Hip Exercises for Flexibility and Strength

How to strengthen and stretch your hips

Hips or hip muscles and joints play a very important role from sitting to climbing stairs, from touching toes to proper balanced walking.

And majority of your weight in standing, walking or running is taken up by hip joint.

Therefore strong, flexible hips are the key to a mobile life.

Hip Strengthening and flexibility exercises are the key to strong and injury free hips. Hip stretching, strengthening and rehab exercises for strong hips.

In this article I will give 6 best hip exercises - 3 stretching and 3 strengthening exercises for your hips.
 

Hip Stretching Exercises

1. Single Knee Lifts {supine}

2. Inner Thigh Stretches {supine}

3. Hip Raises {supine}

Hip Strengthening Exercises

1. Squats {free weight squats or weighted{ and Lunges {free weight or weighted}

2. Cable Hip Adduction

3. Cable Hip Abduction
 

New Butt Exercise added -  Barbell and Dumbbell Step Ups

Hip Stretching Exercises

1. Single Knee Lifts {seated}

This exercise can also be done on a chair, seated. I prefer the supine version.

Execution Steps

1. Lie face-up on the floor comfortable with both feet on the ground, knees extended and arms on your sides. Make sure your head is resting.

2. Bend your right knee and clasp your fingers behind the right knee and pull it towards your chest.

3. Feel a good stretch in your hips and lower back, take deep breathes and let go after 5-10 breathes.

Rest and repeat.

2. Inner Thigh Stretches {supine}

Execution steps

1. Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet close together. Let your arms rest on your thighs and grab hold of your toes or ankles.

2. Press down on your thighs with elbows on your knees, feeling a good stretch in your inner thighs and out glute/hip muscles.

Rest and repeat.

3. Hip Raises {supine}

Execution steps

1. Lie on the floor with knees bent and arms on your sides

2. Raise your hips as high as you can, feeling a good stretch in your hips

3. Take deep breathes in and out and hold the position for 5-10 breathes.

Rest and repeat.
 

Hip Strengthening Exercises

The first two exercises are bodyweight ones and can be used as at home hip strengthening exercises. The last two require a gym membership or an elastic band.

1. Squats {free weight squats or weighted{ and Lunges {free weight or weighted}

The bodyweight exercises squats and lunges are probably the best total body moves you can do at home.

Try the bodyweight squats, either regular ones or Hindu style.

Lunges can be done either without weights of dumbbells. Try both the regular ones and reverse lunges explained here.
 

2. Hip Adduction

I will show you the standing cable hip adduction. Its done with a cable attached to a ankle strap, available in most gyms.

Hip adduction exercise targets the hip adductor muscles present on the inside of your upper thigh.

Execution steps

1. Attach an ankle strap carefully to a low pulley station as shown. If you are doing hip adduction for the right leg, then attach the strap to it and grab some support with right hand.

2. Stand with your right side of the body facing the machine.

3. Take a step away from the machine, creating tension in the cable.

4. Now raise your right leg away from the pulley machine and cross it to the other side. Keep your knees straight and use your hips to pull the weight away.

Make sure you repeat the exercise with the other leg for prescribed number of repetitions {8 to 15 reps}
 

3. Hip Abduction

I will show you the standing cable hip abduction.

The set ups is similar to the hip adduction exercise except that you strap the ankle to the opposite leg and pull it away from the body.

Make sure you repeat the exercise with the other leg for prescribed number of repetitions.

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