Progressive hip loosening exercises are a type of exercise routine that targets specific areas instead of general stretching routines. These exercises will stretch individual muscles rather than work on general flexibility across the board. They are more challenging than basic stretches but easier than more intense stretching routines because they focus on smaller muscle groups instead of trying to tackle everything at once with one stretch. Progressive hip loosening exercises will help stretch your tight muscles and increase flexibility in your hips, so you can get back to dancing again without worrying about being locked out anytime soon.
It is snowing up here in Canada today!
We already have a few inches of snow. This is our biggest snowfall, and I know we will get much more.
The kids are so excited and can’t wait to play in it.
Now, if you are heading off to work or are at work, I have a few exercises to help loosen up your hips.
The exercises are from Eric Wong, enjoy!
Rick Kaselj, MS
Hey, what’s up? Eric Wong here, and I am shooting this video for my buddy, Rick Kaselj, my fellow Canuck Kinesiologist. I just wanted to go through a couple of exercises discussed in our interview.
Progressive Hip Loosening Exercises
CLICK HERE to watch the YouTube Video.
The first exercise I will walk you through is a Lunge Sequence. This sequence is ideal for anyone with tight hip flexors or who sits too much. If that describes you, then do this exercise. You can easily do it in the middle of the day. If you’re sitting at the office, you can do it at lunch or right before you go home. You can do the sequence after work, when you get home, or before your workouts as a part of your dynamic warm-up.
This exercise is a Reverse Lunge combined with a Reach and a Twist. Watch this video; you need to pay attention to a few technique pointers.
1. Reverse Lunge
Reverse Lunge
Begin in an upright standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart. Take a big step with one foot and lower your back knee downward, ideally to a 90-degree angle. Keep your weight on your front foot. You should feel the stretch through your quad and hip flexor. Step back to the starting position and repeat the movement on the opposite side.
The most common mistake I see people make when they make the Reverse Lunge is folding their upper body forward, so they don’t get the full hip extension. Instead, stay tall with your spine straight up and down.
2. Reach
Reach
Begin in an upright standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart. Take a big step with one foot and lower your back knee downward, ideally to a 90-degree angle. Keep your weight on your front foot. As you step back, reach overhead with both arms, slightly arching your back and looking upward at your hands. When you reach overhead with your arms, you get an extra extension through the hip flexors. Lower your arms as you step back to the starting position and repeat the movement on the opposite side.
Progressive Hip Loosening Exercise 3. Twist
Begin in an upright standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart. Take a big step with one foot and lower your back knee downward, ideally to a 90-degree angle. Keep your weight on your front foot. As you step back, reach overhead with both arms, slightly arching your back and looking upward at your hands. Lower your arms to chest height, then rotate your upper body to one side. Return to the center position and step back to an upright standing position. Repeat the sequence of movements, alternating sides. Breathing is very important in this exercise. On the way down, you want to reach, inhale and then exhale. Inhaling helps get the spine into a better extension, which helps fight against poor posture. Exhaling when you twist increases core activation.
Twist
The key component of this exercise is the step back because your glute and core are fired up when you are holding this position. That’s why this sequence is so powerful.
I received a question from Rick, “What’s the one exercise you can do if you just did this one exercise?” Sitting is one of the main causes of your hip flexibility problems, so this exercise is tremendously helpful.
Now, I will show you one more exercise because of the technique I described in the interview, called (DDCR) Dynamic Dual Contract Relax.
4. Dynamic Dual Contract Relax
This exercise utilizes a pad under your knee. We will do a Basic Hip Flexor or Psoas Stretch by lowering one knee to the pad and shifting your hips forward slightly. This is just a basic stretch position.
Dynamic Dual Contract Relax
You now want to activate your glute by squeezing the glute hard for 5 seconds before releasing your hold. Focus on squeezing your glute as tight as possible, then relax and sink deeper into the stretch. Usually, when you do these contractions, it will increase your range of motion right away. Release and hold the relaxed position for five seconds, then activate your psoas by shifting your knee forward, almost like you are trying to kick something with your knee. Hold this position for 5 seconds to activate the psoas, then relax and settle into the stretch a little deeper.
5. Dynamic Dual Contract Relax (Band)
One of the other techniques I use in the hip flexibility solution utilizes a resistance band. Attach one end of the looped tubing around something secure like a rack or doorframe, and loop the other end of the tubing around the thigh of your back knee. Go through the previous exercise, using the band for resistance.
Dynamic Dual Contract Relax (Band)
I hope that this was very helpful for you! If you do those two exercises, your hips will be in great shape and feel significantly better in seven to fourteen days. If you want to see more, make sure you check out the link that Rick is going to post for you because thousands of people around the world have used this program with tremendous results. You will see those results on the page when you check it out. Thanks for taking the time to check this out, and hopefully, I will be talking to you soon.
If you are looking for a program to help loosen up your hips, then check out Hip Flexibility Solution here:
