Strong Hips for Stability

The interrelated structures of the lumbar spine, pelvis, and hip joints make up the Lumbo-Pelvic-Hip Complex (LPHC), which we commonly refer to as the hips. The LPHC has a big job, stabilizing movement in both the upper and lower body. When there is dysfunction in the LPHC, the body compensates using another muscle or joint, which can set off a series of unfortunate events for the athlete. Ultimately, without stable hips, the athlete is less efficient, less powerful and at risk for an injury. 

Here’s what hip stability does for the athlete: 

1. Transfer of Force: hip stability allows the transfer of force between the upper and lower body, reducing the risk of energy leaks and inefficient movement patterns

2. Alignment and Posture: a stable LPHC helps prevent excessive movement and misalignment, reducing the risk of injuries related to poor posture or biomechanics.

3. Injury Prevention: Stability in the hips is crucial to prevent injuries such as hip impingement, IT band syndrome, and lower back pain. Athletes with with weak or unstable hips are more prone to overuse injuries, because the body compensates, putting excessive stress on the knees or ankles.

4. Movement control: The LPHC controls movement across all planes of motion, particularly while swimming, biking and running.  Proper movement control is important to maximize power and efficiency.

5. Core Stability: The primary muscles in core stability are the gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, piriformis and deep core muscles. Together, these muscles allow for balance and control, preventing excessive rotation and lateral movement, which optimize the power coming form the hips and shoulders power to move the athlete fowards.

To enhance hip stability, athletes should incorporate specific exercises into their training routines. These exercises may target the muscles around the hips, including the glutes, hip flexors, and core muscles. Additionally, proper warm-up and stretching routines can help improve flexibility and mobility in the hip area, contributing to overall stability and reduced injury risk.

The exercises in this set focus directly on the LPHC, and include 10 repetitions of three different exercises in three different positions. The only gear you need is an exercise band, which can be placed around the ankle, above the knee or around the mid-foot to add resistance to the exercise.

Exercise bands come in different tensions, so choose one that is challenging but still allows you to perform the exercise with a controlled movement. It’s important to keep your feet square and avoid pointing the toes outward.

TRY THIS WORKOUT TO STRENGTHEN HIPS

Start with 10 reps of each exercise and build up from there!

STANDING: 

• Monster walks – simply walk side to side with the band kept taut. Don’t waddle! 
• Sumo walks – take a small step forward and then back 
• Jacks – a small jack should really fire the hips! 
• Squats – slow and controlled 

HALF SQUAT: 

• Low monster walks 
• Low sumo walks 
• Low Jacks – hello quads! 
• Inchworm walk out to plank 

PRONE POSITION (in high plank): 

• Prone side taps – similar to the monster walk, use the hip and don’t point the toe out 
• Prone step ins – take small steps in and out to challenge the core 
• Prone jacks – watch the low back and keep the wrists in line with shoulders 
• Inchworm back to standing