Hip Hike Exercise – Anatomical Analysis
What are the benefits? How can we do it properly?
Hip Hike Exercise
Do you want strong hip abductor muscles and a stable pelvis?
Do you want to prevent knee valgus, ITB syndrome, and hip or lower back problems?
The hip hike exercise is a very simple movement when done correctly, yet it can have far-reaching benefits.
This exercise strengthens the hip abductor muscles.
The hip abductors are essential to pelvic stability. They are among the muscles that enable us to walk, run, go up the stairs and perform any movement that requires our legs to move away from the midline of our body.
Strengthening your hip abductors can also prevent common knee pains.
How to do the exercise-
1- Stand sideways with the resistance band positioned around your body, resting on one hip.
2- Support the bodyweight entirely on the inside leg – farther from the band
(in this video – it’s the right leg).
The other leg touches the floor lightly for stability. You can also lift the leg off the floor.
Alternatively, you can stand with one leg on a raised platform and the other hanging off.
If you have trouble with balance, in the beginning, you can hold on to something stable.
The band pulls the pelvis inwards.
3- Push the pelvis out against the band until the left side of the pelvis is higher than the right.
The hip abductors, among them the gluteus medius, pull the pelvis and create lateral flexion.
Important- Keep your pelvis stable.
Variations-
You can change the load by changing the position of the band on the pelvis.
You can also change the load by stretching the band.
In the video, you can see the hip abductors in motion-
The main muscle in red is the Gluteus medius
It is helped (in pink) by the Gluteus maximus, Tensor fascia latae and Gluteus minimus.
In this posterior view, we can see the Quadratus lumborum, which assists in pelvic lateral flexion
Weak gluteus medius muscles are a common reason for knee valgus, ITB syndrome, hip, and lower back problems.
Inefficient pelvic and/or hip stabilization can affect the lower back, hip, knee and ankle problems.
Strengthen your hip abductors in order to help prevent all of these problems.
The hip hike exercise can yield great benefits for any trainee and especially for athletes and runners.
Have a safe and fun workout!
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