Three Hip Mobility Drills To Do Before Your Workout
There’s a reason that hip mobility has become such a hot topic lately in the fitness industry. Quite frankly, because it is important. You need good mobility through your hip joint to execute fundamental movement patterns like the squat and lunge. Here are a few hip mobility drills I like to do as a movement preparation sequence before a leg workout.
Floor Internal and External Hip Mobility Drill
This is one of my favorite hip mobility drills. I prefer it to static stretching because of the dynamic component. Using an arm driver and trunk rotation to facilitate hip rotation has been an effective way for me to improve my own hip mobility. As you can see from the video, my internal rotation is lacking. I do have a cam and pincer FAI, which explains why I’m not able to complete a full range of motion with this drill. Nonetheless, I highly suggest trying this one out yourself and prescribing it to athletes lacking in hip mobility.
Piriformis and Gluteal Foam Rolling for Hip Mobility
If you’ve read my previous post on foam rolling then you should understand the mobility benefits of foam rolling. Tightness in the hip external rotators can be a contributing factor to limited hip internal rotation range of motion. Adding in some foam rolling of the glutes and piriformis prior to a workout is a great way to prep the tissues before loading.
Lateral Lunging for Hip Mobility
Lateral lunges should be a standard part of your lower limb exercise routine. In sport, we need to move in multiple directions. The frontal plane of movement (side to side) is often neglected and needs to be trained under load. This exercise loads the hip and challenges the opposite adductors (inner thigh muscles) eccentrically. Use a slider first and then progress to an actual stepping lunge. If you don’t have a slider, use a paper plate on the ground. Try holding a dumbbell or kettle bell as shown in the picture. When lunging to the right, think about shifting your right buttock over your right heel. As with all squats, make sure your knees aren’t going past your toes and your weight is on your heels/ shifting your hips back. This helps you load through your hips and glutes better! Go give it a try and let us know what you think!
Those are just three of the many hip mobility drills out there. If you would like to see more of these, please check out our Instagram page or feel free to contact me. Again, if you enjoyed the post or think you know someone who could benefit from reading it, please share! Thanks.