7 Exercises for Tight Hip Flexors

7 Exercises for Tight Hip Flexors
Good morning and happy Monday! Did you have a good weekend? Mine started out with a hike (!!!) on Friday afternoon with my girl Marissa, which is always my favorite opener to a great weekend. “light hiking” <—all I’m cleared for with my back injury – I just want to SWEAT, dangit! – up at Rocky Mountain National Park. I’m also doing pool walking, pool running (a recent addition – I tried running yesterday and I’m not quite there yet) and a LOT of mobility work. That last one actually inspired this post! There was also breweries, work for my upcoming boot camp, lots of walking, and some tea with a good friend this weekend. Nice and low key But back to being mobile – Due to our modern society and our activities (or inactivity, rather) of daily life, we tend to have certain areas in our body that are much tighter than others. Along the same token, we also have areas that tend to be overstretched, but that’s another topic for another day. Among those tight areas include: Our chest – because we’re slumped forward over computers, the steering wheel, and our desks, many of us have rounded shoulders and tight pectorial muscles. Our hip flexors and adductors – because the activities above are done while seated, we’re flexed at the hips for many hours throughout the day. Because of this, our hip flexors can tend to be shortened Biceps Of course, every body is different, and we all have certain areas that are tighter than others (my hamstrings, for example,) but these are some of the most common ones. And today, I want to focus on the hip flexors, and give you a quick guide for stretching these areas out after you do your dynamic warm up before your (or after) your workout. While many activities or inactivity can contribute to tight hips, tight hips can contribute to many other types of issues due to the insertion points of the muscles, tendons, and ligaments surrounding the hips. Tight hips can indirectly be a cause for low back pain or knee pain, especially during high impact or heavily loaded activity. [Tweet “7 Exercises for Tight Hip Flexors – via @TrainerPaige”] 7 Exercises for Tight Hip Flexors (don’t mind the KT tape on my back, btw!) Static: Half Kneeling Stretch 3-Ways – In a half kneeling position, squeeze the glutes and gently push the hips forward. Sweep the foot inward, and do the same, then sweep the foot outward and repeat again. Supine Adductor Stretch Hold – On your back with your bum against the wall and your soles of your feet together, drape your forearms over your legs and gently apply pressure to stretch the adductors. Dynamic: Half Kneeling Stretch with Reach – in the half kneeling position, extend the arm of the leg that’s down overhead, gently bending laterally. Supine Clamshell – On your back with your knees bent and together, let them gently fall outward, feeling a stretch. Bring them back together and repeat. Leg Swings Forward/Backward – Standing next to a wall, place one hand on the wall to brace yourself. Swing your leg forward, feeling a stretch at the hamstring, and backward, stretching at the hip flexors. Leg Swings Side to Side – Stand facing a wall and place your hands on the wall to lean toward it. Swing one leg across the body and then out to the side. Supine Knee Hold- on your back with your feet extended, brace the core as you bring one knee into the chest and gently squeeze. Repeat. Honorable mention goes to the straight leg deadlift (with bodyweight or light-moderate weight!) I typically do these stretches once a day, and several of them – along with activation exercises – before my workouts. Sports bra is: B.O.A | Pants are Lululemon Studio Pants [Tweet “7 Exercises for Tight Hip Flexors – via @TrainerPaige”] Do you tend to have tight hips? What muscle groups or areas of the body tend to be tight on you? Original article and pictures take http://www.yourtrainerpaige.com/2015/10/7-exercises-for-tight-hip-flexors/ site