It is funny how most people have no clue how important it is to have strong and mobile hips. Most fitness guys and gals obsess about their “six-packs” or their biceps and triceps but if your hips are stiff and or weak, then achieving any of your physique or performance goals will be very difficult. Using a chair to sit makes things worse. This majorly affects the mobility of the hip joint in the long term. We can see this from the increase in the number of hip replacement surgeries in recent years.

Movements at the hip joint

The hip joint, just like the shoulder joint, is a ball and socket joint and allows a wide range of motion. Unlike the shoulder joint, the hip joint sacrifices some mobility for stability since it is designed for weight bearing. Despite that, it can move the thigh in multiple directions. We need to keep in mind that stiff and tight hips can lead lower back pain as well as knee issues. There are more than twenty odd muscles that assist the hip joint in its functioning. Any imbalance or stiffness or weakness in any of these muscles will cause movement impairment and pain. These weak or stiff muscles would over time have an impact on the joint.

Before stretching, do a brief five minute slow paced warm up to get the core temperature up. If you are mildly sweating, then you are good to go. We need to stretch and mobilize the Glutes, the muscles in the front of the thigh – hip flexors and the muscles on the inside of the thigh – the adductors.

•Glutes – sit with your right leg bent, with the lower leg on floor, the left is extended straight behind you. Moving from the hips, while keeping the back as neutral as possible, bring your chest close to the floor. You should feel a stretch deep in the Glutes and inner thigh. Repeat with the left leg bent. Hold the stretch for 60 seconds.

•Hip Flexors – start with kneeling on both knees. Take a long step forward with your right leg. Keeping the back straight, push the right knee forward while keeping right heel down. Feel the stretch in the front of the left hip. Repeat on the left side. Hold the stretch for 60 seconds.

•Inner Thigh – sit on the floor with the soles of the feet touching and back straight. Push the knees towards the floor as you lean forward from the hips. Feel the stretch in the inner thigh. Hold the stretch for 60 seconds at least.

•Glute bridge – glute bridges are used for strengthening the glutes but can also be utilized for opening the hips. Lie flat on the floor, with your knees bent. Now push your hips up while trying to hold the ankles. For a deeper stretch, go up on toes while doing the glute bridge. Hold the stretch for 60 seconds.

Most people train the front or anterior part of the hip through squats, leg presses, lunges and leg extensions. Not enough training time is spent working on the back or posterior part of the hip.

•The Deadlift is the go-to lift for training the posterior hip muscles. I prefer the Romanian version of the deadlift as it directly hits the glutes and is slightly safer than the conventional deadlift which starts from the floor. To do the Romanian Deadlift, un-rack the bar from hip height and slowly lower it, while pushing the hips back. Try to lower the bar to mid shin. Reverse the motion and stand up straight. That is one repetition. Do 6-15 repetitions per set.

•The Hip Thrust can be used in place of the Romanian Deadlift. It takes the grip out of the way and can be loaded pretty easily. Load a bar and put it on your waist, while sitting with your upper back against a bench. Push the hips up while balancing the bar on the hip bone. Go for higher reps for this exercise. 12-20 repetition range is what people should aim for.

•Side Lunges are an excellent way to dynamically train the inner thigh muscles, the adductors. Do 8-12 repetitions per set.

A combination of mobility and strength training is required to keep the hips healthy and pain free. Focus your attention on glutes by getting strong on the Romanian deadlift. A side benefit of the RDL is that the grip strength also improves. For me that is a win-win. Now go and do it.

Kamal Singh is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist who has been coaching for 15 years

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