3 Morning Stretches For Tight Hips

To this day, I have yet to see someone in their 70’s and 80’s and say the following.  

“You know Kev? I wish I had stretched a little bit less”

Mobility is one of those capabilities that we tend to lose as the years go by.  In simple terms, the body’s “use it or lose it” way of adapting generally leads to tight hips, ankles, upper backs, shoulders, etc.  

One way to use it so you don’t lose it would be to implement morning or evening stretching and mobility exercises.  They’re not as sexy as pounding away in the squat rack but they can help us stay upright against gravity a bit longer into our respective lives.  

This doesn’t mean that we need to spend an hour every morning on top of meditation, sipping our morning matcha tea and whatever else we trick ourselves into doing to feel productive.  A few simple, concise exercises can go a long way.  Below are a few ideas.  

Rocking Adductor Stretch 

The adductors do a great job of getting gritty and overactive in many cases.  Using an exercise like the rocking adductor stretch in the morning can help open up a little bit of hip flexion and abduction.  Adductors tend to respond well to gentle stretching and activation exercises and can play up the chain in those experiencing low back pain symptoms.   

Rocking Hip IR Stretch 

In opposition, as the years go on, hip internal rotation and adduction tend to deteriorate, leading to inefficient walking and running mechanics that can bang up joints above and below the hip.  Back pain and knee pain have a tendency to be traced back to poor internal rotation and abduction at the hip.  

This rocking stretch can help maintain some mobility in that hip joint to allow for smooth movement throughout the day.   

Banded Hip Flexor Stretch 

Hip flexors sit in a shortened position every time that we sit down.  In my experience, we all do a pretty good job of getting our sitting time in during the day.   

One good stretch that can help open up the hip flexors would be the banded hip flexor stretch.  The band helps facilitate lengthening through the hip flexors but if a band isn’t available, there’s nothing wrong with rocking through the hip flexor without a band.  Just be sure to keep a proper position and avoid cranking into excessive range of motion.  

These are a few ideas for stretches that I do on a daily basis that have helped me deal with coaching 40 hours a week over the last few years.   There are plenty more options but we’ll start there!  

Happy training!