A full range of hip movement is essential if you want to improve lower-body strength, running performance and general ease of movement. Try these hip flexor stretches to ensure you stay supple.
Tight hips are a common complaint among runners, weightlifters and cyclists alike. If you want to ease hip flexor tightness and get the most out of your workouts – whether you’re hitting the pavements or the gym – improving the flexibility in your hips with a regular hip flexor stretch routine is crucial (as is using a foam roller for post-workout recovery). These are some of the best hip flexor stretches for increasing mobility.
What’s the problem with tight hip flexors?
Hip mobility is important for sport performance and everyday life. Many of us live sedentary lives, which can impact hip mobility by shortening the hip flexors and also weakening the surrounding muscles. Plus, having tight hip muscles can also impede full range of motion.
By using the best hip flexor stretches to improve your mobility, you can move more efficiently and allow your body to biomechanically be in the correct positions to make everyday movements more efficient and safe. If someone’s mobility and strength in the hips are limited, other muscles – particularly those around the lower back – will be overworked. As a result, these muscles are susceptible to injury, especially when lifting heavy loads.
All in all, if you want to move more efficiently and boost athletic performance, you will want to have a good range of motion in the hips.
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At Men’s Fitness we pride ourselves on delivering information that serves a singular purpose: to improve some aspect of your health, fitness or wellbeing. For over 16 years, we’ve been publishing authoritative health and fitness content – written by our expert editors and contributors – in the form of the monthly Men’s Fitness magazine. Each of our workouts has been created by either a highly experienced editor or expert contributor, and has been tested and used in real-world situations. These stretches have been suggested by personal trainer Omar Mansour.
These are the best hip flexor stretches
- Lunge hip flexor stretch
- Butterfly stretch
- Pigeon stretch
- 90/90 stretch
- Wide-angle seated forward bend
- World’s greatest stretch
- Three-legged downward facing dog
- Cow’s face pose
1. Lunge hip flexor stretch
Recommended hold: 30-45 secs each side
Why I like it: This is a great choice for runners who are looking to improve their stride length. It’s also a useful exercise to counteract the curvature of the lower spine, particularly for those who have desk-bound jobs.
- Kneel on a mat with both knees, then place one foot forward so that you have a 90-degree angle at the hip and knee
- Keeping your torso upright, lean forward until you feel a stretch through your groin and into your hip flexors
- To increase the stretch in your hip flexor, you can also tilt your pelvis under and squeeze your glute
2. Butterfly stretch
Recommended hold: 30 secs
Why I like it: This is a really effective exercise if you are experiencing tension or tightness in the groin. It’s also useful for improving flexibility of the inner thigh adductor muscles and reducing lower back pain.
- Start in the seated position. Have the soles of your feet together and bend your knees
- Gently place your palms on the inside of your lower thighs and apply pressure until you feel the stretch in your groin
- Be sure to also lengthen your spine and torso
3. Pigeon stretch
Recommended hold: 45-60 secs
Why I like it: This is a popular hip-opening yoga pose, and for good reason. While the extended leg receives a hip flexor stretch, you’ll also be stretching your outer hip, groin, thigh, back, piriformis and psoas muscles.
- Start in a low lunge with your right leg forward and bent at 90 degrees and your left leg behind it
- Move your right foot behind your left hand and lower down to the floor. Shift your left leg back a bit for extra room
- Make sure your left toes, heel, ankle, knee and hip are in the same line
- Keep your torso up and fold forwards as far as you can
4. 90/90 stretch
Recommended hold: 30-45 secs
Why I like it: I’m a big fan of the 90/90 stretch, as its unilateral nature makes it really useful for addressing muscle imbalances. You’ll also be improving joint mobility and improving lower back stability if you incorporate it into your stretching routine.
- Sit on the ground with your knees bent in front of you, wider than shoulder distance apart.
- Rotate one leg into internal rotation and the other into external rotation. Your thighs should be 90 degrees to each other.
- You can also reposition the body to achieve this angle if needed.
5. Wide-angle seated forward bend
Recommended hold: 45-60 secs
Why I like it: Done properly, you’ll feel the stretch from this forward bend through your hamstrings, hips, lower back, spine, inner thighs and groin. It’s great preparation for wider-legged stretches and deeper bends too.
- Start in the seated position with your legs wide and straight
- Lengthen up through your spine
- Bend forward from your hips and place your hands between your legs on the floor
- Slowly exhale as you start to walk your hands forward.
6. World’s greatest stretch
Recommended hold: 30 secs
Why I like it: So named because it hits multiple muscle groups, the world’s greatest stretch is great at reducing tension and tightness wherever you’re feeling it. I’ve included it here because of its focus on loosening the hip flexors.
- In a high plank position, step your right foot towards the outside of your right hand
- Move your right elbow inside towards your right foot, then rotate and reach for the ceiling
- Return to the start and repeat on the other side
7. Three-legged downward-facing dog
Recommended hold: 10-20 seconds each side
Why I like it: This variation of the downward-facing dog yoga pose is another stretch that will work multiple muscle groups. It’s good for strength building in your arms, legs and shoulders, helps open you hips and will work you core muscles too.
- Start in a high plank position, with palms directly under your shoulders. Press into the mat with your fingers to protect the wrists
- Push your hips up and back into downward facing dog, until you feel a stretch through your back and shoulders. Focus on gently pushing your chest towards your thighs and your heels towards the floor, bending the legs if needed
- From here, raise your right leg up towards the sky and bend the knee while turning the hip out, allowing it to move above your left leg. Look under your left armpit here, towards your right foot, for a deeper stretch
- Gently return the right leg and repeat on the other side
8. Cow’s face pose
Recommended hold: 30-60 seconds each side
Why I like it: If you want to mobilize your hip and knee joints simultaneously, I recommend trying the cow’s face pose. It really helps open your chest out and brings your shoulders into play too.
- From a seated position, with legs bent towards you, cross your right leg on top of your left leg, then guide each ankle towards the opposite hip. Your knees should be stacked on top of one another (NOTE: if this is too intense on your knees or hips, straighten the bottom leg)
- Either leave your arms by your sides or try a shoulder stretch here, by bending one arm up behind your head and the other arm down behind your back. Try to reach the fingers towards one another, or hold onto a strap
- Hold here, then repeat on the other side, this time crossing the left leg on top of the right
Roll out those tight hips with the Amazon Basics High Density Foam Roller
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