Hip Hinge

In strength and conditioning, there's a fundamental movement pattern that often gets overlooked but has potential for unlocking your strength and performance. It’s the hip hinge. While it sounds simple, mastering this movement can have a profound impact on your overall strength, power, and understanding of movement.

The hinge involves flexing your hips, while maintaining a rigid spine. Moving this way loads the muscles of your hips, or what’s called the posterior chain, your hamstrings and glutes. Learning how to use and load those muscles will prevent you from lifting with your back, or putting the pressure in the wrong spot.

When hinging, much like squatting, paying attention to your feet is a game-changer. Finding some tension off the floor, and placing your weight on your mid-foot will guide your hips and knees to exactly where they need to go.

In the gym, more weight is usually viewed as harder, but hinging, like many other movements, actually can require some load to get the best feel for it. If you’re having trouble feeling the hip hinge, grab a 10 pound plate and give it a big hug. This can create the right feedback to engage the hips and create total body tension.

Step-by-step:

1. Get organized; screw your feet into the floor, stand tall and squeeze your butt.

2. Imagine you’re carrying your groceries inside. Your hands are full and the door is about to close, you bump it with your butt to push it back open and carry - that’s how you initiate a hip hinge.

3. As your hips move back, let your chest start moving toward the floor. Keep your chin down and eyes ahead.

4. As you reach the turnaround point you should begin to feel a stretch in your hamstrings, this is a good sign.

5. To stand up, simply press your feet into the floor and allow yourself to come up with a little bit more speed that the descent. Be patient and don’t lead with your chest or head.

The hinge can be one of the more difficult fundamental movement patterns to learn but once you have it, you can unlock new found strength, power and athleticism.

Justin Miner

@justinminergain