It’s fair to say that a lack of hip flexibility is a significant problem for many people, regardless of whether they are new to a workout programme or are an experienced athlete. As Gray Cook says in one of our feature interviews (above) one of the most common reasons this occurs is due to a lack of core strength. In turn, your body naturally compensates by tightening up your hip flexors and in order to bring your body’s alignment back into a neutral position.

So how can I improve my flexibility?

As Gray makes clear, improving your hip flexibility will come down to 2 focuses, the first being a short term temporary change and the second being a more long term adaption change. The first is achieved, as you would likely assume, through a routine of stretching. However, for long-term change and better hip flexibility you need to, straight after stretching, make use of this increased flexibility and get your body better used to this increased range of motion in the hips.

What stretches should I do?

For improved hip flexibility, it is recommended to regularly include a number of the following muscles into your stretching routine: adductors, psoas, rectus femoris and piriformis. The extent to which exercises you can do will depend on a number of personal factors. For greater assistance, feel free to get in contact with me to see if I can offer you a more tailored approach.

What follow-up exercises should I do?

After around 15-20 minutes of stretching, Gray points out that the tightness in your hips should have been released, you now have a window of perhaps 30 minutes whereby your hips are at a much-improved level of flexibility. Make use of this time to do some exercises that test this new found movement as well as improving your core strength.

One of Gray’s favourite moves here is to follow up with deadlifting, as it is both incredibly good for your core, but also very primitive in its movement and can help take your muscles back to an earlier stage at which they were naturally more flexible. Aside from this, the deadlift is great for bone strength and doesn’t load your shoulders in an awkward position, making it effective for people of all ages.

Again, it could be a good idea to get a one-on-one session with a personal trainer or get some professional advice if you have real problems with your hip flexibility, and if you do want to get in contact, then we would be more than happy to assist you wherever possible.

To find out more from the famous Gray Cook on the topic of hip flexibility, check out the video.