Last Updated on January 29, 2022 by Femniqe
You probably have tight hips.
Yes, that’s kind of a bold statement.
But after you finish reading this guide you will see why. A lot of us are walking around with tight hips and don’t even know it.
Even persons who are active.
Today we’re going to fix that for you.
You will be given a 5 minute hip flexor stretching routine that will absolutely loosen up those tight hips.
Why is everyone’s hip so tight
Here’s the big problem.
It’s the 21st century and we’re super advanced. Therefore, we spend most of the day sitting around a computer.
That actually takes a toll on our bodies over time.
On the surface it seems harmless.
But let’s think about it for a second.
I’m sure you have seen that old man walking down the street with a cane.
His back is hunched over to the point where he’s basically staring straight down to the ground.
Do you think he always walked like that?
Absolutely not.
We could assume that maybe he had an injury that never healed properly.
Or maybe he spent years in the hunched position which caused his body to become tighter, until eventually, it stayed that way permanently.
The thing is, repetitive motions done over a long time frame can change the whole positioning of your body.
Remember that the human body is a complex machine.
And this makes it extremely adaptable to whatever position we put it in.
What are hip flexors?
Look at it as the engine through which our body moves.
They help to control balance, agility, ability to sit, reach, bend, run, walk or any type of motion.
Hip flexors are a group of muscles[1] that is made up mainly of the following:
- Iliopsoas
- Pectineus
- Tensor fasciate latae
- Quads
These group of muscles run down the front of your hips, thighs and are connected to your spine, femur and pelvis.
You see, all of these muscles work in a synchronized pattern.
They give you the chance to lift your knees up to your chest while maintaining a stable pelvis and spine.
But when they get tight these group of muscles will become less effective.
This will cause the hip extensors, which is made up of your hamstrings, glutes and other hip muscles, to basically slack off.
And you really don’t want that to happen.
This is what happened in 2015 with a group of female athletes with tight hip flexors.
A study[2] was done by the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy.
The athletes with tight hip flexors showed decrease activation in both the hip flexors and hip extensors when they performed a simple exercise.
The exercise was squat.
And let’s not forget that the gluteus maximus is the biggest muscle in your glutes.
Each time they performed squats, their gluteus maximus had a hard time activating.
So, if you’re training the glutes make sure to do these stretches before you start the actual workout session.
Let’s get sciency a little bit more 😉
You see, when your muscle contracts it basically shortens.
Let’s look at the bicep for example;
The bicep muscle is attached to the shoulder and forearm.
Whenever you contract the biceps they shorten which bring those two points much closer together.
On the other hand when you relax the bicep it goes back to its normal length.
Therefore, your forearm and shoulder moves far apart.
Let’s apply the same concept to your hips.
Each time you sit, the hips go into a flexed position. Therefore, the muscles that help to flex your hips are now in a shortened position.
Now remember, most persons spend at least a third of the day sitting down.
Just try to think about how much time those hip flexor muscles are in a shortened state.[3]
That’s a lot of time!
So over time they become tighter & tighter to the point where you look like that old man walking down the street.
So unless you want to develop a hunchback as you age, start doing these hip flexor stretches below.
The 4 hip flexor stretches to loosen your tight hips
These moves are beginner-friendly and will definitely start loosening up those tight hip muscles.
This hip stretching workout will last only 5 minutes.
After you finish it, you’re going to feel amazing.
A chart will be given, showing the amount of sets to do for a specific time frame.
Let’s get started! 🏁
1. The butterfly hip stretch
How to do it
- Sit down on the floor with both feet bottom touching each other, knees up in the air.
- Use both hands to support your upper body from behind.
- Now you’re going to slowly lower both thighs apart as wide as possible or until they’re touching the ground.
- Hold the position for one second, then return to position A and repeat.
2. The hip rotator
How to do it
- Lie down on your back using your hands to hold your right knee, pulling it inwards.
- You’re going to slowly pull your right knee to the left until you feel the stretch in your whole hip area.
- Hold the position for one second and return to position A.
- Do the required amount of time for the right leg and then do the left leg.
Important note: You should pull until you feel a good stretch in the whole area but not on to the point of pain.
3. The frog stretch
How to do it
- Get into the tabletop position but make sure that your knees are much further apart until you feel a slight stretch in your groin.
- Slowly push your body backwards until your glutes is closer to the ground.
- Hold that position one second and return to position A then repeat.
4. Kneeling lunge calf pull
How to do it
- Get into the lunge position starting with both hands on left knee.
- The right knee and calf should be on the ground.
- Now you’re going to use your right hand to slowly pull up your right foot until you feel a stretch in your hip area.
- Hold the position for 30 seconds as listed on the chart below.
- Slowly release and do the same for the left leg.
The 5 Minute Hip Flexor Stretches Chart
Now you know how to stretch your hip flexors
Don’t take your hips for granted.
Whenever your hip flexor is too tight it will cause a lot of problems in ordinary healthy people and even very active ones.[4]
The hip flexor is also a critical bridge between your upper and lower body.
Think about it for a second.
Your hip is the center of your body’s locomotion.
One of the major muscles sitting in the window of your lower spine and hip is the psoas major muscle.[5]
It’s one of the two muscles that actually makes up the Iliopsoas.
It’s the only muscle in the human body that connects upper and lower body.
So it’s kind of a big deal.
This muscle affects almost every vital function of your body.
Whenever it functions properly it has the power to:
- Helps you achieve peak performance in your daily workouts
- Helps you lose stubborn body fat
- Helps you to lift heavier and gain more strength
- Helps you to improve your overall endurance
The point is that this is the core muscle in your body. That’s why you should start doing regular hip flexor stretches.
Most of us can’t avoid sitting down for most of the day. But you can use these stretches to help prevent tight hips.
Start doing them regularly
Yes, you can do the typical static stretching but that won’t cut it.
It takes much more than a foam roller or tennis ball to unlock your hip flexors.
And guess what, if you are doing it incorrectly with those items you can damage your hips.
You have to know what you’re doing.
Most of us have tight hip flexors, so it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
So start stretching! 🙂