Do you have a job, a car, and a couch? Congratulations! Your hips are probably as tight as Mick Jagger’s pants.

Squat TwistYou’re in good company because it’s the same for pretty much everyone these days. Restricted hip mobility causes issues like lower back pain, knee problems… and it gets in the way of squats and other stuff you want to do!

Your hips are the workhorses of your body, so the healthier and less restricted your hips become, the more potential your body has for strength, power, and athleticism.

That’s why I made the stretching sequence I’ll show you below.

It’ll help loosen your hips, which means less pain and better performance in virtually everything you do.

Hip Mobility Exercise Descriptions

Since you may not want to watch the routine videos every time you come back to this page to remind yourself about the exercises, let’s do a little recap of the exercises, along with their modifications.

1. Lying Hip Rotations

lying hip rotations for hip mobilityThis exercise starts the sequence as an easy first movement to warm-up and build toward the rest of the series.

Key Points:

  • Lie on back with both knees bent.
  • Cross one ankle over the opposite knee.
  • Move in and out of the stretch by rotating the hip in and out.
  • For the hold, use your hand for assistance to press into the knee.

Modified Version: Sitting on chair or bench, elevate your legs on to a stool or chair (the higher the surface, the more challenging it will be), and externally rotate one leg at a time. Then, play around with crossing one ankle over the other leg and externally rotating from that position. You can have the bottom leg bent fully, or straightened a bit more.

2. Piriformis Stretch

piriformis stretch for tight hip flexorsThis stretch targets the piriformis (hence the name!), which is a small muscle located deep in the buttock. This muscle tends to get pretty tight from sitting all day.

Key Points:

  • Cross one leg fully over the opposite leg, so your knee is crossed over your thigh.
  • Pull the crossed knee toward your opposite shoulder, stretching the piriformis muscle.

Modified Version: Sit on a chair with your leg bent (as much or as little as needed for your comfort) on a stool or chair, then cross your other leg over the bent leg. Rotate your chest toward your knee, pulling your body toward your crossed knee. If it is too difficult to do this with one leg crossed over the other, you can just elevate one leg onto a stool or chair and do the same motion.

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