Why You Should Strengthen Your Hips
How important are the hips? We can answer this simply - how much do you enjoy sitting, standing, walking, driving? It’s probably a lot! Hips are often overlooked Hips play a significant role in stabilising your body and preventing athletic injuries. They are responsible for a wide range of movement in our daily and athletic lives. By strengthening your hips you can avoid pain and injury as well as improve motion and circulation.
Effective Exercises To Strengthen Your Hips
Monster Walks
Monster walks are a simple but effective exercise to strengthen your hips whilst also working your glute muscles. They may look like an easy exercise, but with the combination of constant tension and resistance from the resistance bands on your muscles, you’ll see why they’re called monster walks.
To do a monster walk, stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart and place the resistance band around your ankles. Next, bend your knees as if you’re perching on a chair, with your back straight. Whilst keeping your arms on your hips, step sideways with your right foot. A good starting point for this exercise would be 2-3 sets of 10 reps on each leg.
Tip: If you're recovering from knee or hip injury, step diagonally instead of to the side to avoid putting strain on sensitive muscles.
Squat to lateral leg lifts
Another straightforward exercise is a squat to lateral leg lifts. This is a modified version of a squat and helps with balance as well as strengthening your hips, glutes and quads.
To complete this exercise, place your resistance band on your thighs, above your knees. Lower yourself into the squat position (remember to keep your heels on the ground and your back straight) and place your hands either on your chest or on your hips. Once you are in the proper squat position, stand back up straight, lift your left leg outwards to the side then lower your leg back down and return to the squat position. Alternate between lifting your right and left leg and try to complete 3-5 sets of these.
Clamshells
Performing the clamshell exercise is excellent for strengthening not only your hips but your glutes and pelvis too. An added bonus of this exercise is that it can ease lower back tension alongside strengthening your muscles.
Clamshells involve laying on your side and placing the resistance band around your knees. Put your knees together and bend them slightly. From here, keep your feet in the same position and lift your knee up away from your lower knee, hold this for 1-2 seconds before lowering your knee back down. Try this for 2-3 sets with 8-12 reps on each leg.
Lying hip abduction
This exercise focuses mainly on your hips, outer thighs and glutes. It is a similar exercise to the, so it would be a good accompaniment to it in your workout routine.
Executing this exercise is simple, place the resistance band just above your knees and lay down on your side with your legs straight. Lift your upper leg up as high as you can and then slowly lower it back down. Complete 2-5 sets of 5-10 reps on each leg.
Hip extension
Hip extensions are an effective exercise at targeting your hip muscles, glutes and hamstrings. As well as strengthening, hip extensions help open up the hip, preventing tightness.
To try this movement, loop your resistance band around your ankles. Stand up straight and pull your left leg back, it’s important to maintain your posture whilst you do it. Return your leg back to its starting point and repeat 12-15 times on each leg for 2-3 sets.
Time To Workout
Hip strengthening is an important addition to your workout routine in order to prevent athletic injury, practice balance and stability and prevent your hips from becoming weak and tight. Using these simple but effective workouts you can keep your workout routine interesting and to make sure you avoid neglecting your all-important hip muscles.