There’s a good chance your hip flexors feel like rubber bands stretched to their maximum if you are seated at your desk, behind the wheel, at the dinner table, and on your couch all day. However, stretching your hip flexors may not be the best solution for long-term relief. Experts say strengthening your hip flexors may prevent tension and better manage your body’s functions.
Ahead, physical therapists explain the benefits of swapping your stretching routine for strengthening. You can also incorporate five simple exercises into your training program without overhauling it to enhance your hip flexors.
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Strong Hip Flexors Have Many Benefits
Victoria Sekely, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., a physical therapist and certified strength and conditioning specialist, the hip flexors are a group of muscles primarily responsible for flexing your hip and bringing your knee close to your chest. To get one foot in front of the other, you need to be able to perform that motion.
Training Your Hip Flexors: Best Tips
Sekely says most people would benefit from strengthening their hip flexors, as they’re frequently overlooked and undertrained. She says you can achieve the same result by bringing your knee to your chest. You can incorporate these exercises into your routine without difficulty. In addition to strengthening your hip flexors, many activities that enhance your spine-stabilizing core muscles, such as the V sit, dead bug, and leg lift, are considered classic core movies. Combining them with your workout will give you even more bang for your buck.
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Here Are Five Hip Flexor Exercises That Work
Sekely says you should increase resistance over time (by adding weight, resistance bands, or cable columns) as you would in any strength-building routine. It’s a sign to amp up your load if you can easily power through your reps.
- Standing March
- Hip Bridge March
- Weighted Hip Bridge March
- Hip Hover
- Half-Kneeling Lift-Off