Hip exercises for strength and steady balance

The hip carries you up stairs, out of a chair and onto one leg with every step. Long sitting days leave the muscles around it, the glutes, the outer hip and the hip flexors, fairly quiet.

Hip exercises give those muscles some work. The eight below come from yoga and simple bodyweight training. They need a mat and a wall or chair, and take about fifteen minutes.

When should you see a doctor before hip exercises?

See a doctor or physiotherapist first if you have:

• pain deep in the hip joint or groin, especially when walking or putting on socks;
• a hip that catches, locks or gives way;
• pain, numbness or tingling travelling down the leg;
• a hip replacement or recent hip surgery (ask which positions are safe for you);

An exercise should feel like effort in the muscle. A sharp pinch at the front of the hip, or pain in the joint itself, means stop.

How many reps and how often?

Start with 8 to 12 slow reps, or a hold of 5 breaths, for each exercise. One or two rounds is plenty at first. Two or three times a week is a sensible rhythm for strength work, with gentle stretching on the days in between. Breathe out on the effort and never hold your breath to finish a rep.

The routine: eight hip exercises

1. Bridge, 10 reps then a 5 breath hold. Lie on your back, knees bent, feet hip-width apart and close to the hips. Breathe out and press through the heels to lift the hips; breathe in and lower slowly. Hold the last one for five breaths. The Bridge Pose steps show where the knees and feet go.
2. Clamshell, 10 to 12 each side. Lie on your right side, knees bent, hips stacked, head resting on the arm. Keep the feet together and breathe out as you open the top knee like a shell, without rolling the hips back. Breathe in to close.
3. Side-lying leg lift, 10 each side. Still on your side, straighten the top leg in line with the body, toes facing forward. Breathe out and lift it a hand’s width, breathe in and lower.
4. Bird dog, 8 each side. From Table Top on hands and knees, breathe out and reach the right arm forward and the left leg back at hip height. Keep the hips level, as if balancing a cup on the lower back. Breathe in to return, then switch.
5. Chair Pose, 3 holds of 5 breaths. Stand with the feet together or hip-width, bend the knees and sit the hips back as if into a chair, arms up or hands at the chest. Keep the knees behind the toes and the weight in the heels. Chair Pose has a version with the back against a wall.
6. Crescent lunge, 5 breaths each side. Step the left foot back and bend the right knee over the ankle, back heel lifted. Keep the hips facing forward and the front knee in line with the second toe. Lower the back knee to the floor for the low lunge version.
7. Warrior II, 5 breaths each side. With the feet wide, turn the right foot out and bend the right knee over the ankle, arms reaching long. Press the outer edge of the back foot down and let the front knee point towards the little toes. The warrior poses page covers all three.
8. Tree Pose, 5 to 8 breaths each side. Stand on the left leg and place the right foot on the inner calf or thigh, never on the knee. A hand on the wall is fine. See the Tree Pose steps for the foot placement.

Where can you go after the basic eight?

When the routine feels steady for two weeks, add one of these standing exercises. Each asks one leg to control the hip on its own.

• Side steps with a band, 10 steps each way. Loop a light resistance band above the knees, bend the knees a little and step sideways, keeping the feet hip-width apart and the toes forward. Breathe steadily.
• Single-leg hinge, 6 to 8 each side. Stand on the left leg with a hand on a wall. Breathe out as you tip the chest forward and reach the right leg back, hips level, then return. Keep the standing knee soft.
• Step-down, 6 to 8 each side. Stand on a sturdy low step, such as the bottom stair, and slowly lower the right heel towards the floor by bending the left knee, then press back up. Keep the left knee in line with the toes.

A four-week plan

How long until hip exercises make a difference?

Many people notice the movements feel steadier within two or three weeks, mostly because the brain learns to switch the right muscles on. Building noticeable strength usually takes longer, often a couple of months of training two or three times a week. Climbing stairs or getting up from the floor more easily tends to be one of the first everyday changes.

Room for a condo

Everything here fits on one yoga mat. On tile floors, fold a towel under the knees for bird dog, and choose a stair with a handrail for step-downs.

Common mistakes

• Pushing the hips too high in Bridge. If the lower back takes over, lift less and squeeze the glutes more.
• Rolling back in clamshells and leg lifts. Keep the top hip stacked over the bottom one, even if the knee opens less.
• Knees collapsing inwards. In Chair, lunges and Warrior II, keep each knee pointing the same way as its toes.

Make it easier or harder

Easier: do fewer reps, keep the back knee down in the lunge, hold a chair in Chair Pose and the balances, and keep the foot on the ankle in Tree.

Harder: lift one foot in Bridge for a single-leg bridge, pause for a breath at the top of each clamshell and leg lift, sit lower and longer in Chair, or close the eyes for a breath or two in Tree, near a wall.

How do hip exercises fit with hip stretches?

Strength and stretching work as a pair. After this routine, slow hip stretches through every direction or the lunges in hip flexor stretches for long sitting days let the muscles soften again. The buttock muscles have their own page in glute stretches lying down and seated, and on rest days the slow joint circles in mobility exercises for hips, spine and shoulders keep the hips moving without tiring them. For a calmer cool-down, the foam roller exercises for legs and upper back are one gentle option.

On rest days, the piriformis stretch and knee stretches pages are useful companions to these strength moves.