It’s difficult to exaggerate the importance of hip flexibility and strength for every athletic activity….especially running!

The hips provide most of the incredible power and force that our lower body can generate for running and jumping, and deficiencies in strength and flexibility in this area of the body can mean the difference between a great performance or a painful end to the game.

Beyond athletic activities, issues with your hips can also negatively impact your daily life. Possible issues include pain, decreased mobility for activities such as stooping and squatting, and even difficulty with simple daily encounters such as jumping over a puddle in the street.

Today we’re focusing on hip mobility and strength. If you have tight, weak hips…they will not lie…you’ll feel it lower in your body too. Tight weak hips lead to all kinds of problems in the legs for runners. Hopefully you’re already thinking about those pesky modern hips ladies….you know we have to throw that in today!

Day 11 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10 – relatively easy day, hope to see many rounds of 3!

• Hip Hurdles
• Hip Hikes on step
•  Lateral Walk with resistance band
• Wall Sit – :60

Extras:

• Quick Morning Workout
• Negative Pull Up Challenge
• July Miles Challenge – check in anytime with your monthly miles to help you stay on track!

Bonus: Modern Mom/Dad Hips

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Speed Work: I post speed work each Monday,  but that doesn’t mean you should do it on Monday’s. I just try to post it at the beginning of the week so you can plan ahead to fit in in your schedule. Speed work should be done 2-3 days after your long run, and 2-3 days before your next long run. So if you go long on Saturday or Sunday, speed work should be on Tuesday or Wednesday. This gives your legs enough time to recover from the tough weekend workout, and enough time to recover from speed work and ready to go long again the next weekend. If you are doing speed work on Monday and struggling…you’re probably doing it too close to your weekend workout. Recovery from “effort” workouts is essential to getting the most out of your next workout!

If you have questions about how to plan your runs, reach out to me and let’s chat about it.

This week’s speed work can be found by clicking here for Monday’s post and scrolling down.

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Day 11 “how to” videos:

Hip Hurdles: The video below uses a hurdle as a prop to swing you leg over, but it’s not necessary. You can use a chair, the side of your bed, anything that you can reach up and around, or you can just “pretend” there is a hurdle there. Just don’t go super easy…pull your leg up to the side as high as you can!

Hip Hike on Step: This exercise is designed to strengthen our glutes and shape your derriere. The hip hike gives us a great stretch and opens up our hips….and helps us get closer to the coveted “runner’s butt”.

Lateral Walk with Resistance Band: Get low on this move and walk side to side. If you don’t have a resistance band, that’s ok. You can still get in a low squat position and do the lateral walk without the band. Focus on good form and keeping those hips moving.

Wall Sit: The wall sit is a really great exercise to target the entire thigh area, your quad, your inner thigh, the back of the leg, the hamstring, and your gluts.