The hips are one of those body parts that most of us don’t actually think about until they’re bothering us. When you hit the gym, strengthening your hip muscles specifically probably isn’t high on the schedule. But if you’re someone who spends most days sitting, you’re likely to know the hip ache and tightness that comes along with it. Maybe you’ve even begun performing some hip stretches to combat that. But actually strengthening the hip area is something that will not only make you feel better, but assist you move better, too.
There are a lot, including all of the glute muscles, the hamstrings, the inner thigh muscles, and the psoas muscles (deep core muscles that connect your pelvis to your spine). Each of these muscles has some particular roles, but overall, the hip muscles stabilize your pelvis and thighbone as you move. They also permit you to bend at the hips, raise your legs out to the side (abduct), and bring your legs back in toward one another (adduct). Basically, they perform a lot, and when they’re weak or tight or otherwise not performing in an optimal way, you can not only end up with cranky hips, but other body parts may overcompensate and take on too much work—leaving you with other, seemingly different issues, like knee pain.
Most functional exercises—ones that reflect everyday movements such as squats, hip hinges (deadlifts, for example), lunges, steps-ups—stretch and strengthen your hip muscles in some way. So if you strength train
and do a variety of these sorts of movements, you’re probably working these essential muscles without even realizing it. On the other hand, if you mostly concentrate on exercise methods that have you performing the same movement over and over again, like running or cycling, there’s a great assurance that your hips aren’t as strong as they should be. And that can have a negative impact on not only your workouts, but how you move through life in general.
To assist you strengthen these essential muscles, Miranda put together a list of exercises, below. They include dynamic warm-up moves, meant to energize your hip muscles and train them for the greater movements to come; functional moves that prep basic directions , like the squat, hip hinge, and lunge; functional plyometric exercises that prep explosive power; and a few moves that get you transporting in different planes of motion, or ways.
You could do these moves all in conjunction as a single workout, or, as Miranda suggests, split them in half and do the first part one day and the second part another—”but do the warm-up with each one,” she says. Those first three moves are supposed to not only “wake up” the muscles, but also get your brain ready and steady for the movement patterns to come. For that reason, she says that performing the first three moves “would be a fantastic warm-up before any workout.”
Modeling the moves is Heather Lin, a New York City resident who does her best to suit exercise into her busy life, whether she’s biking home from work, deadlifting in the gym, kicking a heavy bag in Muay Thai, or pouring all of her effort into a bootcamp class.
Directions:
Equipment that are needed for some moves: one medium-weight looped mini resistance band (like this), one medium-weight long resistance band (like this), a set of medium-to-heavy dumbbells, one heavy kettlebell, and a step or bench.
Dynamic Warm-up:
Ensure you do this circuit before any of the other exercises. You can also utilize this warm-up before your next cardio or regular strength workout.
1. Double Banded Pull Through — 12-15 reps
2. Side Plank With Knee Drive — 5-8 reps each leg
3. Banded Hip March — 5-8 reps each leg
4. Perform 2-3 times.
Hip-Strengthening Exercises:
Pick a few of these exercises to do as a circuit—Miranda prescribes doing half one day and half another. Perform 3 sets of each. You can also exemplify all of these exercises for a whole workout if you’d like.
5. Bulgarian Split Squat — 12-15 reps each leg
6. Step Up to Reverse Lunge — 12-15 reps each leg
7. Dumbbell Sumo Squat — 8-10 reps each leg
8. Kickstand Romanian Deadlift — 5-8 reps each leg
9. Explosive Sprinters Lunge — 5-8 reps each leg
10. Banded Jump Squat — 5-8 reps each leg
11. Kettlebell Swing — 10-12 reps
12. Lateral Lunge — 10-12 reps
13. Banded Marching Hip Bridge — 10-12 reps.
Here’s how to do each move:
Double Banded Pull Through
1. Connect a long resistance band low to the ground behind you. Or, you can also utilize a cable.
2. Stand in front of the band with your feet about shoulder-width separated with a looped mini resistance band just above your knees. Push your legs apart to actively give tension in the band and stop your knees from caving in.
3. Hinge forward at the hips and push your butt back as you bend your knees to reach down and grasp the long band between your legs. You should feel a stretch in your hamstrings and glutes.
4. Maintain your chest raised and back flat as you stand back up, driving your hips forward and squeezing your glutes at the top. That’s 1 rep.
5. Perform 12-15 reps.
Side Plank With Knee Drive
“The dynamic performance of the moving leg adds an even greater challenge to the bottom glute working to isometrically grasp the body weight in that solid placement,” says Miranda.
6. Begin in a side plank with your left elbow under your shoulder, legs expanded, and hips, knees, and ankles stacked. Connect your core, tuck your butt, and ensure your lower back is flat.
7. Gently drive your right knee up toward your chest. Pause for a second, and then gently extend the leg back out to beginning position. That’s 1 rep.
8. Perform 5-8 reps on each leg.
Banded Hip March
9. Stand upright with your feet about hip-width apart, core connected, and chest raised, with a looped mini resistance band around the balls of both feet.
10. Gently drive your right knee up and out in front of you, stopping when it reaches hip height. (You may not be able to lift that high conditioning on your current
11. Mobility. You should feel your hip flexors in the raised leg working, and your glutes on the stabilizing leg working.
12. Concentrate on keeping your foot directly under your knee, your pelvis level, and your standing-leg knee, hip, and ankle in line.
13. Gently lower your leg back down. That’s 1 rep.
14. Perform 5-8 reps on each leg, alternating sides.
Bulgarian Split Squat
15. Stand with your back to a bench or similar lifted surface. With your left foot on the floor a few feet in front of the bench, position the top of your right foot on the bench, shoelaces down. Grasp a dumbbell in each hand by your sides.
Brace your core and lower your knees to lower down into a split squat. Your left knee should ideally form a 90-degree angle so that your thigh is parallel to the ground, and your right knee is moving above the floor. (Quick position check: your left foot should be stepped out far enough that you can perform this without letting your left knee go past your left toes—if you can’t, move your left foot out a bit farther away from the bench.)
16. Driving through your left heel, stand back up to beginning position. That’s 1 rep.
17. Perform 12-15 reps on each leg.
Step Up to Reverse Lunge
Miranda calls this a “joint combination” move. “It’s a term and modality that involves stacking in conjunction two distinct multi-joint exercises and joining them into one movement.” It’s a good way to enhance the intensity of an exercise without adding weight, she adds.
18. Stand facing a box, step, bench, or chair.
19. Step onto the box with your right foot and drive through your right heel and glute to bring your left leg up to meet the right. Let your left foot move, and maintain most of the weight in your right foot.
20. Step back down with your left foot, then step your right foot back about two feet behind the left and lower instantly into a reverse lunge.
21. Push through your left foot to stand back up (that’s 1 rep) and hover right into the next step-up.
22.!Perform 12-15 reps on each leg.
Dumbbell Sumo Squat
23. Pick a dumbbell that lets you squat with appropriate form but makes you feel fatigued by the end of each set.
23. Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned out. Grasp the dumbell with both hands at your chest.
24. Bend your knees and lower down into a squat.
25. Push through your heels to feet back to standing and squeeze your glutes at the top. That’s 1 rep.
26. Perform 8-10 reps.
Kickstand Romanian Deadlift
27. Stand with feet hip-width apart, one foot about six inches in front of the other. Position a dumbbell (or kettlebell) next to both feet.
28. The majority of your weight should be in your front leg. Lift onto the toes of your rear foot, utilizing it as a kickstand to assist maintain balance but only putting a little weight on it.
29. Hinge forward at the hips, push your glutes back, and lower the weights toward the floor. Maintain your back flat and shoulders retracted; don’t round forward or arch your lower back.
30. Press through your front foot to return to beginning position. That’s 1 rep.
31. Perform 5-8 reps on each leg.
Explosive Sprinters Lunge
32. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
33. Step your right foot back a few feet into a lunge placement.
34. Push through your left foot to explosively jump into the air, driving your right knee toward your chest.
35. Land with a soft knee (that’s 1 rep) and step back instantly into another lunge.
36. Perform 5-8 reps on each leg.
Banded Jump Squat
37. Position a looped mini resistance band just above your knees. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
38. Hinge forward at your hips and sit your butt back into a squat. Squat as deep as your mobility will permit, but not further than parallel to the ground.
39. Jump up into the air as high as you can and straighten out your legs. Swing your arms down by your sides for momentum, and maintain your back straight and chest lifted.
40. Land back on the floor with soft knees. That’s 1 rep.
41. Perform 8-10 reps.
Kettlebell Swing
42. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, a kettlebell on the floor in between your legs.
43. Move forward and bend your knees to squat down and grab into the kettlebell handle with both hands.
44. Swing the kettlebell between your legs, and then stand back up and utilize the momentum from
45. your hips to swing the weight to chest height. Fix your butt at the top of the movement.
46. Instantly lower back down as you swing the kettlebell between your legs again to begin the next rep.
47. Perform 10-12 reps.
Lateral Lunge
48. Stand with your feet in unison, grasp dumbbell in each hand, arms by your sides.
49. Take a big step (about 2 feet) out to the right. When your foot hits the ground, movement forward at the hips, push your butt back, and bend your right knee to lower into a lunge. The weights should structure your right knee, and your left leg should be straight.
50. Pause for a second, and then push off your right leg to return to beginning position. Repeat on the other leg. That’s 1 rep. Perform 10-12 reps.
Banded Marching Hip Bridge
1. Loop a mini resistance band around the balls of your feet and lie faceup in front of a bench, chair, or step. Position your heels on the bench.
2. Push through your heels and squeeze your glutes to raise your hips of the floor. Maintain your back flat and core connected.
3. Gently drive your right knee toward your chest, pause for a second, and then position your foot back on the bench. Repeat with your left leg. That’s 1 rep.
4. Perform 10-12 reps.
SUPINE BRIDGE HIP STRENGTHENING EXERCISE
1. Concentrate your hip extensors.
2. Lay on your back with your arms relaxing at your side and knees slightly bent.
3. Push through your heels and lift your buttocks off the floor.
4. Grasp for about 2 seconds and gently lower back down to the floor.
5. Exemplify 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
6. Keep in mind to not put strain on your lower back by arching it too much at the top.
SIDELINE CLAM SHELL HIP STRENGTHENING EXERCISE
1. Strengthens the hip abductors.
2. Lay on your side with your hips and knees slightly bent while keeping your feet together.
3. Maintaining your feet together, gently separate your knees apart, taking 1 second on your way up and 3 seconds on your way down.
4. Exemplify 3 sets of 10 repetitions and repeat on your other side as well.
5. Be careful to not rock your pelvis backwards during the exercise.
REVERSE CLAM SHELL HIP STRENGTHENING EXERCISE
1. . Strengthens the smaller hip internal rotators.
2. . Begin in the same placement as the regular clamshell exercise.
3. Rotate your top foot outward and up toward the ceiling, maintaining your knees In unison during the exercise.
4. Again, take 1 second on the way up and 3 seconds on the way down.
5. Exemplify 3 sets of 10 repetitions and repeat on opposite side as well.
HEALTH TIP
While fresh spring produce has been the main concentration for our nutrition tips over the last several blog posts, today’s tip offers a separate side to enjoying the advantages of the spring season: cooking with fresh herbs! Not only are we harvesting fruits and vegetables during the spring and summer months, but fresh herbs as well.
Adding fresh herbs to your meals rather than salt can assist lower your sodium intake for those individuals who may need to be mindful of the amount they consume daily. A few examples of fresh herbs that can assist enhance the flavor of your meals include basil and mint. For a unique twist to a traditional fruit salad, try summing fresh mint to accelerate the flavor. Mint can also be a great addition to plain water to make it a bit more flavorful and refreshing. Basil is a versatile herb that can be joined to a variety of dishes such as pastas, fresh salads, and on top of pizzas. Fresh basil leaves can also be a tasty addition to sandwiches or wraps as well! Ensure you watch the PTtip video to learn how to perfectly perform the above exercises.
6 Hip Exercises All Runners Need to Do.
Whether you have tendinitis, runner’s knee, IT band syndrome, or just gas out halfway through your long runs, possibilities are your hips have something to do with it.
The hips are the fundamental part of every runner’s body. Comprising an array of muscle groups—from the all-powerful glutes to the smaller hip flexors and adductors—your hips push every stride, stabilize the thighs, and (quite literally) keep the knee on the right track, physical
therapist John Sauer, a program manager with Athletico Physical Therapy, uncovers to SELF.
However, runners are infamous for unsteadiness in their hip muscles. The most notable weak ones are the hip abductors, the muscles on the side of your butt are in-charge for moving your leg out away from your body to the side. Lev Kalika, a clinical director of New York Dynamic Neuromuscular Rehabilitation & Physical Therapy, uncovers to SELF that since most runners run, they are incessantly training their hip flexors and extensors through a very small range of movement. That can lead the hips to be not steady on the less-frequent occasions when you bring your knee all the way to your chest or thrust your hips forward.
Even though it seems like your legs are moving forward and backward when you’re running, in reality, the femur (your thigh bone) both rotates and tilts in the hip socket, Kalika uncovers. It’s the hip adductors—most commonly the gluteus medius—that helps the femur sitting in the socket as designed. (The hip adductors are the muscles that move your legs inward.)
Any weaknesses make the joint shaky, and can amount to poor running mechanics, hip drop (when the pelvis drops to one side), too-narrow stances, and aggravated tissues throughout the whole body, Sauer says.
For example, a study of 24 long-distance runners published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine found that runners with IT band syndrome have weaker hip abductors in their in-pained side. Other studies have attached weak glute mediuses with low-back pain and plantar fasciitis.
These issues tend to be more common in women because they generally have wider pelvises than men, Ali Kotek, M.A., A.T.C., P.E.S.,
a performance enhancement specialist and fellow endurance program manager at Athletico, uncovers to SELF. So to maintain the thighs vertical, rather than angled in toward each other, the outer hips have to be even stronger. That’s especially realistic for women who are bounding from one foot to the other as they run down trails and treadmill belts.
Below, you’ll find six hip exercises to help consolidate your hips so they can better assist your body and running goals. All you need to do
them is a mini looped resistance band, so you can simply fit them in at home or wherever your workouts take you. Try out the moves below in sets of 10 to 15 reps and join some (or even all!) of them to your cross-training workouts.
Lateral Band Walks
This exercise concentrates the hip adductors. Concentrate on moving gently through each step rather than using momentum to swing your legs from side to side, Kotek says.
1. Begin in a quarter-squat placement (a shallower squat) with a mini looped resistance band just above your knees.
2. Take a giant step to your right with your right foot, then lead with your left.
3. Step back with your left, and then your right, to get back to beginning position.
4. Repeat the movement but this time, start with the left foot. That’s one rep.
5. Ensure you continue this movement, alternating directions each time.
Monster Walks
Similar to (but just different enough from!) lateral band walks, this variation trains the glute medius from a separate angle while also training the hip flexors and extensors in the front and back of your hips, respectively, Kotek says.
1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, a mini looped resistance band just above your knees, and your knees somehow bent. (Don’t lock them out.)
2. Take a giant diagonal step forward and to the right with your right foot, then lead with your left, ending with your feet in unison.
3. To return to beginning position, reverse the movement, stepping diagonally behind your body with each step.
4. Take another diagonal step forward, this time moving with the left foot instead and following with your right.
5. Reverse the movement to return to beginning position. That’s one rep.
6. Repeat this movement, alternating directions each time.
Side Planks With Leg Abduction
Strengthening the core and glute medius muscles will assist limit your body’s side-to-side motion when running, Kotek says.
7. Begin in a side-plank placement with your feet stacked, balanced on your lower foot and forearm. Loop the resistance band just above your knees.
8. Squeeze your glutes to raise your top leg toward the ceiling as high as possible while maintaining the rest of your body in a straight line from head to heels.
9. Pause, then gently lower the top leg to get back to begin. That’s one rep.
10. Repeat all reps, then practice it on the opposite side.
Mini-Band Glute Bridges
This variation on the master glute-strengthening move, the glute bridge, hones in on hip steadiness and enhances the ability to drive through the ground and power each stride.
11. Lie face up with your back flat on the floor, a mini looped resistance band just above your knees, and your feet flat on the floor, spread hip-width separately.
12. Push through your heels and squeeze your glutes to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
13. Pause, then gently lower your hips to get back to start. That’s one rep.
Mini-Band Squats
“Nothing beats a perfectly performed squat, which has amazing activation of both the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius—as long as it is exemplified correctly,” Kalika says. Utilizing a looped resistance band can assist you maintain proper form and muscle connected. With each rep, work to maintain your knees from caving in toward each other.
1. Stand with your feet hip-width separately and a mini looped resistance band just above your knees.
2. Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower down as far as possible into a squat without allowing your knees fall in toward each other.
3. Pause, then drive through your heels to return to beginning placement. That’s one rep.
Single-Leg Squats
Kalika says that being able to perform single-leg squats without dropping the knee, hiking the pelvis, or rotating away is a good goal for all runners. After all, running is pretty much just exemplifying alternating single-leg squats for miles at a time.
4. Stand tall with your back facing a flat bench, and raise one foot a few inches in front of you.
5. Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower down as far as possible into a single-leg squat. Once you master lowering to touch your glutes to the bench without resting onto it, lower the bench or try lowering to the floor.
6. Pause, then push through your planted heel to return to begin. That’s one rep.
7. Exemplify all reps, then repeat on the opposite side.
7 HIP EXERCISES FOR SENIORS THAT WILL MAINTAINING YOU LIMBER.
The hips are one of the most essential muscles in the body. Strong hips will assist you maintain great balance and walk with ease. If your hips are feeling stiff, these seven stretching exercises can assist loosen and strengthen your muscles.
1. Standing Hip Extensions
This exercise will perform both your hips and your buttocks. With a few good changes, you can accelerate the difficulty of the exercise if it becomes too simple.
Instructions
A. Start by standing with your feet facing the back of a sturdy chair.
B. Grasp on to the top of the chair to keep your balance.
C. While grasping the chair, move your right leg backwards while maintaining it straight.
D. Connect the abdominal muscles and maintain the ribs raised during the movement. Ensure your knee is as straight as possible.
E. Return to the beginning position.
F. Exemplify 10 repetitions, and repeat the exercise on the opposite leg.
The chair will assist you stay balanced while exemplifying this exercise.
If you want to make the exercise more harder, you can add ankle weights. Begin with just a few pounds of weight, and work your way up. If you don’t have balance issues, you can try this exercise without weight and without grasping on to a chair.
2. Hip Abductors
Strong hip abductors will assist you maintain better balance. This easy exercise only demands a resistance band and a chair.
Instructions
A. Begin by sitting down in a chair.
B. Wrap your resistance band around your thighs and tie it in conjunction. If you have a round resistance band, you can mindfully slide it up your legs so that it wraps around your thighs. The band should be placed above your knee.
C. Spread your legs apart utilizing your hips.
D. Ensure that your back is straight and relaxing against the back of the chair.
This exercise reflects the hip abductor machine at the gym, and is a very efficient way to strengthen your hips. You can modify this exercise in the future by picking a stronger resistance band.
3. Standing Hip Flexor
The hip flexor muscles are small, but they have a big job: raising and lowering your legs. Hip flexor exercises will not only perform these muscles, but will also perform your buttocks and hip abductors. All three areas are essential for maintaining balance.
Instructions
A. Begin by standing up straight with your feet facing the back of a sturdy chair.
B. Grasp on to the top of the chair with both of your hands.
C. Maintain your right leg straight, and raise the left leg toward your chest while maintaining the knee bent. Put the knee closer to the chest as possible.
D. Ensure that your back is straight while exemplifying this exercise. You can bend the knee slightly on the straight leg to lift some of the tension on your knees.
If you want to make this exercise a little more civilized, try joining ankle weights. Start off with light weight, like two pounds, and try to work your way up to heavier weight.
4. Hip Marches
When performed perfectly, hip marches will strengthen the hips and the abdominal muscles. This simple exercise demands nothing more than a chair to perform.
Instructions
A. Start by sitting down in the chair with your feet flat on the floor.
B. Raise your left knee up as high as possible. Keep your knee bent while lifting.
C. Lower your leg.
D. Repeat on the other side.
E. Exemplify 10 repetitions on each leg.
Don’t forget to breathe during this exercise. Breathe in while raising your leg and breathe out while lowering your leg.
If you want to make this exercise harder, try pushing down on your thighs as you raise to provide some resistance.
5. Side Hip Raises
Hip raises are an amazing way to work the abductor muscles. Utilizing a chair, you can safely exemplify this exercise without fear of losing your balance.
Instructions
A. Begin by standing with your feet facing the back of a sturdy chair.
B. Grasp on to the top of the chair using both hands.
C. Lift your right leg out to the side, ensure you keep your leg straight. Lift as high as is comfortable.
D. Return your leg to the beginning placement.
E. Repeat 10 times.
F. Repeat on the other leg.
Remember not to bend your hips, and maintain your body as straight possible. Raise the ribs and maintain your feet pointed forward.
If you want to make this exercise more of a challange, try wearing ankle weights or grasping on to the chair with one hand.
6. Sit to Stand Exercise
Sitting and standing may sound like an easy task, but it’s definitely a great way to strengthen your hips. Being possible to sit down and stand up with relief whether it’s on a chair, toilet or bed can make life so much better.. This exercise can be exemplified anywhere as long as there’s a chair handy.
Instructions
A. Begin by standing in front of a chair, as if you were going to sit down. Your knees should be right in front of the chair.
B. Bend your knees and lean forward as you lower yourself down toward the chair.
C. Just before your backside hits the chair, stop and stand back up.
D. Repeat this movement 10 times.
When lowering down, ensure that you bend from the hips and maintain your ribcage raised.
If you want to make this exercise more challenging, you can try wrapping ankle weights around your arms to join resistance.
7. Straight Leg Raise
Straight leg lifts will strengthen the hips while assisting stabilize the pelvis and lower back. To perform this exercise, you’ll need to get down on the floor. You may want to lay on a yoga mat for extra cushioned assistance.
Instructions
- Begin by laying down on your back. Maintain one knee straight and one knee bent.
- Lift your straight leg until your knee is in line with the bent knee.
3. Return to the beginning placement.
4. Repeat ten times on each leg.
Be careful not lift your leg above your bent knee.
To make this exercise more challenging, try adding ankle weights or grasping the lifted leg in the air for 15 seconds.
These exercises should assist you feel healthier and more limber as you grow old. Healthy hips are very essential in your day to day life. If you stay active and flexible it will also ignore falls and maintain you out of needing a 3 wheel walker or any other walker.
3 Hip Exercises for Seniors That Anyone Can Perform
June 17, 2016 by Tim Brewer
Age is catching up to you, and while you may be active for your age and always on-the-go, hip pain has a way of reaching up to you, too. The truth is that the great majority of seniors have hip weakness or pain.
We’ve all heard the stories of seniors breaking their hips, or the dreadful stories of a senior going to hold onto a counter and falling. This is often caused by weak hip muscles that can cause you to lose your balance and try utilizing couches, walls and countertops as a walking assist for stability.
Losing some strength in your elder years is ordinary. But you don’t have to live with greatly weak hips that can cause you to lose organization, feel unsteady or even succumb to injuries. It’s great to try and consolidate these muscles as soon as you can before you need to utilize a rollator or a walker for support.
Exemplifying the perfectly hip exercises for seniors will permit you to remain confident in your balance and walking while also providing you with countless other advantages.
Benefits of Hip and Leg Exercises for Seniors
A. Improve lean muscle mass
B. Boost stability and balance
C. Reduce pain
D. Increases blood flow
E. Increase strength
F. Maintain a healthy weight
And these are just some of the many advantages exercise can assist you achieve.
3 Hip Exercises for Seniors
There are a lot of hip exercises you can perform as a senior. We’re going to be discussing a few exercises that are simple to moderately-difficult to perform in an attempt to build up those weak hip muscles once and for all.
1. Standing Hip Extensions
Standing hip extensions will perform both your butt and your hips. The good thing about this exercise is that it’s simple to exemplify and you can enhance its difficulty with relative ease if you find that it isn’t providing enough of a challenge.
Step 1
Stand with your feet centralizing the back of a sturdy, non-swivel chair.
Step 2
Hold the top of the chair and utilize it to balance.
Step 3
Grasping on to the chair, maintain your right leg as straight as possible and move it backward with the knee straight.
Step 4
Return to the beginning position and exemplify the exercise on the other leg. You’ll ideally practice 10 repetitions before relaxing.
This is as easy as it can get, and the chair will provide you with the joined balance you need to confidently exemplify this exercise while lowering your risk of falling in the process.
Key Form Factors
Form is everything when exemplifying an exercise perfectly. If you do not keep perfect form, you can hurt yourself or cause more injuries to occur. A few tips to remember when keeping form are:
1. Keep proper alignment of your upper body with the ribs raised during movement. You don’t want to bend your upper body when exemplifying the exercise.
2. Tighten your stomach muscles and remember to breath out during the movement.
3. Maintain your knee as straight as possible during the movement.
Making the Exercise Harder
Ankle weights can be joined into the mix if you find that the exercise is too simple. Begin with just two pounds and progress as important.
Standing Hip Flexor
Standing hip flexor exercises work the small muscles in the hips that are in-charge for picking up your leg. And when done perfectly, you’ll also be working your glutes and hip abductors that will be very essential when balancing.
This exercise is much like the previous exercise:
Step 1
Stand with your feet centralizing a sturdy chair and be back far enough to pick your leg up in the air.
Step 2
Grasp onto the chair with both hands.
Step 3
Maintaining one leg straight, bring the opposing leg up toward your chest with the knee bent. The idea is to put the knee as close to the chest possible.
Step 4
Position the raised leg back down on the ground and repeat for 12 – 15 repetitions on each leg.
Key Form Factors
It’s simple to cheat when exemplifying these hip flexor exercises, so you want to keep proper form to prevent accidental cheating on your part. Here are some tips:
A. Maintain the back straight without leaning too far back.
B. You can keep your knees slightly bent to lift pressure on bad knees.
C. Lift the leg as high as possible while being able to keep perfect form.
Making the Exercise Harder
Just like with the previous exercise, you can join ankle weights to your schedule to make this exercise harder on the hip flexors.
Hip Abductor
The hip abductors are very essential for balance, and this exercise is simple and easy while also being very secure. You will want to begin with a low-level resistance band.
Step 1
Sit on a chair.
Step 2
Wrap the resistance band around the thighs right above the knee and tie in unison.
Step 3
Spread your legs separately at the knees utilizing your hips.
Key Form Factors
There are only two main factors you’ll want to pay specific attention to when exemplifying this exercise. Form can be maintained at optimal levels by:
A. Maintaining your back straight against the back of the chair.
B. Abducting the hips from the knees with resistance to your outer thighs.
You should feel resistance in your outer thighs. A burning enjoyment will be felt after enough repetitions.
Making the Exercise Harder
If you want to make this exercise harder, your greatest option is to buy a stronger, more difficult resistance band that will add more resistance to your exercise
