3 Hip-Strengthening Exercises for Power and Mobility

Before we get into why you want strong hips and how to get them with hip strengthening exercises, let's do a little Hip 101.

The hip joint is a ball-and-socket type joint that's formed where the femur (thigh bone) meets the pelvis. The femur has a ball-shaped (or club-shaped) end that fits into a bowl-shaped socket  formed by the pelvis called the acetabulum. There are large ligaments, tendons, and muscles around the hip joint that hold the bones (the good old ball and socket) in place and keep it from dislocating—ouch!

Ideally, there's a smooth cushiony piece of material called hyaline (or articular) cartilage covering the femoral head and the acetabulum. The cartilage is kept slippery by a liquid called synovial fluid, which is three times more slippery than ice. The synovial fluid allows us to flex, move and wiggle our joints, even under great pressure, without too much wear and tear. But when the cartilage is damaged, whether from osteoarthritis (which is the wear-and-tear type arthritis) or from some sort of injury or trauma, the hip joint motion can become painful and the result is usually a limited range of motion.

A healthy hip can support the weight of you standing and walking and allow you to move without pain.

A healthy hip can support the weight of you standing and walking (which can equal up to five times your body weight) and allow you to move without pain. But changes in the hip (including injury or weakening) will alter your gait and place unusual amounts and types of stress on the joints above and below.

Now, don't worry, it takes some seriously great force to damage the hip irrevocably. But that's not what we are focussing on here. We are focussing on the stuff we can control like strength and mobility.

Why worry about your hips?

Strength, stamina, and speed are awesome, especially if you're an athlete, or even if you just pretend to be one on weekends. But every single one of us, regardless of our age or fitness level, needs to have the ability to move our bodies through a full range of motion. Not everyone is interested in picking up a kettlebell, going for a killer bike ride, or playing hockey, but we still want to (or indeed have to) get around in our multi-surfaced world.

To truly thrive on this planet, we need to pay attention to the full, unrestricted movement of our human meat sacks (aka our bodies).

To truly thrive on this planet, we need to pay attention to the full, unrestricted movement of our human meat sacks (aka our bodies). One of the best ways to do that is to regain, and then maintain hip strength and mobility.

A report called Importance of Comprehensive Hip Strengthening, written for the...

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