Assume your hip flexors are tight? Assume once more. Runners are infamous for mistaking soreness for tightness, and turning to stretching as the answer. However whereas operating, your hip flexors energy each knee drive and stabilize your pelvis–and in the event that they’re weak, that fixed stress will depart them feeling sore. Weak hip flexors result in quad dominance (the place your quads take an excessive amount of of the load, and your hips and glutes too little) and the next danger of damage. So scrap the stretching and break the vicious cycle with these three key hip flexor strikes.
1. Iliopsoas march
The iliopsoas (pronounced ilio-so-az) is your strongest hip flexor–and protecting it sturdy lets it work successfully along with your quads as you stride. Safe a lightweight resistance band across the balls of each toes and lie in your again along with your legs prolonged. Preserve a impartial backbone–don’t tilt your pelvis or flatten your again towards the bottom, as this may make it simpler on your hip flexors and cut back the effectiveness of the train.
Preserve one foot on the bottom and draw your different leg towards your chest, bending your knee. When you will have most hip flexion, pause for one second earlier than extending your leg slowly, resisting the band. Repeat 10 occasions and change legs. Full three units.
Seated straight leg raises
Sit on the bottom with one leg prolonged, and maintain the opposite knee to your chest along with your arms. Carry the prolonged leg off the bottom a number of inches, pause, and decrease slowly. Faucet your heel frivolously on the ground earlier than repeating 10 occasions per leg for 3 units.
Standing knee drive
Stand with one foot on the ground and the opposite on a knee-height chair in entrance of you. Specializing in pulling from the crease in your bent leg, carry your foot a number of inches off the chair, pause for one second and decrease slowly. Relaxation your foot frivolously on the chair earlier than repeating. Full three units of 10 reps per leg. Preserve your again impartial and your pelvis regular throughout the motion–the one motion ought to be at your hip.
To progress this train, attempt tapping your foot on the chair between reps as an alternative of resting it–this shorter relaxation will fatigue your hip flexor extra rapidly. You may also improve the problem through the use of the next chair or floor to lift your foot from.