Hip Opener
Mobilisation routine for the hips — essential for desk-bound jobs and deep squats.
Execution
- From all-fours bring one leg forward into the 90/90 position.
- Extend the back leg straight, both hip points square to the floor.
- Lean forward over the front leg for more glute stretch; gentle back-and-forth.
- Rotate through pigeon, frog and butterfly for full hip mobility.
Tips
- 5 minutes daily beats 30 minutes once a week.
- Breathe into the stretch — release a little more on every exhale.
Why the hips suffer first
Sitting holds the hips at roughly 90 degrees of flexion for hours. The hip flexors shorten, the glutes go sluggish, and hip extension — the movement needed for walking, running and standing up — loses range. The consequences rarely show up in the hip itself, but a level above or below it: as back pain or as knee pain.
Even the deep squat more often fails at the hip than at the knee or ankle.
A short routine
- Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch. One knee on the floor, the other in front. Tuck the pelvis under and push the hip forward — the stretch comes from the pelvic tuck, not from arching the lower back. 45 seconds per side.
- Pigeon pose. Front leg bent in front of the body, back leg extended. For the external rotators. 45 seconds per side.
- Deep squat hold. As deep as possible, heels on the floor, elbows pressing the knees outward. 60 seconds.
- 90/90 switches. Sitting with both knees at 90 degrees, switch side to side. 10 switches.
Common mistake
Compensating into a lower-back arch during the hip flexor stretch. It feels like a strong stretch but it's happening in the lower back instead of the hip. The pelvis has to actively tuck under — squeezing the glutes helps with that.
Programming
Five to eight minutes, on most days. Mobility responds more to frequency than to duration.