By Miguel J. Ortiz
No matter what your goal, having stronger hips and core will always be foundational throughout your life. Inactivity, for example, can cause a wide variety of issues in the hips. Over activity without quality recovery can to lead to the same issue. Having a quality sense of balance is important but also requires good foundational movement patterns.
Whether you’re a runner, strength training, turning 60 or playing sports, these next three exercises will be very beneficial in helping maintain healthy hips, a stronger core and ultimately a better feeling body. All you need is a wall and a mat and to get started.
The first movement is known as polishing the bowling ball. The analogy is that your hip is the ball. You want to take it through internal and external rotation while in a slightly balanced position. This movement will strengthen the ankle, knee and hip while also stretching and relaxing areas in the back because of the more mobile hip joint. When the hips are compensating or over active in certain areas, it can tend to bother the back which can lead to a lot of discomfort. Doing two sets of at least 5-6 reps during warm up. It is also a good stretch to loosen up. This movement should be in your weekly routine.
The second movement is more core focused as we want to work our way up. It is called the Banded Deadbug and is a great way to work your core as well as protect your spine and neck. Most people don’t do crunches or certain core movements because it tends to bother the back. This is a great alternative. Segmenting the hips, while putting tension on the core in an isometric fashion, is a great way to improve functional movement patterns. It’s an exercise that will expose imbalances within your core and hips. It will also improve coordination. I recommend doing this in your warm up routine or as a core finisher when completing a training session.
The last exercise is focused on putting these two movements together. It requires balance and strength to challenge the hips and core. It is the Single-Leg Banded Lateral Step. This is a simple foundational movement pattern that can progress with several variations depending on what your goal is, but it’s a great exercise you’ll find in many routines. Going back to a standing exercise that highlights more hip and glute work and challenges core stability really solidifies why these three exercises should be in everyone’s warm up routine at least once a week. I recommend hitting higher rep counts but moving slowly to challenge balance. Then move faster to challenge coordination, less reps for quickness and more reps for strength endurance.
Enjoy these three movements and know that implementing them more than three times a week is more than OK.
