How Do I Train My Hips?

Why are my hips getting bigger but their range of motion getting smaller? Just stay with me here for a minute…

I would think, as my hip movements are getting smaller, my hip size would get smaller too, but alas, the old saying, "…junk sits where muscles aren't activating…", could ring true.

This isn't about fat-shaming here because I'm talking about my tissues, including bone, muscle, cartilage, and much more, the human body, not the person.

Hip mobility does go away with age, and many factors contribute to this. Health, lifestyle, nutrition, genetics, accidents, and injuries all play a role in hip health. Just for the sake of this article, let's just talk about issues due to lifestyle in an otherwise healthy person.

The hip is a ball and socket joint. There is a hole (foramen) in the head of the femur bone where the femoral artery runs through it. Think about it, a large artery carrying blood supply and hydration to the entire leg, and we sit and stand on it all day long, compressing it.

The acetabulum (hip socket) is also lined with cartilage that needs to be moved to stay hydrated with blood supply and tissue fluid. If we sit for a living, then we sit for hours, keeping the socket compressed and immobilized in one position. Then we exercise, and if we move in the traditional sense, we probably pound our poor hips further in the same range of motion. Our hip only gets a chance to move in limited ranges of motion. Every day our hip treads and wears the same tissue over and over again.

To treat our hips with the attention they deserve, we need to isolate the hip joints. We need to move our hips through complete ranges of motion passively and actively. The hip joint needs access to the ranges of motion that aren't typically getting used with sitting, standing, walking, and traditional exercise.

If we want to tackle our hip health in a good way, try to think from micro-movement to a full range of movement regarding training. FRC and Pilates first, then to Gyrotonic, and then finally to Yoga. Although this training chain isn't linear, it's an excellent format to use when thinking about bringing our hips into a healthy range of motion. Using these modalities goes from body weight-bearing isolative and integrative mobility FRC to semi-weight-bearing Pilates and Gyrotonic, then back to total body weight bearing, full range of motion Yoga.

FRC handles all our hip isolation at the most basic level. Hip CARS and positions such as 90/90, half 90, and so many others in Kinstretch target our hip shortcomings. We learn to become an expert on what our hip joints can and cannot do by themselves. FRC and Kinstretch help us understand our hip's limitations and teach us how to deal with them.

Pilates with specific instruction can integrate our newly found hip mobility. Pilates teaches safe, effective movements that are respectful to the hip joint's supporting muscles, such as hamstrings, quadriceps, glutes, rotators, and low back. At the same time, Pilates breathing exercises teach core support through intra-abdominal pressure and pelvic floor integration.

Pilates exercises also strengthen our muscles in eccentric conditioning, muscle lengthening, and strengthening. The Pilates equipment is there to support and encourage strength and range of motion. Pilates mat will provide even more strengthening because we're working with our own body weight. We can build new leg strength and not lose an ounce of hip joint mobility gained in FRC.

Gyrotonic takes us even further, allowing the same principles as Pilates but more. In Gyrotonic, we get multiple forms of supported bodyweight exercises using cables and weights. Gyrotonic also gives more range of motion and increased planes of movement. Gyrotonic exercises let us go further and integrate more joints in complex movement strategies.

The ultimate movement will be Yoga. Yoga tackles all of the previous strategies; the only problem is it can be aggressive, so finding a quality teacher is necessary. We have to have the proper instruction and style of Yoga breaking things down to the smallest denominator and working up from there. We also have to be willing to lose the idea of doing aggressive exercises right away. Get out of the 'doing tricks' mentality, and give Yoga the time and respect it deserves to get those hips mobile and strong.

All of these modalities will get the hip muscles moving in ways they never have before. Hip muscles we were just sitting on before will be fully activated and used in their fullest range of motion. By integrating these techniques, our hips' look will change, our big hips will get smaller, and the joint mobility will be tremendous.