“You’re not stretching your muscles enough.” “You need to have stronger pulling strength for your flexibility.” It was either one over the other. But the reality is you need to work on both. Here are 6 essential exercises to develop flexible AND strong hips 🧵⬇️
1a. Weighted Hip Flexion (Hip Flexor Pull) I enjoy using kettlebells for this. Standing on a platform, you bring your thigh/knee up above parallel to ground. Start with lower weights. You’ll thank me for this advice. 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps.
1b. ATG / Knee Over Toe Split Squat (Hip Flexor Stretch) Main cues are to keep torso upright, back leg as straight as possible. Go for hamstring and calf coverage. I personally like to use no heel elevation to also work on the ankle flexibility. 3 sets of 6-8 reps
2a. Straight Leg Fire Hydrant (Abductor Pull) This is one of the muscles majority if not all of us are weakest in. Important for high kick strength to hold the leg up. Try to keep hips facing the ground without turning them out. 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps
2b. Incline Pigeon Good Mornings (Abductor Stretch) To open up your hips, you need to create room for them by stretching the abductors as well. Start with bodyweight, then use weights. I will say, when you get to weights, it feels so refreshing the stretch. 3 sets of 8 reps
3a. Copenhagen (Groin Pull) Honestly… we all should be doing Copenhagen. I never really worked on these until I strained my groin. They’re excellent for rehab work AND developing strong groin. Start with half lever first (knee on platform), then progress to full. 3 sets, 25
3b. Weighted Butterfly (Groin Stretch) Butterfly can then help us with better side lunge flexibility. When using weights, use your hands for balancing the weights only. Heavy enough to feel stretch. 3 sets, 12-15 reps
You’ll notice for the stretches, I use weights. Weighted/loaded stretches help with improving flexibility more than just static/passive stretching. Just like in strength training how muscles develop best through adaptation, flexibility works the same way.
For most optimal flexibility gains, it’s best to work on BOTH pull and stretch. Can’t have one without the other. And remember, flexibility gains are best made when you treat the training the same as strength training. Give these a shot, and go make serious flexibility gains!
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