Here at T3, although we love our workout content, we know how important it is to cover stretching and mobility exercises to complement this, especially for our hips. After all, many of us have sedentary jobs which can cause this joint to become stiff and inactive, resulting in pain when we (eventually) get to stand up and move about.
According to NRG Sports Therapy: “Our hips provide a stable base for the spine to keep the body in an upright position, but also provide enough movement to allow our lower limbs to move around the spine.” Therefore, the more mobile your hips are, the more movement you’ll have performing everyday activities, reduce stress on your lower back and can even help lower the risk of injury.
These three hip mobility exercises aren’t too difficult to master (although if you have bad knees you may want to give them a miss or check with your GP first if they’re suitable). The first two exercises are basically the same, the second one just has an extra step added on the end. There’s not a set amount of sets or reps, so we recommend starting with 10 reps of each exercise and doing three rounds in total. Ready? Here’s what you’ll be done:
- Seated internal external hip rotation: Sit on the floor, open your legs a little wider than hip width apart and bend your legs up. Internally rotate your right knee towards the floor, while externally rotating your left knee. Then internally rotate the left knee, while externally rotating the right knee.
- Seated internal external hip rotation with lift: Perform this exactly the same as the exercise above, but with the leg you internally rotate, lift your foot also.
- Squat with internal rotation: Get into a deep squat position and rotate one knee internally towards the ground, then bring it back to the starting position. Repeat on the other side.
We hope these three movements helped after a long day of sitting at a desk or adding into your workout's warm up routine. A foam roller is also a cheap and versatile piece of equipment that can also help with bodily aches and pains. Not sure how to use one? We have a foam roller explainer guide that tells you everything you need to know. Otherwise, if you're tight for time, give this 30-second hip stretch a go.
