glute kickbacks (left and right side) 3. Fire hydrants (left and right side) 4. Bridge reach overs View how to do each exercise in my video -----

The hips are just one component of the body that can cause issues. Be intentional about working on all areas of the body, especially the major joints such as the shoulders, hips, knees and ankles to avoid injuries. Train hard, be safe, and have fun! As always, contact me if you need help! Be Unstoppable,

#HipStrength #InjuryPrevention