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September 07, 2022 10 min read
The concept of mobility is not only a buzzword. Mobility is defined as the ability of your joints to move freely through their specific range of motion. Mobility and flexibility go hand-in-hand, and an inflexible, tight body is prone to injuries.
Take the hips, for example—with tight hip flexors, the glutes shut down and cause inefficiency of the hamstrings.
Hip mobility exercises can strengthen and stretch the hip muscles and improve flexibility and stability while reducing injury risks. Tight hip flexors are probably the most common cause of muscle imbalance in America.
Fortunately, compensating for a sedentary, hip-tightening lifestyle is not difficult.
However, if you have existing hip pain, you’d be advised to discuss hip mobility exercises with your physician or physical therapist before doing these exercises.
Working with an experienced personal trainer to establish a mobility routine that ensures safe movement patterns is always a good idea.
This article will show the 10 best exercises for hip mobility that will stretch, strengthen, and tighten the muscle groups that work your hips.
It is essential to understand how your hips work to understand the concept of hip mobility, and how hip mobility exercises can be beneficial.
The workings of your hips comprise the following three primary movements:
Hip Flexion and Extension: The forward and backward movements of the legs.
Hip Rotation: Moving the straightened legs towards the toes, and moving the feet left and right.
Hip Abduction and Adduction: This involves moving the leg out to the side, and in towards the other leg.
Knowing the different components of the hips makes understanding how they work easier.
If you have any unpleasant symptoms like cramping, pain, or tightness in your hips, the reason could be weakness or immobility in one or more of these muscles.
All the muscles you use for bending at your hips are grouped into the hip flexors. You use the flexor muscles whenever you move your knee forward or upward to walk or go up a staircase.
This muscle group includes:
Rectus femoris, which is part of your quadriceps
Psoas major, which forms the connection between your spine and hips
Iliacus, which attaches your thigh bone to your hips
Pectineus, your groin muscle
Sartorius, which connects each leg’s knee to your hip
Unlike the hip flexors that bend the hips, this muscle group extends the hip.
It includes:
Biceps Femoris, mostly referred to as hamstrings
Gluteus Maximus, the largest muscle in your butt
The hip abductor muscle group is responsible for moving your legs outward, or away from your body. These include
Gluteus medius, making up the sides of your glutes
Gluteus minimus, a small muscle located beneath the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius
Tensor fasciae latae (TFL), attached to your iliotibial band to stabilize your knee and hip
Unlike the hip abductors, the group of hip adductor muscles performs the opposite motion. They bring your legs toward your body, or inward, such as when you squeeze your legs together. Your adductor muscle group comprises five small muscles that run along your inner thighs.
They include:
Working out is not only about strength and muscles, mobility is key to safe training. Tight hips lead to lower back pain, which in turn, causes overcompensation by the knees, leading to knee issues.
The root cause of a significant percentage of knee and hip injuries, and even replacements, is tight hip flexors. With a proper understanding of the hip structure and how it works, the following exercises for hip mobility and strength may make more sense.
This is an effective stretch that promotes internal rotation of the hip. You have the option to use a resistant band or stretching strap when doing the clamshell exercise.
How to do the Clamshell:
Recommended Reps: Complete 2 sets of 10 reps per side, with 30-sec. rests before switching sides between sets.
This exercise is one of the best for loosening the hip flexors, while also improving the glute activation patterns. Although the glute bridge is a bodyweight movement, it’s still an excellent exercise for hip mobility and strength.
How to do the Glute Bridge:
Recommended Reps: Complete 2 sets of 10 with 30-sec. rests before starting a new set.
This hip mobility exercise combines a lunge position with a static twist. It works the psoas hip flexors and the lower back to open the hips.
How to do the Low Lunge Twist Stretch:
Recommended Reps: Complete 2 sets of 10 reps to each side, with 30-sec. rests before starting each new set.
Although this exercise trains your legs to better stabilize your squat, it also improves adductor mobility for better overall hip mobility.
How to do the Prying Squat:
Hold a light kettlebell or dumbbell goblet-style.
Set your feet in the squat position you prefer.
Keep your torso upright as you slowly squat until your elbows reach the insides of your knees.
Hold your shoulders down and your chest up while actively pressing your elbows into the insides of your knees.
Rock from left to right while holding the squat position for several seconds before you stand up.
Recommended Reps: Complete 2 sets of 10 with 30-sec. rests before starting a new set.
This exercise focuses on your hips and glutes while engaging your core muscles. It is best performed on a soft surface like a mat. The form is key in this hip mobility exercise because the wrong form will activate the wrong muscle groups.
How to do the Fire Hydrant:
Recommended Reps: Complete 2 sets of 10 for each hip, with 30-sec. rests before starting each new set.
As a variation to forward lunges, reverse lunges have more gluteal strengthening power, while they also serve as excellent hip mobility exercises. You can make them even more effective by holding a set of small hand weights while you do the reverse lunges.
How to do Reverse Lunges:
Recommended Reps: Complete 2 sets of 10 with 30-sec. rests before starting a new set.
This hip mobility exercise works effectively on stretching the outsides of the hips.
How to do the Leg Cradle:
Recommended Reps: Complete 2 sets of 10 with 30-sec. rests before starting a new set.
This exercise is also known as The World’s Greatest Stretch. It benefits not only the lower body. It is a full-body stretch that hits all the necessary muscle groups. It is also a good measure to judge your overall hip mobility and strength.
How to do the Lunge Elbow to Instep:
Recommended Reps: Complete 2 sets of 10 repetitions of alternating sides with 30-sec. rests before starting a new set.
This exercise works your hips, psoas muscles, hamstrings, and quads, and helps increase your range of motion. Maintaining good posture is key. Don’t bend at the waist, and increase your speed as you progress.
The Frankenstein walk typically forms part of cardio warm-ups, but it is also an easy and effective hip mobility exercise.
How to do the Frankenstein Walk:
Recommended Reps: Repeat this exercise in a seamless “walking” fashion for several steps.
This is an uncomplicated exercise, but an excellent test of your ability to maintain proper posture for squatting. It is also an excellent hip flexor stretch for day-to-day movement, keeping your shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles in a straight line. All you need for this hip mobility exercise is a wall.
How to do the Wall Hold:
Recommended Reps: Complete 2 sets of 10 reps per leg, with 30-sec. rests before starting a new set.
Tight hip flexors are probably the most common muscle imbalance in America.
According to, a survey by Ergotron the average American spends a full 13 hours of their day sitting down. With an average of 8 hours spent sleeping, the average American only dedicates about 3 hours a day to physical activity. All that sitting robs people of having a full range of motion and leads to problems, not the least of which is overly tight hip flexors.
While working on mobility and strength is essential for everyday life and working out, your overall health and immune system should not be overlooked.
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