When it comes to flexing your glutes and hips, everyone talks about kneeling hip flexor stretches. It is a very important warm-up exercise so try to do it before you start your workout plan for the day. Not just to keep your body heated, it is also great to keep your posture right because that is something people are very concerned about. It will focus primarily on your glutes and hips and help you keep your back in the right position.
Just like a pull-push workout, the kneeling hip flexor is also a great cool-down exercise but you must know exactly how to do it to avoid any problems. This exercise can help in increasing your flexibility and mobility so always keep in mind that you need to perform it in the right way.
What is Involved in kneeling hip flexor stretch?
It is an important exercise for warm-up as well as a cool down. You can incorporate it at the start and the end of your daily workout plan to flex your glutes and hips. In case you have lower back pain, this exercise is very beneficial because when the hip flexor muscles are tight and shorter with all the stretching, it also stretches the lower back muscles, helps you get rid of the pain, and also allows you to maintain a healthy body posture. This way the butterfly stretch is essential for a workout.
How to Do Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch Muscles?
You need to perform three steps in the right order to get the results you want.
First Step
Get a gym mat or use your floor. Start from a kneeling position and place your left knee right under the left hip on the floor. The knee and hip should be in a straight line. For the right leg, place your foot right in front of the knee so that the ankle and knee are at an angle of 90 degrees. Now place your hands on your right thigh and stretch to get a straight spine.
Second Step
Now you will have to press your scapula but don’t arch your lower back while doing that. Engage the core muscles and lean towards the right hip and press your knee into the ground. Make sure your pelvis isn’t rotated in the forward direction. Now squeeze your glute muscles in the left hip and lea forward to improve the flex and stretch of your left hip.
Third Step
Hold yourself in this stretched position for 40 seconds and repeat this 3-5 times for desired results. As you repeat this step, try to move a little bit deeper into the stretch to really heat the muscles. Also, make sure that your pelvis isn’t rotated and loose its stretched position. Perform your repetitions for the one side before you switch to the other leg.
Fourth Step
Bring a variety into your exercise to improve the intensity of your stretch. Raise your left arm up and move towards the right side, leaning towards your right hip. Don’t forget to switch to the other side.
Place a balancing disc on the ground and use it to engage your abdominals. This way the results from the stretch will be great and your pelvis will be leveled.
Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch Benefits
Different exercises in an optimal motion and control but if the hip flexors are not stretched, they will not allow doing so. People try to strengthen their glutes by that but it doesn’t help in that way.
Hip flexors are the best way to develop a hip extension. If you want to remove the inhibition, you can simply perform hip flexors and then try hip extension exercises. If you do it on a regular basis, your hip mobility will be 100% after some time, but consistency is key.
Try different modifications so that there is variety and your hips get the right stretch and complete mobility.
One of the hip flexor muscles is attached to the spinal cord if you take up your arm an end in the opposite direction while stretching. This way the stretch will involve above and below the hip flexors.
If you want to try exercises related to kneeling hip flexor stretch that involve the same muscles, you can try jumping squats, donkey kicks, and water bottle squat thrusters. Glutes and hip muscles are primarily affected by these exercises and improve the mobility of your hips.
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