Have you ever thought about specific hip conditioning?
Well-developed hip control is crucial for sporting performance and injury prevention, but also for maintaining a pain-free, active lifestyle.
The major hip stabiliser is the Gluteus Medius, which is located at the lateral, or outside of the hip. Otherwise known as “glute med”, it is an extremely important muscle in maintaining the stability of the pelvis during activities like walking, running, and single-leg weight-bearing because it prevents the opposite side of the pelvis from dropping. Having better hip stability, therefore, makes our movements more efficient, and takes some load off the knee and ankle joints.
That’s what you call a win-win!
Give these 5 exercises a try to ‘fire up your glutes’ and improve your hip stability.
Lying Glute Clams
Fire Hydrants
Lateral Toe Taps
Running Person Drill
Single Leg Squat to Target
Things to remember;
- For all exercises you are trying to keep your hips ‘square’, avoiding any rotation or collapse in the knee & hip joints, so doing them in front of a mirror is really useful.
- Be patient, these exercises take concentration, control & lots of practice.
- Start with 5-10 reps each leg. Once you have mastered the basic movement, you can overload the exercise by increasing reps or adding some resistance with a mini band.
If you’re finding it hard to get back into the swing of things after lock down or just love tips and tricks for wellbeing chack out the Sportune Wellness Hub or connect with like-minded people in our Facebook group.
