Hip Strength for Balance
Hip Strength for Balance and General Hip Comfort
If you have any hip discomfort or knee for that matter, strengthening your gluteus medius (muscles on the sides of your thighs) will help. I have include 2 today. I promise if you do them once a day for 30 days you will feel a difference in your balance and your hip overall feeling.
1) Standing hip hikes
Purpose: To strengthen hip stabilizers
Position: Standing on one leg, with other leg light or lifted. Use the wall or a pole to help with balance.
Movement Description: With a neutral pelvis and your core support, shift weight into the right leg. Align the middle of your knee with your second toe (activate your external rotators). Lift up and off the supporting right leg and rest left foot on right foot. Then slump (hip check) your right hip out to the side and use the side of the right hip to pull the hip back in. Repeat 15x. Repeat on other side.
What to watch for:
- Remember to keep abdominals engaged
- Try to square hips and middle of knee cap aligned with second toe.
- Keep neck and shoulder relaxed
- Do not allow back to arch, use abdominals to support the neutral curves of the spine
- Lengthen the back half of your skull up to the ceiling, letting the chin drop slightly
2. Side leg lift
Purpose: To strengthen your leg stabilizing muscles
Starting position: Lying on your side with your abdominal drawn in, shoulders are stacked and hips are stacked. Reach top leg backward.
Description of Movement: Connect your abdominal in and up to support this exercise while keeping your spine in neutral. Lift the top leg up to hip height while keeping the top waistline long. Slowly lower the top leg to the bottom.
What to watch for:
ü Keep belly drawing in towards your spine.
ü Watch that the lifting leg does not move forward as you lift it up. Keep reaching the top leg back opening the hip in the front.
ü Feel this movement at the side of the upper thigh on the top leg.
ü Keep bottom waistline slightly lifted and top hip rolled forward slightly