Essential Tests and Exercises for Better Hip Mobility (And Happier Hamstrings)

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The hamstrings get hurt when they experience too much tension. But the tension is not only related to the force that the muscles have to generate. It can be caused by poor mobility or stability of the hip. That is how:

Strain is defined as the length under load. You’re not going to change your load much when you run, you have a certain body weight and you want to run faster. So you want to try to keep the length of the fabric to a narrow window. When the tissues are placed in a position that is too long, that is when the tension increases and they break.

Three things cause the hamstrings to lengthen and become too tight:

1. Your hamstrings are too short for what you need to do. Some people need to lengthen their hamstrings. However, you don’t have to be a super yogi to be a runner. Lying on your back, if you lift your leg upright, you don’t need to hit 90 degrees, not even close. 65 to 70 degrees is what you want, because your leg will always be bent when you run distances. If you can’t get to about 65 degrees, you need to stretch them. However, most people overemphasize stretching. You need enough range of motion, not too much.
2. You lack hip mobility. Most people do not have hamstring mobility deficiencies, but they do have hip mobility deficiencies. Tight hip flexors are worse than tight hamstrings. When the hip flexors are tight, a pelvic tilt (rolling down in front, up in back) is created. When pelvic tilt increases, the hamstrings are in a longer position at each point in the gait cycle. This is especially noticeable on the contralateral side. If you have problems with your right hamstring, you probably have tightness in your left hip flexor, because when your right hamstring lengthens forward, your left hip moves backward, and it is that tightness that pulls the pelvis
3. You have poor rotational stability. Rotational control comes from the hip and foot muscles, not the hamstrings. The hamstrings bend the knee and extend the hip. When you have poor rotational control, that puts things under more torque and can strain your hamstring. The hamstring is overloading and can’t help. Having a stronger hamstring in that situation doesn’t help. You have to fix your rotational balance.

Hip mobility test for triathletes

To find out if you need to work on hip mobility, and the vast majority of triathletes do, take this test:

Kneel inside a door, with the middle of your back touching the door frame. The thigh you’re kneeling on should be vertical, and the shin of the opposite leg should also be vertical. In this position, you will have a small gap between your lower back and the door frame.

Now tuck your tailbone down so the gap between your lower back and the door frame disappears. For this to happen, imagine your pelvis as a bowl of cereal that you are trying to spill behind you. This movement is commonly known as a pelvic tilt. Once you are in this position, what do you feel?

Stretches for hip mobility

If you feel a huge pull in front of your thigh: Incorporate this kneeling hip flexor stretch into your weekly maintenance workout.

Kneeling hip flexor stretch

• Kneel on a pad or pillow, making sure to keep the thigh of the leg you’re kneeling on vertical.
• Tuck the pelvis down as described in the text above. Hold this position for 3 minutes.
• To increase the stretch, place the foot of the kneeling leg out to the side a few inches (this will rotate the thigh inward) before moving into a posterior pelvic tilt.

However, if in the test/stretch position you feel nothing or only a mild lengthening > There is no need to do static stretching on the hip flexors. However, you should do dynamic mobility moves like the Twisted Warrior to make sure you use the hip movement you have.

This exercise is not going to lengthen the tissue, but it helps to use the hip range of motion you have and to make your body twist, not arch. If you have tight hip flexors, you have to lengthen them. But before you run, whether you have tight hips or not, do the warrior twist to open your hips, use the hip flexor length you have, and translate your mobility gains into your form.

twisted warrior

Standing, drop into a high lunge. Place both hands on the ground inside your front foot. Make sure your back leg is extended directly behind you.

Lift your outside hand off the ground and rotate your upper body, reaching your arm toward the ceiling. Twist your core, not just your arms and head. Hold while counting to one.

Uncoil your body and place your hand back on the ground. Repeat with the opposite arm.

Twist 10 times total (5 times on each side), then flip onto the other leg and repeat.

TIP: Imagine you have a camera on your chest and the goal is to turn the camera all the way to the left and right to take a picture of the people on either side of you. If you just force your arms into a twist, you won’t get the photo.

Posture test for triathletes

Sometimes runners have good hamstring mobility and an adequate range of hip flexion, but have very little pelvic postural awareness, and that creates the same problem. Anything that allows your pelvis to go into an anterior pelvic tilt is going to put more load on your hamstring all the time.

This test is easy: Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and relax into your normal stance. Go ahead and give it a try. Where is your weight?

• If your weight is on the midfoot: Excellent! This is the best position to do something active. This is the neutral position of the spine.
• If your weight is on the back of your foot: Place one hand on your navel and one hand on your breastbone. Keeping your bottom hand and belly still, drop your ribs slightly down and forward until you feel your balance point move away from your heels and toward your midfoot. Make sure you move from the ribcage, not the neck! Now maintain this trunk position and let your arms hang down by your sides. Rotate your hands so your palms face forward, which will help screw your shoulder blades down and along your back. Now keep your shoulder blades back and relax your arms.
• If your weight is on the ball of your foot: You may be leaning too far forward from your ankles or leaning forward from your lower back. Move your hips slightly back from your feet and see how you feel. If this shifts your weight to the midfoot, great. If you’re back on your heels now, perform the kickback sequence above.

Once you find the neutral position of your spine, stand on one leg and then the other. Make a mental impression of what this position feels like and return to it every day, every run, until it’s etched into your muscle memory.

Rotational stability exercises

All runners can benefit from improving spin control. By targeting rotation, you can ensure that your core is working in tandem with the rest of your body, not in isolation.

You can do numerous exercises to improve your rotational balance. Start with the Twisted Warrior, above. Advance to the Banded Hip Twist and Rotisserie Chicken, below.

Hip twist with bands

Attach a TheraBand at waist level, stand upright in relation to the band and pull the band around your pelvis so it is just below your waist.

Put your hands on your hips, holding the band in place with some tension.

Stand on the leg where the band ends (if the band wraps from the right, stand on the left leg) and roll your pelvis in and out while keeping your hips level.

Do 40 repetitions on each side.

TIP: Move closer to the accessory to lighten the load and move away to increase the load.

chicken rotisserie

Lie on your back and place one leg in the suspension trainer, with the strap just below the knee. Extend your free leg next to the leg in the sling. Raise your hips into a bridge and extend your arms above your chest, palms together.

On the sling side, keep your kneecap pointing toward the ceiling and rotate your pelvis in an imaginary axis, as if you were on a barbecue grill.

Roll in past starting position. The hips should rotate fully in and out on each repetition; your back remains still and your hands remain extended above you.

Do 2 sets of 8 repetitions on each side.

TIPS: Pay attention to whether you are turning equally to the right and left sides. If you feel any tightness in your lower back, lower your chest slightly until it dissipates.

Hamstring pain? This is what you should do

Just because your hamstring hurts doesn’t mean you have to stop running. Sometimes you have to, but many times you can move on. If you’re dealing with subacute strain and you can run but it’s a bit painful, you don’t have to rest completely.

Just run a little slower with a shorter stride, focus on contacting closer to you. Or run uphill, which also creates a shorter stride. The strain is not due to exertion, but rather to the longer position, so most people with a low-level hamstring strain can pull up quite well. Take care to descend slowly, with short steps.

Movement is good for the tendon – you want to use it and load it up. To get stronger, you can start with isometric exercises like holding a 10-degree incline on a nordic curl, or do an isometric hamstring curl: While lying on your stomach, lift an ankle weight to 45 degrees and hold. Advance to a moving load on both the hip component and the knee component of the hamstring connections.

But even more important is to make sure that your pelvis is not tilted forward. Anything that stretches at the top is even more important than at the bottom. If you have a large anterior lean, you’re pulling your hamstring into a vulnerable range even by running slowly with short strides.

Check out Outside Learn’s full course with Jay Dicharry on how to maximize the stability, strength, and durability of your stride for more efficient, less stressful miles: