A Little Routine To Warm Up Your Hips

Hi everyone – Dean Somerset of Ruthless Mobility, here!

A few weekends ago I was at the CPPS certification program down in New Jersey. I spent some time at DeFranco’s gym with Joe DeFranco and James Smith. It was a really great experience and I recommend it to anybody.

One of the cool things I picked up from this experience was a new warm up series that Matt Welchinski put together. He is actually now the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the WWE. He is a smart guy who really knows what he is doing.

The concept of this was really simple, but it’s one I have never put together before. It was taking multi-directional mobility work, linking everything together, and creating almost a flow based system of warming up.

It’s really awesome!

I have actually tried it with a couple of my clients this week and they have all really liked it, not just because of the warm up aspect of things or because their performance improves, but because it is actually way more fun than just doing sets and reps of basic exercises. The cool thing is that you can actually progress it from very basic movements to interchangeable exercises that allow your to get a good workout.

I want to show that to you today.

CLICK HERE to watch the YouTube video.

#1 – Hip Rotations

Start by sitting on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. We are going to work on hip rotations. Drop your knees down to the ground one side, rotating your hips over. Repeat the movement in the opposite direction.

Hip Rotaion

Hip Rotations

By doing something like this simple exercise, you work on hip rotations as well as some engagement.

#2 – Half Lunge Position

From here we are going to move from the hip rotations into a half lunge position where the hip is actually going to get stretched out. Then move back down and around up to the other side, so now we are working on linking together moves.

Half Lunge Position

Half Lunge Position

#3 – Lunge Position

And then from here, we are going to take a stride into a lunge, stretch the hip flexor on the back side, back down, rotate, up, back down, rotate.

Lunge Position

Lunge Position

Now, we are actually getting a little bit more of a heart rate response as the multi-directional exercise is going on.

#4 – Pivot Deep Squat

Now, add a level to it. We are going to go up into the lunge, then we are going to take the back foot, pivot into a deep squat, lower back down and around, pivot.

Pivot Deep Squat

Pivot Deep Squat

Now we are working on squat mechanics and we are also working on hip rotations, core activation, and making sure everything is linking together, not just through a range of motion, but controlling everything as we are going through the pattern.

#5 – Pigeon Stretch

From here we are going to actually move into kind of a modified pigeon stretch, where we actually do a roll over and get some core activation out of it. So down, up, in, and then we are going to reach back, getting a little arch out of the body. Swing the leg around, down into a pigeon stretch. Move back up into a push up, drop, moving around, getting your heart rate up.

Pigeon Stretch

Pigeon Stretch

So that was a great way to get my own heart rate up, get my hips moving and activate my core. I now feel like I am ready to dominate some squats or some deadlifts.

If you are looking for a higher level of understanding and education on mobility exercises, then you should check out Ruthless Mobility, which is a full day seminar where I cover everything you need to know about mobility.

Ruthless Mobility

Dean Somerset of RuthlessMobility.com

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