As someone who prioritizes taking care of their body, you can probably rattle off a few workout moves that help strengthen your arms, legs and abs. But what about hip exercises?
While hip strength is often overlooked, it’s crucial for avoiding injury while engaging in virtually every type of workout, including running, cycling, weight lifting, golf and pickleball. Especially as we age, prioritizing hip strength is important for moving easily throughout the day without pain.
Hip strength is different from hip flexibility, which is also important. Hip flexibility refers to the hips’ range of motion while hip strength refers to the hip muscles’ ability to produce force needed to move the hip joints. Both hip flexibility and strength are important for mobility. Want to keep your hips strong? Keep reading for six hip-strengthening exercises that will help.
Why Hip Strength Is Important
Without strong hips, it would be difficult to move throughout the day pain-free or engage in your favorite workouts. “Our hip joints bear the most weight in our body and are responsible for most of our daily activity and our exercise, whether it's lifting, running, riding, or rowing. Keeping the hips both mobile and strong is important to keep the rest of the body healthy and aligned,” says Peloton instructor Rebecca Kennedy.
Physical therapist Shannon Leggett, explains that hip strength plays a role in the health of the low back, pelvic floor, knees and ankles. “Nothing in the body works alone,” she says. As Rebecca pointed out, hip strength is vital for engaging in most forms of fitness. The hips are where most of the control and force production of athletic performance occurs, says Leggett. “The stronger the hips, the better you can run, jump and pivot,” she says. Leggett explains that the hips are also where force is transferred between the upper and lower body in throwing, racket sports, and volleyball. “The stronger the hips, the more power can be generated to throw or serve,” she says.
But strong hips aren’t just important for working out. Hip strength is also important for everyday activities including walking, going up and down stairs, getting out of a chair, standing up off the floor, and jumping. “Without good hip strength, the ability to do basic activities of daily living as well as sports performance can be greatly affected,” she says.
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Hip Strength vs Hip Mobility
While hip strength plays a part in hip mobility, they differ from each other in a few important ways. “Mobility is the range of motion within a joint, whereas the strength of the hip joint is determined by the muscles and ligaments around the joint. One is not more important than the other as they're equally as important,” Rebecca says.
Leggett says that mobility is the ability of the hip joint—the ball and socket—to be able to move through its full range of motion. Hip strength is the ability of the muscles to produce the force needed to move the joint in the way that a task demands, Leggett explains.
How do you know if you need to prioritize hip strength, hip mobility, or both? If your hips are hyper mobile and you need more control, Leggett says to focus on hip strength. If your hips lack range of motion, she says to focus on hip mobility first and then focus on hip strengthening. “Once the mobility is better, strengthening is more effective,” she says.
If your hips feel “tight,” which can happen if you spend the majority of the day sitting, Leggett says this feeling is due to loss of mobility, but hip muscle weakness can exacerbate it. “I find that a combination of mobility drills and strength are needed here—especially if someone sits all day,” she says.
Rebecca emphasizes that everyone needs to prioritize both hip strength and hip mobility. “If you plan on lifting weights, running, cycling, hiking, or rowing, then it'll be crucial to keep your hips both strong and mobile. For example, a runner's stride consists of a knee drive, which is a hip flexion on the front side and hip extension on the back. This alone shows the importance of both strength and mobility,” she says.
Both experts say it’s possible to improve hip strength and mobility at the same time; they often go hand-in-hand. “Mobility requires good strength and control,” Leggett says. She adds that as the hips get stronger, mobility improves. “Mobility drills can restore range of motion to a joint, which allows you to strengthen more effectively and in larger ranges,” she says.
The Benefits of Hip Exercises
As both experts pointed out, hip strength is important for avoiding injury while working out. In fact, if you do hip strengthening exercises regularly, it can give you a competitive edge. “The gluteus maximus, one of the major movers of the hip, is the largest and most powerful muscle in the body. It is a hip extensor. The stronger your glute max is, the better runner and jumper you will be,” Leggett says.
Another benefit to doing hip strengthening exercises regularly, according to both experts, is that they help with balance, which in turn protects the body from injury. Leggett explains that hip muscles are important for both producing force required to move as well as controlling forces. “When the [body] is in balance we move efficiently and effortlessly which keeps us injury free. When the hip isn’t strong enough, the body has to figure out another way to get things done. We start to rely on other muscles in the back, knee and ankle to produce and control forces. Over time, these suboptimal mechanics put stress on structures that aren’t designed to perform the task they are being asked to do. This can lead to injury,” she explains.
Ready to add some hip strengthening moves to your workout routine? Below are six to try.
6 Best Hip Strengthening Exercises
1. Bodyweight Single Leg Hip Bridge
When it comes to building hip strength, this is the first exercise that Rebecca recommends. This move targets the hip extensors, specifically the glutes and hamstrings. Here’s how to do it:
1. Lie on your back with your hands by your sides and your knees bent. Keep your feet flat on the floor.
2. Slowly, extend one leg.
3. With your leg still raised, lift your hips using your abdominal and butt muscles, bringing your knees in line with your shoulders. Hold for a few seconds before returning to the starting position.
4. Repeat five times. Switch sides, lifting the other leg and repeating.
2. Standing Hip Controlled Articular Rotations
Another hip strengthening exercise Rebecca recommends, this exercise also helps with hip mobility and improving hip joints’ range of motion.
1. Stand on one leg. If needed, rest your hand on a chair or table for balance.
2. Bend the knee and bring it up toward your chest.
3. Swing the raised leg open, moving it to the side and away from your body.
4. Next, reach your heel toward the ceiling, pushing back.
5. Reverse the move, bringing your raised leg back to the body. Slowly lower it to the ground. Repeat on the other side.
3. Band March
Both Rebecca and Leggett recommend this move, making it one of the best hip strengthening exercises you can do. To do it, you will need a resistance band. This move helps with both hip strength and mobility as well as helps with balance and coordination.
1. Place a resistance band above the ankles. To modify this move and make it slightly easier, place the resistance band above the knees.
2. Sit back into a shallow squat.
3. Step one foot out to the side and step in with the opposite foot. Make sure you keep resistance on the band and don’t bring the feet too close together. Repeat for 10 steps.
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4. Side Plank
Side planks help strengthen the obliques, which are located right inside the hip bones. Leggett says they can be done with the legs bent or, for an added challenge, straight.
1. Pick a side and prop up on your elbow, which should be directly below or slightly out from under your shoulder.
2. Lift your hips off the ground so your body is in a straight line. Keep your legs straight or, if you want to make the move easier, bend your knees.
3. Hold the plank for 10 seconds. Rest for five seconds and repeat between five to 10 times. Or, do 10 reps, lowering the hips to the ground and rising them again.
5. Clamshells
Both Rebecca and Leggett recommend the clamshell exercise, making it another one of the best hip strengthening exercises you can do. It targets the hip abductors, which are important for stabilizing the pelvis and maintaining proper posture.
1. Lie on your side. Bend your hips to about 45 degrees. Your knees should be bent and your ankles in line with your hips.
2. Rotate the top knee open and then close, keeping your feet together. Do three sets of 10 reps. Then, switch sides.
6. Squats
You are likely already familiar with squats and Leggett says that they’re a great way to strengthen your hips and the glute muscles.
1. Stand with feet hips width apart, or slightly further if that is more comfortable.
2. Bend your knees and sit your buttocks back like you are going to sit into a chair. Return to the starting position. Make sure your spine stays long; the only joints changing shape are the hips, knees and ankles. Do three sets of 10 reps.
Mistakes to Avoid When Doing Hip Exercises
As you do these six hip strengthening exercises, Rebecca says to avoid arching the lower back, which shortens the hip flexors and reduces the range of motion in the hip joint. “It also puts unnecessary strain on the low back,” she says.
Additionally, Rebecca says it’s important to go a little bit outside your comfort zone. “[It would be a mistake to] only work in the comfortable range of motion and not find the end range and work to increase that,” she says.
How to Add Hip Strengthening Exercises Into Your Workout Routine
Rebecca recommends doing these hip strengthening exercises two to four days a week. “I recommend doing them before working out,” Leggett says, adding to Rebecca’s advice. “Hip strengthening exercises are a great way to warm up the hips before a workout, kind of like a dynamic warm-up,” she says.
If you do these hip strengthening exercises regularly, you’ll move easier and with more power during your workouts, especially when running, jumping and pivoting. You may also find that everyday activities like walking, going up and down the stairs and getting up from a seated position become easier.
Though they’re often overlooked, strengthening the hips is just as important as strengthening other key parts of the body. Integrate these moves into your workout routine and you’ll likely feel a difference!
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