Work a desk job? At some point, you'll have to deal with tight hips. Stiff hips can lead to low back pain, make daily activities difficult, or make exercising painful. There's probably not much you can do about your work environment, but you can add corrective movements to your routine to regain mobility. There are a lot of mobility exercises you can use to help open up your hips. Here are 3 of our favorites! (Hint: There's a how-to video at the end of this post!)
Side Bend Sit
Side Bend Sits are great for what is called internal and external rotation of the hips. These terms refer to our hips' ability to turn inward and outward. These vital motions are often neglected during our daily routines. Side Bend Sits will really open up the inside and outside of your hips!
Begin with your legs in a 90/90 position, creating about a foot of space between your heel and your opposite knee.
With your back leg, begin to raise your knee up and roll onto the top of your butt.
Shift the weight to the opposite side of your starting position.
Repeat back and forth for 6 reps. Be sure to transition slowly between movements!
Quadruped Hip Extension
This exercise will help you stretch and mobilize the front of your hips, especially your hip flexors. If you're in a seated position for most of the day, the front your hips can get very tight and short. This exercise allows you to stretch them out, regaining mobility.
Begin on your elbows and knees.
Raise your knee up so it is in line with your hip.
Squeeze your heel towards your butt. Be careful to avoid overarching your low back!
Lower your knee down and repeat on the opposite side.
Repeat for 8 reps on each side.
Frog Stretch
The frog stretch is a bit more advanced and is great for stretching the inside of our thighs, specifically the adductors. To make this exercise a little easier, point your toes down rather than angling them outward.
Begin with on your hands with your knees spread out as wide as you can.
Have your feet facing outward.
Slowly and gently rock into your hips as far as you can comfortably.
Repeat for 10 to 12 rocks.
Hip mobility is important to work into your daily routine. Check out the video below for more details!