Your hips bear a significant amount of weight when you walk or stand. For this reason, they can become stiff or painful when you exercise. Strengthening and loosening them up will make your workout easier and more pleasant, so try these stretches and exercises that target this critical region.

Stretches

The classic hip stretch is the seated butterfly stretch, sitting with your back straight and the soles of your feet touching. Your goal is to draw your heels toward you and let your knees sink toward the floor, opening up the hips. Bridges are also helpful; lie on your back with your arms at your sides, and your knees bent, then push your hips upward, tightening the buttocks and letting your weight rest on your feet and your shoulders. Additionally, sitting flat on the floor and reaching forward to touch your toes while keeping the legs straight stretches both the lower back and hips, loosening both muscle regions.

Exercises

To strengthen your hips, lunges and reverse lunges are a popular choice. They can also be a fantastic warmup activity and to loosen up before walking or running. Squats, with or without weights, are also an excellent choice. To narrow your focus on your hips, try a skater squat. The first step is an ordinary squat, but after each rep, you should lift one leg out sideways while keeping your toes pointed straight ahead. Switch legs with each rep. You can also strengthen your hips by marching slowly in place, with or without an exercise band, or making the same motion while lying on your back, pulling your knee higher toward your chest with your hands.

For more exercises that target the problem areas of your body, and help you toward your fitness goals, choose Anytime Fitness in Chesterfield, MO. Serving St. Louis County 24/7, they have 3,000 worldwide locations you can access with your membership. They also offer free fitness consultations and a 7-day free trial to help you decide whether to join. To get started, visit their website or call (314) 485-8986.