3 Basic Hip Flexor Stretches To Unlock Your Power

Hip flexor stretches may not be the most fun thing to do in the world, but learning how to do them properly can dramatically improve your life. You can reduce stress, feel more relaxed, and be more energetic throughout your day through stretching.

Your hip flexors serve many purposes, some of which include;

• Stabilize the spine and back
• Provide support to your core
• Involved in every step you take
• Generate the power necessary for running/kicking

Where is your hip flexor?

It’s located at the top of your femur (largest bone in the body) and it connects the hips, back and groin together as one big happy family.

While it may be hard to miss it, many people neglect it since stretching may not be a normal routine for many.

While stretching might not be fun, hip flexor stretches are one of the most relieving feelings when you finish. You feel very loosey goosey when you’re done.

Not only are you relaxed, you are more ready to attack the next task.

Just note, too much of anything is a bad thing so when you stretch, listen to your body, and just breathe, everything will be just fine.

While hip flexor stretches are going to increase functionality of the muscle, strengthening the hip flexors are going to be the ultimate way to generate the power for explosive movements. There’s a link to learning how to unlock your hips more right here. This is an affiliate link to which I earn a commission from these sales at no extra cost to you.

When in doubt, just please pay more attention to your hips.

We will go over a few hip flexor stretches you can implement into your daily routine to really get the most out of your body. They will range from beginner, intermediate, and advanced if there is an opportunity for advanced stretches.

For a deeper stretch, completely flex the muscle you are trying to stretch. This is known as PNF stretching

Hip Flexor Stretches

Lunging Stretch

1. Beginner

• So you’ll start by simply placing one knee on the ground with the other at a 90 degree angle in front of you.
• Place your hands on your hips.
• Sink your hips forward towards your front leg.
• Keep a nice tall posture.
• Hold for 30-60 seconds as needed.
• Switch sides and repeat.

2. Intermediate

• Same steps as above but raise your hands over your head
• Reach high and push your hips forward.
• keep a nice tall posture.
• Hold for 30-60 seconds as needed.
• Switch sides and repeat.

3. Advanced

• Knee on ground, front leg at a 90 degree angle.
• Place your back leg in your hand. (left leg in left hand, right leg in right hand)
• Pull the leg up into the glute while keeping a neutral hip position.
• If you want to increase the stretch further, start to move your leg out & away from your body.
• Move the leg into the opposite hand and rotate the other way. (left leg in right hand right leg in left hand)
• Switch sides and repeat.

Foam Roller/Ball Hip Flexor Stretch

1. Beginner

• Lay on the ground with a foam roller.
• Place foam roller directly on the hip flexor. (I receive a commission from affiliate links at no cost to you)
• gently roll 3 seconds forward, 3 seconds backward
• Roll for 10-15 reps
• Switch sides and repeat

How to Properly Foam Roll the Hip Flexors

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2. Intermediate

• Do the same steps as a beginner only now, put little weight on the ground, and putting most of the weight on the hip flexor.
• gently roll 3 seconds forward, 3 seconds backward.
• Roll for 10-15 reps.
• Switch sides and repeat.

3. Advanced

• Repeat the same setup as the previous two.
• Use a lacrosse ball for a deeper stretch.
• Grab your same leg in your same hand, (left to left, right to right) and then move the leg to another hand. (left to right, right to left)
• Gently roll 3 seconds forward, 3 seconds backward each rep.
• Roll for 10-15 reps.
• Switch sides and repeat.

Resistance Band Hip Flexor Stretches

For this one, just repeat the beginner, intermediate, advanced format, but now it’s with a resistance band around our leg. (I receive a commission from affiliate links at no cost to you)

Setup:

• Wrap/tie the band around a strong structure.
• Put you leg through the loop and place band under glute.
• Face the structure and get at a distance to where there is resistance but not too much where it slingshots you forward.
• Hold for 30-60 seconds as needed.
• Switch sides and repeat.

Dynamic movements to stretch the hip flexor

Dynamic movements are simply adding motion to get more of an active stretch. Some examples are:

• High knees
• Toy Soldiers
• Alternating lunge holds with twist

These are some some of the more popular exercises to target the explosive hip flexors.

I’ll post an all hip stretch exercise later. This post is directed at hip flexors specifically.

hip flexor stretches benefits

• Improves power
• Increases speed of leg movement
• It makes you more flexible
• Reduces Stress
• Lowers back pain
• Strengthens core
• Improves Mood
• Reduces pain when sitting

using your hips for power

Hip Flexors are your power center. Learning how to maximize your power from them and they will make you a better athlete, kicker, and fit person.

When we stretch our hip flexors, it lowers our pain when sitting, back pain, and loosens us up for peak performance.

The Psoas muscle and your hips are best friends

There is a little muscle deep inside of the body known as the psoas. It is the only muscle that connects the spine to the legs.

Stretching the psoas muscle unlocks your true power. I will write more in-depth on this topic soon.

There is a very valuable hip flexors manual pdf I came across a few months back and I’ll be honest, it has changed the way I perform as an athlete.

As someone who kicked footballs for over 10 years, learning how to use my hips when kicking is critical.

That is why I highly recommend the Unlock your hip flexors guide for anyone who wants to take their physical health to the next level. This isn’t only for kickers, or athletes. This is for anyone who wants to increase their walking comfort lower back pain, improve comfort, and get stronger.

Just so everyone knows, I can admit I used to have the weakest hips in the universe, after learning the importance of strong hip flexors, I raised my squat max by over 125 pounds.

Hip Mobility & Flexibility Exercises for Athletes

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If you feel like someone who might want to improve their kicking power, athletic abilities, comfort when walking, or even getting out of bed a little faster, check out the link to see if it’s a good program for you.

Conclusion

Your hips are one of the most important muscles in your body, please take care of them and they will take care of you.

Eat right, keep learning new things, and keep being awesome 🙂

-Eric

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