Although they are frequently overlooked; hip mobility exercises are very important in shaping your overall body movements. Lack of hip agility training can lead to development of bad movement postures.
Moreover, in the absence of well-functioning hip joints, your body will be forced to rely on other areas like the knees and lower back for basic movements. Consequently, the effects of improper hip training can sometimes can be felt as knee pain and lower back pain. When you sit down for long periods without stretching, that is another red flag for hip mobility.
Hip Mobility Exercises for Strength and Flexibility
If you want to be fit from head to toe, then you must start improving your hip mobility. Biologically, the hip muscles are designed to support movements in different directions. Daily activities like climbing and swimming all make use of the hips. In order to develop agile hips, doing the following hip mobility exercises will be of immense benefit. We are going to focus on exercises that demand little to no equipment. After reading this post, you will have no excuse not to train.
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Lying Hip Rotation
This is meant to warm you up for the next routines.
How to do Lying Hip Rotation:
- Lie backwards on the floor and bend your knees.
- Lift one of your ankles place it across the other knee.
- Rotate your hips to move in and out of the stretch.
- Use your hand as support to hold (press) the knee.
- When you are done warming up for a few minutes, then proceed to the next set of hip mobility exercises.
Butterfly Stretch
How to do it:
- Begin by sitting on the floor. Straighten your spine and extend your legs forward.
- Draw your knees in towards your chest. Lower your knees down on each side of your torso. Make sure the soles of your feet are held together.
- Stretch your hips by pulling your closed feet in toward your glutes. Hold this deep stretch position for 15-30 seconds.
Frog Stretch
How to do it:
- Get down on all fours by extending your forearms on the floor, be on your knees and stretch them apart from each other — as widely as possible.
- In this frog style position, rock yourself back and forth. Press your pelvis down to the floor, hold that position for some time, and then release yourself back up onto your knees.
- Remember to keep your feet in contact with the floor, with your toes pointing outward.
- After completing a few reps, you can sit up and relax for a minute before moving on to the next routine. One thing to note — go slowly and be careful not to stretch beyond your limit.
Lizard Pose
To do this:
- Get down into a lunge position; by stepping forward with your right leg.
- Place your forearms on the floor to the inside of the extended right leg.
- Keep your hips and chest up as you feel the intensity of the stretch. When this proves too painful, you can lower your back knee to touch the floor.
- Maintain the stretched position for 15—30 seconds before changing to the other leg.