Tight hip flexors can make it harder to perform exercises or movements that require hip movement, such as squatting or running. They can also lead to muscle imbalances, which increases the risk of injury.
Stretching and strengthening can help loosen up tight hip flexors, which can reduce pain and improve your overall mobility. Here are four stretches you can sprinkle into your routine.
Stretching
Stretching is an effective way to improve flexibility and mobility. It can be static or dynamic, and it’s a great way to warm up before your workout.
Static stretches are those that are held in a fixed position for a period of time (usually 15 seconds). They’re a good starting point, but dynamic stretches are much more effective.
Modified Version: Sit on a chair or bench with one leg crossed over the other, and externally rotate your hip in and out. This stretch targets the groin muscles and can help improve hip rotation to the side.
Stretching for a long period of time can improve the elasticity of your hip flexors, which helps with pain and injury prevention. However, it’s important to remember that stretching can only be used for as long as your body allows.
Strengthening
Whether you’re an athlete, marathoner or desk jockey, your hip flexors help you move and stay strong. And they’re also important for reducing your risk of injury from falls and other day-to-day activities, so it’s a good idea to strengthen them as part of a regular exercise program.
Strengthening exercises (also known as strength training) involve the use of weights, hand-held or bodyweight resistance equipment. When done regularly, clinical studies show they can increase skeletal muscle strength, power, endurance and mass.
The hip flexors are located across the hip joint from your lower spine to the front of your thigh and play an important role in back stabilization as well as gait. If they’re tight and weak, it can lead to imbalanced hips which may result in injuries such as runner’s knee and iliotibial band syndrome.
Mobility Workouts
The key to unlocking hip flexors is increasing their range of motion. That’s why mobility workouts are gaining popularity in the fitness world.
Having good joint flexibility is important for all aspects of our health and well-being, from injury prevention to overall fitness. And because it’s not always easy to get our muscles moving the way they should, it’s important to make sure we are taking steps to improve it regularly.
If you’re new to the area, start by focusing on one or two areas where you need more mobility. It’s a good idea to start slow and build up to more advanced movements over time, but always be consistent with your efforts.
For example, you can try performing a half-kneeling arm rotation before overhead presses or three-way ankle mobilization before squats. These exercises help to relieve tension in the joints and reduce the likelihood of injuries, which is great for your health!
Flexibility Workouts
Tight hip flexors are one of the most common reasons people get hip pain. They can also cause problems with your lumbar spine, like arching or hyper-extension (arching).
This is why it’s important to focus on stretching your hip flexors and strengthening them with movement workouts that challenge them. These exercises will help unlock the tight hip flexors and prevent future pain in your lumbar spine.
The 90/90 stretch is a bodyweight exercise that targets both the hip flexors and quadriceps muscles. It’s easy to setup and perform and is an effective way to address your hip flexors.
Banded marching is another bodyweight movement that targets your hip flexors and glutes. It’s a good hip flexor stretch that also builds core strength.
This is a great movement to do when you want a deep hip flexor stretch, but don’t have time to spend hours stretching. It’s also a great warm up for squats, lunges, and other lower body exercises.
