Shakira was right, hips don’t lie! In fact, they are often the cause of back and knee pain. They are your pillar of strength, or at least should be. You will be pleasantly surprised by the improvement of movement and strength when your hips are stronger. Not to mention less pain. Many people sit with hips at 90 degrees all day, let’s get those hips moving and into their full range of motion.
We have just finished talking about mobility, there are many hip flexibility exercises in the four-part series. Now we turn our attention to strength. It is important to understand that most of the problems with hips and the pelvis come from a lack of strength or activation from the glutes.
Even if you feel tight in your hip flexors, it’s your glutes that you need to stretch and strengthen. It all comes back to the position of the femur.
The femur is the big thigh bone. It attaches to the pelvis and makes up the top of the knee joint. If your glutes are not working well enough, or tire quickly, the femur rolls in and might pinch the front of the hip, cause stress inside the knee, or cause you to change the way you move. By strengthening the glute muscles, your femur can hold its position and work in an optimal position.
There are many muscles that cross the hip and they must all work and coordinate together. I love the first exercise in the video because it is simple and works all around the hip. Really any one-legged exercise can help to coordinate all those muscles and make you a more stable person, physically that is. Standing on one leg for upper body exercises and working one leg at a time really helps.
It’s important to know where to feel the exercises. When we are working the glutes, look for the feeling behind the hip, not down the side of your leg. You should always hold your body still and adjust your resistance to accommodate this. The stronger and more stable you get, the more weight you can use.
Many of the exercises in the video are basic and meant to help the glutes hold the femur’s position. Likely you will want to work these muscles at a higher volume so that they don’t get tired while you are engaging in sport, and everyday activities.
The deadlifts at the end are geared for more advanced exercisers. Romanian deadlifts work to hinge the hip, improving the extension. Even though leaning forward seems harder, the exercise is meant to work the “coming back up” portion.
Of course, when you are reprogramming your body and working in a functional way, we can’t target one muscle or group. While these exercises are meant for the hip, you will also improve knee issues. Your back will have less work to do when your hips move freely. At the same time, you are engaging your core, because you are holding your body still. See how it all comes together.
If you want to learn more about reprogramming your body or need guidance putting a routine together, let me know! I would love to help.
Jen Mark is a Registered Kinesiologist, Certified Athletic Therapist, and Registered Yoga Teacher at Matrix of Motion Fitness Studios and Sports Medicine Centre of Excellence in Newmarket. Jen is the athletic therapist with the Markham Majors Bantams. Jen is also the head therapist and holistic director for the Junior Development Squad with the Men’s program under Field Hockey Canada. Jen uses her athletic therapy for exercise and manual treatments including soft tissue massage, joint mobilizations, and muscle energy. You can reach her [email protected]
