Your hip is a complex joint that both stabilizes your body during movement and produces much force and power during many athletic activities. It works with the torso and shoulders to perform various movements, such as throwing a baseball, running and lifting a toddler up. To strengthen your hips, you must integrate them with the entire body, not isolate them.
Floor Bridges
Lay on your back with your feet close to your butt and your knees and feet hip-width apart. Place your hands facing up, with your elbows bent at 90 degrees. Lift your butt as high as you can without lifting your heels. Hold the top position for a second and then lower your butt to the ground. Repeat for five reps.
Do the same bridge again, but this time place both arms together, with your fists facing you. Your arms should be curled toward your center of your body like you are protecting your face. Do the same bridges, but reach your right arm up and across your head to your upper left. Touch the ground, return to start position, and reach the left arm to your upper right. Repeat for six reps.
Do both exercises consecutively without rest for three sets.
Two-Point Position
Get on your hands and knees, with your shoulders above your wrists and your hips above your knees. Extend your left arm above your head while extending your right leg and hip. Your body should make a straight line, from your ankle to your extended arm. Hold for three seconds and do not rotate your body. You should feel tightening in your right buttock. Return to the start position and repeat the pattern on the opposite arm and leg. Do a total of ten to 20 reps for two to three sets.
Free Weight Squats
Hold two dumbbells or kettlebells close to the center of your body and at shoulder level. Stand about hip-width apart with your feet pointing forward. Lower your hips to the ground as low as you can while keeping your spine tall. Once you have reached your lowest point, exhale and stand back up. Repeat for ten to 12 reps and do three sets.
Kettlebell Deadlifts
The deadlift is a hip and core exercise that requires you to bend forward at your hip, not using your back, and lift a weight with your hips while maintaining a strong, neutral spine. Stand with feet hip-width apart and place a kettlebell between your legs in front of you. Grab it with your right hand and put your left hand on your lower back to make sure that it does not flex. Bend forward at your hips while maintaining a neutral spine and your knees slightly bent, with your shins perpendicular to the floor. Stand straight up, using the strength of your hips to push forward and to lift the weight. Repeat the moves five times per arm for two to three sets, using a kettlebell that is as heavy as a typical luggage.
References
- "Athletic Body in Balance": Gray Cook; 2003
- "Defining the Hips": Adam Wolf; 2008
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