The exercise ball — also known as a stability, Swiss or fitness ball — is a multifunctional piece of equipment that you can use to stretch and strengthen your hips. The ball brings an element of instability to your workout, requiring you to activate your core to keep your body stable during each exercise. The shape of the ball also provides an easy way for your hips to practice active range of motion, or ROM, exercises.
Function
Several groups of muscles are responsible for moving your hip joint, including your gluteal muscles, adductors, lateral rotators and your iliopsoas. When you bring your thigh toward your upper body, your iliopsoas flexes your hip joint. When you contract your glutes to reach your leg back, your iliopsoas stretches and extends your hip joint. Your glutes also contract when you abduct, or lift your leg out to the side. Your adductors, located along the inner thigh, contract to bring your leg across the mid-line of your body.
Benefits
You can perform a wide variety of exercises on the fitness ball to strengthen your hip flexors, and your primary hip stabilizers, the glutes. Because the ball is an unstable surface, the majority of hip strengthening exercises inadvertently target your entire core, which comprises your hips and your abdominal and lower back muscles. It’s possible to design a ball workout to specifically train your hips and get a full core workout at the same time. The ball also provides a smooth way to deepen hip stretches, whether you’re sitting on it or using it as a prop.
Hip Strengthening
Place the ball under your feet and your hands on the floor and tuck your knees into your chest to perform a prone ball pike, an exercise that strengthens your hip flexors. To strengthen your glutes, perform the glute bridge exercise. Lie on your back and place your heels on top of the ball. Use your glutes to lift your hips off the floor. Wall-supported ball squats also strengthen your glutes. Place the ball against the wall, leaning your lower back into it for partial support. Take your hips down and slightly back to squat.
Hip Stretching
Draping yourself over the ball can stretch your hips in a number of ways. Lie on your stomach with your limbs draped to stretch your glutes. Kneel on a mat with the ball to one side. Lean into it, reaching your top arm over your head to stretch the side of your hip. Lie with your back on the ball and your feet on the floor, gently reaching your hands toward the floor to stretch your hip flexors. You can also place the ball on the floor next to you as you stretch your hip flexors in a lunge. Roll the ball forward to deepen the stretch with control.
Considerations
Hip circles and pelvic tilts on the ball are two ways to keep your hips loose and flexible. Both exercises are active ROM exercises, and are as appropriate for athletes as they are for pregnant women and seniors. For both exercises, sit on the ball with your feet flat on the floor. Trace a full circle with your hips to perform hip circles. Do several in both directions. For pelvic tilts, tilt your pelvic bone toward the ceiling, gently activating your glutes. Hold the tilt for a few seconds.
References
- “Exercise Balls for Dummies”; LaReine Chabut; 2005
- “Optimum Performance Training for the Health and Fitness Professional”; National Academy of Sports Medicine; 2004
- “Atlas of Human Anatomy”; Vincent Perez; 2006
- American Council on Exercise: Butt & Hip Exercises
Member Comments