These 5 Exercises Will Change Your Hip Mobility (For The Better)

It’s mostly not about stretching:

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Tight hips are usually a control and strength problem, not a flexibility problem. Which means, stretching alone doesn’t fix how your hips move—or feel.

Your hips are meant to rotate, stabilize, and generate power, but passive stretching doesn’t maintain/restore joint control, let alone strength, at their end ranges.

The following exercises (and their variations) build strength in end ranges, restore natural hip rotation, and improve daily movement so squatting feels easier, walking and running feel smoother, sitting feels less stiff, lower-back tension decreases, and balance and posture improve in a cumulative fashion:

• Hip internal/external rotation control:
  • Seated internal/external rotation: sitting tall with a resistance band around your knees, slowly guide your knees inwards and outwards to build controlled hip rotation.
  • Half-bend squat with internal/external rotation: in a partial squat with a band around your knees, create smooth inward and outward knee circles to load hip rotation under more bodyweight.
• Hip flexor length with core control:
  • Modified dead bug hip flexor control: lying over a foam roller, extend one leg while maintaining neutral ribs and lower back to strengthen hip flexors in lengthened positions.
  • Modified pigeon with knee lift: from a supported pigeon position, lift your back leg slightly to strengthen hip flexors and glutes without losing pelvic control.
• Deep lunge hip extension strength:
  • Deep lunge knee lift: in a tall lunge, lift your back knee off the floor while keeping your hips level and your spine neutral.
  • Deep lunge with leg lift: with your back knee supported on a yoga block, bend your knee to lift your foot towards your hips, increasing hip extension demand.
• Lateral hip and adductor mobility:
  • Side lunge dynamic stretch: go into a side lunge with one leg straight, which loads your hips and adductors, while keeping your torso upright.
  • Cossack shift: stay low in a wide stance, smoothly transfer your weight side to side to strengthen lateral hip control.
• Squat-based hip opening:
  • Seated squat elbow touchdowns: sitting on a box with a wide stance, hinge forwards while pressing your knees out to open your hips under control.
  • Deep squat elbow touchdowns: in a deep squat, hinge forwards slightly and guide your elbows towards the floor while maintaining heel contact and knee control.

For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like:

The Most Underrated Hip Mobility Exercise (Not Stretching)

Take care!