Sitting all day at your desk, riding for long hours in your car or spending an extended length of time lazing on your couch, can cause your hips to become tight and stiff. When you finally do try and exercise these joints, this can result in some serious pain in these muscles and left unworked poor hips can lead to a wealth of mobility problems from lower back pain to knee issues.
As the centre of your body’s movement, you’ll want to keep your hips agile and flexible if you want to enjoy doing a lot of your daily activities. Looser hips will also lead to increased strength, power and better performance, not only in sports such as rowing and running, but in daily activities too such as moving furniture, climbing the stairs, picking up children or simply being able to bend down and tie your shoes!
If you are already finding that your tight hips are getting in the way of doing some of these activities, then here are some things that you can do to increase your hip mobility:
Do Daily Hip Stretches
Daily hip stretches, as well as stretching before and after exercise will help to increase your hip mobility. Kneeling and walking lunges, as well as butterfly stretches are a great way to stretch out your hips as are stretches where you pull your knee up to your chest.
With any stretch be sure to start off slow and build into a deeper, longer stretch incrementally as your flexibility increases in order to prevent injury. If you know you have bad or injured hips be sure to consult your doctor regarding what stretches would be best for your body
Get Into Yoga
Yoga is one of the best ways to increase your hip flexibility. There are a number of yoga poses that are specifically designed to increase mobility in the hips. Yoga can do wonders to restore the movement in the hips while helping also to increase your balance and strength while restoring the mind as well as the body.
Some of the best poses for your hips include sitting poses such as the knee to ankle pose, bound angle pose, head to knee poses and wide-angle seated bends. While you may find these poses difficult to master when you first register right here and get started, they will become easier with regular practice and patience!
Walk It Off
While you may be itching to go for a run, the impact of running can have a detrimental effect on your hips, especially if you are recovering from surgery such as a hip replacement. Instead of working out hard, opt for a gentle walk. Walking is a great way to strengthen the hip muscles and joints without putting unnecessary strain on your body.
A daily walk will also help to strengthen your knees, feet and back, all of which work together to support your hips. To keep fit, a brisk walk is much better for your hips than a pounding run.
