If you're a hiker, performing hip exercises on a regular basis can help improve your hip stability, increase your hip joint flexibility and help you avoid injury. To cope with the rigors of hiking or backpacking, hikers' muscular systems need to be strong and balanced and possess considerable endurance. As a hiker, you should target your hips for training, but you should not neglect other important body parts or segments in your training, including your core muscles, quadriceps, lower legs and shoulders.
Hip Flexion Exercise
Hip flexion occurs when the angle at your hip joint decreases or when your thigh comes closer to your torso, and it occurs when you perform sit-ups, leg lifts or knee lifts. Hip flexion is an important movement for hikers, who perform it repeatedly while out on the trail. The hip flexion exercise targets the muscles responsible for your hip flexion, including your psoas muscle, which runs from your lumbar vertebrae to the top of your femur, and helps stabilize your hip joint while buffering the shock of repetitive footfalls. Perform this exercise by standing up straight and lifting your right knee to about waist level, holding it in place for five to seven seconds before slowly lowering it to the ground. Switch legs and repeat the exercise on your opposite side. Perform a total of 15 repetitions of your exercise on each side, three times per week. Consider standing close to a railing for support if you're concerned about your balance.
Side Lying Hip Abduction Exercise
According to the American Council on Exercise, performing the side lying hip abduction exercise works the following muscles: gluteus medius and minimus, transverse abdominis, gluteus maximus, quadriceps and hamstrings. These muscles are used to draw your thigh away from your body and are used extensively in hiking. Strengthening these muscles will help you improve your muscular endurance and stabilize your hip joint. Perform this exercise by lying on your side on a mat or the floor with your legs in an extended position directly in line with your torso. Keep your feet together and pointing straight ahead and your lower arm bent and under your head as support. Your upper arm should be lying flat on your upper side, and your hips and shoulders should be vertically aligned relative to the floor. Your head and neck should be aligned with the rest of your spinal column. Slowly raise your upper leg, keeping your knee extended and your foot pointing straight ahead. Raise your leg until your hips begin to tilt or you feel tension developing in your low back muscles. Slowly lower your leg to the starting position, then repeat for a total of 15 times before switching sides and performing another 15 repetitions.
Side Lying Hip Adduction Exercise
The Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma, a NYC-based sports medicine research, training, and treatment facility, touts the side lying hip adduction exercise as an important inclusion in any lower body strengthening program. This exercise will help you strengthen your hip adductor muscle group, which is responsible for drawing your thigh toward your body and includes the following muscles: adductor brevis, adductor longus and adductor magnus, along with pectineus and gracilis. Perform this exercise by lying on your side with the side you want to work first on the bottom. Slide your upper leg just in front of your downside leg, resting it on the floor or mat. Slowly lift your bottom leg 4 to 6 inches off the floor, keeping your knee extended, before returning your leg to your starting position. Perform 15 repetitions of this exercise before turning over and performing 15 more repetitions on your opposite side. Perform this exercise three times per week.
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