The hips are a major problem area for many people. Your hips are located on each side of your pelvis and are impacted by your glutes. If you have weak glutes, it can cause muscular imbalances and limited mobility in your hips.
Much of these issues are due to lack of mobility and muscle weakness. Especially as you age, this can cause a lot of pain and discomfort.
Luckily, by just doing a little bit of hip mobility and strength training each day can help reduce pain and improve hip function.
Here are three exercises to help fix hip problems:
Hip Self-Myofascial Release
Self-Myofascial Release is a great way to relieve tightness in your hips. By doing a few minutes a day of rolling on a foam roller, massage ball or using a massage gun, you can help increase mobility and decrease risks of injuries.
Simply sit one side of your glutes on a foam roller and slowly roll back and forth. For a deeper release, you can cross your other leg over the working leg.
Side Lying Leg Raises
Side Lying Leg Raises strengthen your gluteus medius and minimus, which are important muscles for stabilizing your hips, knees, low back and core. This is a leg-lift variation laying on your side, which is easier for people with tight hip flexors.
To do this exercise correctly, engage your core and keep your hips stacked and perpendicular to the floor. You can also bend your bottom leg for support.
Lay on your side making sure your hips are stacked.
Engage your core as you slowly raise and lower your top leg.
Complete 12-15 reps and then repeat on the other side.
Standing Lateral Leg Raises
Standing Lateral Leg Raises really help to stabilize your hips and improve your range of motion. Both sides of the hips are being strengthened as the standing hip is working hard to stabilize as the other leg is lifting. It also strengthens your core which is essential for overall hip health. This exercise can be made more challenging by adding a light band around your ankles.
Stand with legs shoulder width apart.
Slowly and with control lift your right leg to the side and back again.
After 30 seconds, switch legs.
