Hip Mobility Drills

Humanity is propagating forward at an amazing rate. But are we forgetting something as we roll on with massive amounts of momentum? Today’s society has a trend of more sitting and less exercising. Not only does this lead to higher rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and chronic illness, but also poor hip mobility. What’s the big deal with poor hip mobility? It causes injuries in your hips and throughout your entire body, restricts your movement and causes pain. Hip mobility is a major factor in your ability to perform essential movements in the gym like squats and lunges. It is also fundamental to movement everyday, like walking up stairs, sitting down and picking things up. Even more so, hip mobility restrictions are often the root cause of pestering, annoying aches, especially lower back pain. Hip mobility drills are the start to healthy hips and improving your range of motion.

As we age, especially men, we slowly lose our mobility and ability to move. Why wouldn’t you want to be able to move in a way your body was designed? Standard closed-chain gym machines and flimsy stretching exercises do not address this issue. You need to move your hips out of the normal fixed plane and into multiple directions and angles. The sooner you start on your mobility the better. The longer you delay it, the harder it becomes. If you neglect your hips for long enough, you’ll wake up getting hip replacements or confined to a wheelchair. I can’t imagine anybody wants that, so start training your hip mobility with these hip mobility drills, it’s not too late.

What can you do about it?

It is not just a one off attempt to fix all the problems that have built up over your life. It needs gradual, consistent practise to recover your natural mobility. Even if you are one of those lucky hyper-mobile people or you already have great mobility, you can’t just sit and count your money. You need to maintain that mobility. Small periods of daily mobility work are the best method, but longer sessions of less than daily mobility work are also a good option. You should not seek out quick fixes or easy solutions, but look for small improvements in your mobility and movement. Mobility doesn’t just eliminate problems, it also creates many benefits, that you can read about HERE. Research suggests that simply breaking up long periods of sitting with basic mobility and movement can create a healthier, longer and higher quality life.


These hip mobility drills work on the hips and surrounding areas in different ways to provide a well-rounded approach to unleash your hips. In general, you should perform 8-10 reps for a few sets of each exercise, or 30 second holds for the passive drills, but this will vary. As with whole body mobility, choose the drills that best suit you and your particular weaknesses. Daily mobility drills is the best method, like when you wake up, before bed or intermittently throughout the day. You can also incorporate the hip mobility drills into warm-ups, in between sets or in cool downs of training sessions.

1. Deep squat hold

General weakness to improve: squatting technique/mechanics, hip flexion, hip internal/external rotation, ankle dorsifelxion

Recommended time: start with 30 seconds and aim to progress to 1-2 minutes

Aim to squat as deep as possible, do not worry about a rounded back. Keep you heels flat on the ground and focus on taking deep breaths. Best to hold the position without any shoes, unless they are flat soled with no elevated heel. If you struggle at the start. This position is actually the ideal position for emptying your bowels, even shown in a study. Next time you are waiting around, going to the toilet or even in the morning when you wake up, give the deep squat hold a try. Your body will thank you. Do not worry if your toes don’t point straight forward, just let them point in a direction that feels natural. Focus more on keeping your knees pushed out, rather than caving in.

If you struggle to hold a deep squat, start by holding onto an object in front of you, like below.

2. 90/90 active lifts

General weakness to improve: hip external rotation, hip internal rotation

Recommended reps: start with 2-3 sets of 4-5 lift offs for both front leg (internal rotation) and back leg (external rotation). Aim to progress by holding each lift for a few seconds rather than just lifting straight up and down. Then increase the reps and time held for each lift off.

This exercise is tough at the start and you may experience cramping, which is normal. Focus on trying to only move from the hips and leg, maintaining a fairly upright upper body.

3. Seated hip internal rotation

General weakness to improve: hip internal rotation

Recommended reps: start with 2-3 sets of 4-5 rotations on both legs. Aim to progress by holding the end point for a few seconds. Then increase the reps and range of motion with time. For the resistance band internal rotation, start with 30 seconds and slowly increase the time.

Try to control the entire movement, slow is better. Aim for all the movement in the hip joint and limit the movement/forces in the knee joint. Performing the exercise against the wall is optional.

Additionally, if you have a resistance band you can incorporate this exercise:

4. Couch stretch

General weakness to improve: hip extension, hip flexor flexibility and mobility

Recommended time: start with 20-30 second holds, intermittently squeezing and relaxing the glute of the stretched hip. Progress by rocking forward to increase the stretch, pulling the elevated foot closer to the glute, increasing the time held for the glute contraction and holding the stretch for longer.

The couch stretch is one of my favourite exercises and has so many variations. You can perform it anywhere – at a desk, on a lounge in front of TV, anywhere on the ground or even in your seat on a plane. This is a great exercise to quickly alleviate lower back pain but also improve hip extension in the long-term. Focus on keeping keeping the core tight, squeezing the glute and preventing the lower back from extending.

Similarly, you can do the half kneeling hip flexor mobilisation as seen below or perform a variation of the couch stretch in a chair as seen HERE.

5. Seated foot over bench

General weakness to improve: hip flexion, hip internal rotation, isolated hip movement

Recommended reps: start with 8-10 reps on each side and progress by performing the movement slower. Aim for control not speed.

This is a great drill to lock the upper body in place and isolate the hips. Focus on keeping your upper body square and only moving from the active leg and hip.

6. Standing or quadruped hip rotations

General weakness to improve: hip range of motion control, joint lubrication, assess weak spots

Recommended reps: start with 3-5 reps on each side and progress by performing more reps. As usual with mobility, aim for control not speed.

Hip rotations can seem a bit boring, but they are very effective and simple to perform. If you experience cramping, do not be alarmed. Really try to push your hip through their full range of motion in all directions and limit movement from all other areas of your body. This drill acts as a good screen for finding your weak spots that can be improved with other mobility drills too.

You can perform the drill on the ground too:

7. Frog rocks

General weakness to improve: hip internal rotational, adductor flexibility

Recommended reps: start with 8-10 rocks back and forward and progress by hold the toughest point for a few seconds.

Try to keep your toes pointed out square to the side and your spine in a neutral position. Slowly rock back and forward, gradually increasing your range of motion as you perform the drill more.

8. Seated figure 4 leans (Piriformis stretch)

General weakness to improve: hip external rotation, glute flexibility

Recommended reps: start with 3-5 reps on each side, holding the stretched position for 3-5 seconds.

This another good mobility drill that you can even practise at your desk. Play around with knee position to vary the movement and stretch. Slowly rock back and forward, gradually holding the end position for longer periods.

9. Adductor mobilisation

General weakness to improve: adductor flexibility and mobility

Recommended reps: start with 8-10 reps on each side and progress by performing more reps. Increase the range of movement as you get comfortable, holding the stretched position for longer periods.

Start with your bent knee under your hip and move it wider as your mobility and flexibility improves.

10. Straight leg hamstring lean with lift

General weakness to improve: hamstring flexibility, hip flexor mobility and strength

Recommended reps: start with 5 reps of 2-3 sets on each side and progress by performing more reps. Increase the range of motion and time held for the lifting portion as you progress.

Focus on pushing your upper body towards your straight leg, then lifting your straight leg up. This is not one of the conventional hip mobility drills in that it works on the hamstrings, but the way it uses both agonist and antagonist muscle groups really helps your hips. Performing the drill on a soft surface or with a soft object under the resting knee can make the drill more comfortable.

Where can you get more hip mobility drills?

These hip mobility drills are a start. Move your hips daily. Get out of the straight plane. Find your weakness and train them first. Then develop all areas of your hips and body. Remember, mobility is a gradual process and is needed throughout your whole body. For more good, challenging hip mobility drills that hit multiple areas and can be used in many different ways.