Spending much of the day sitting can cause your hip flexor muscles to weaken and tighten. This can result in tightness in the hips, which can negatively impact your posture and affect the way you move.
Many of us are guilty of not moving enough during the day, thanks to office jobs and the lure of a comfortable couch. Doing some mobility work to break up your sedentary routine can help you stay flexible.
This three-move sequence, from physical therapist and founder of Complete Pilates Helen O’Leary, will strengthen your legs, hips, and core, as well as lengthen your spine—ideal for anyone frequently hunched over a laptop.
1. Wide leg from side to side
How to do this
Lie face down on a yoga mat, raise your knees, and place your feet on each edge of the mat. Let both knees drop to the left so that your left thigh is almost touching the floor. Your right leg should hang over your left so that your right knee is approximately on top of your left foot. Exhale and bring your knees back to the starting position and repeat on the other side. Hold for two minutes on each side.
“Side-to-side is a great exercise if you’re feeling a little tight in your back or hips and just want a quick release, or if you just want a mindful release at the end of your workout,” says O’Leary.
“It makes you move from your ankles to your head. You can also do it with your legs together, but you won’t have the same hip mobility.”
2. Sumo squat
How to do this
Stand with your feet wider than hip-distance apart and your toes pointed slightly outward. Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower them toward the floor. As you do this, pull your knees tight to feel a stretch in your inner thighs. Sink as low as your mobility allows. Press through your feet to return to standing. Do this slowly for two minutes.
“The sumo squat is a strong exercise for the quads, glutes (back muscles), hamstrings, and calves—it’s a great all-around lower-body exercise,” says O’Leary.
“It will target the glutes and hamstrings more than a regular squat. The wide leg position will also work on hip mobility and the deep external hip rotator muscles, which have an important stabilizing role in the hip joint.
“This exercise will stretch your inner thighs or adductors as well.”
3. Thigh stretch
How to do this
Start in a kneeling position, with your knees on the floor directly below your hips. Your thighs and torso should form a straight line perpendicular to the floor. Extend your arms straight in front of you. Keeping your thighs and torso in a straight line, slowly lean back until you feel a large pull in the front of your thighs. You should feel your abs start to work too. Pause here for a second before returning to the starting position. Repeat for two minutes.
Sometimes called the “reverse Nordic bend,” this move targets the quadriceps (leg muscles on the front of the thigh) and hip flexor muscles.
Just like sumo squats, it strengthens your muscles as well as lengthens them, which can help combat joint pain and stiffness.
How to use this routine
This is a flexible routine that can be used as a standalone mobility training routine, pre-workout warm-up, or, in the case of sumo squats and reverse Nordic curls, even be part of a functional strength training session.
“You may find that these exercises are difficult enough when used as part of a strength workout,” says O’Leary.
“Or you can add load to make them more challenging. You can add weights, like a barbell, kettlebell, or dumbbells, to your sumo squats, and you can hold a medicine ball to make the reverse nordic more challenging.”
If you don’t have weights at home but want to try strength training, an adjustable dumbbell is an extremely versatile training tool to start with.
Take a look at our guide to the best adjustable dumbbells to see if any of our favorite tried-and-true products fit your training needs.
#moves #minutes #strengthen #legs #soothe #stiff #hips
Image Source : www.fitandwell.com