{"id":44464,"date":"2022-04-12T03:15:34","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T07:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=44464"},"modified":"2022-04-12T05:27:40","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T09:27:40","slug":"best-hip-stretches-relieve-tightness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/best-hip-stretches-relieve-tightness\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Hip Stretches You Need to Relieve Tightness Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re desk-bound, vying for a\u00a0marathon<\/a> finish line, or consider yourself a cyclist or\u00a0CrossFitter<\/a> \u2014 you\u2019ve probably got tight hips<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The more than 20 muscles that make up your hips are responsible for stabilizing your pelvis, moving your legs from side to side, and shortening to draw your knees toward your chest every time you sit down, run, jump<\/a>, or pedal, explains Kelly Moore, a certified yoga instructor and co-founder of MindFuel Wellness, which brings health and wellness initiatives to companies throughout Chicago.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong>\u00a015 Stretches You Should Do Every Damn Day<\/a><\/p>\n

Basically, your hips do a lot <\/em>of work and that takes a toll. Short, tight hip muscles can reduce your range of motion<\/a> throughout the joint, weaken your glutes<\/a>, and tilt your pelvis, causing excessive curvature in your spine as well as low backaches, she says. Plus, tight hip muscles just hurt.<\/p>\n

Luckily, you don\u2019t have to quit your day job or forgo spin class to loosen them up. Simply stretching those hips can get your body back in alignment, increase your mobility<\/a> (and thus your exercise performance<\/a>) and maybe even ease pesky back pain, Moore says. \u201cGiven the amount of time we sit [each] day and the stress we put our bodies under, hip-opening moves are a necessary party of our daily routine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Try these five hip openers, courtesy of MindFuel Wellness to loosen your hip muscles, whether you\u2019re coming from a long day at the office or cooling down after a HIIT class<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5 Hip Stretches That Will Make You Say ‘Ahhhh’<\/h3>\n

1. Frog
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How to:<\/strong> Get on your hands and knees, in a tabletop position (a)<\/strong>. Slowly widen your knees out as far as they can go and bring your feet in line with your knees. Your shins should be parallel with one another (b)<\/strong>. Flex your feet and ease yourself forward onto your forearms. (If the stretch is too intense, try putting your arms on a block or firm pillow.) Hold for eight to 12 breaths (c)<\/strong>. If holding the stretch for longer, try slowly moving your hips forward and backward to bring the stretch to different parts of your hips.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Got Weak\u00a0Hip Flexors?\u00a05 Moves to Strengthen Them<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Seated Pigeon
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How to:<\/strong> Sit down with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor in front of you (a)<\/strong>. Place your right ankle on top of your left thigh and flex your right foot (b)<\/strong>. Put your hands behind your body, fingertips facing away from your body and begin to press your hips toward your heels until you feel a stretch through your outer left hip. Keep your back tall and chest open (c)<\/strong>. Hold for six to eight breaths, then repeat on the other side.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 5 Lower Back Stretches to Relieve Stress Now<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Supine Adductor Stretch with Strap
<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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How to:<\/strong> Lie on your back with your right knee bent and foot flat on the floor (a)<\/strong>. Extend your left leg up to the ceiling and wrap a strap around the sole of your left foot (b)<\/strong>. While holding both ends with your left hand, extend your right arm directly out to the side in order to anchor yourself (c)<\/strong>. Slowly let the left leg fall toward the left while keeping your right side grounded. Hold for six to eight breaths, then repeat on the opposite side.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>The Dynamic Warm-Up You Aren\u2019t Doing (But Should!)<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Supine Lateral Hip Opening
<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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How to:<\/strong> Lie on your back with your right knee bent and foot flat on the floor (a)<\/strong>. With your left leg fully extended, press into your right foot to shift onto your left hip. This is your starting position (b)<\/strong>. Then, squeeze your right glutes to press your left hip open until you feel a stretch, pause, then return to start. That\u2019s one rep (c)<\/strong>. Perform six to eight reps, then repeat on the opposite side.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> The 5 Best Glute Stretches to Try Now<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Seated Fourth Position Hip Stretch
<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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How to:<\/strong> Sit on the floor with knees bent so that your right shin is positioned in front of you, your left shin behind you and your left hip dropped all of the way to the floor (a)<\/strong>. Inhale and press your left hip forward until you feel a stretch in the front of your hip (b)<\/strong>. Exhale and press left hip back to the floor. That\u2019s one rep (c)<\/strong>. Complete six to eight reps, working each time to increase your range of motion. Repeat on the opposite side.<\/p>\n

Not a Daily Burn member? Sign up at\u00a0dailyburn.com<\/a>\u00a0and start your free 30-day trial today.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Originally published March 2016. Updated June 2017 and April 2022<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

Stretch photos courtesy of MindFuel Wellness. Cover image via Shutterstock <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Loosen tight muscles, improve your range of motion, and experience some mega tension release with these seriously sublime hip stretches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,6,19],"tags":[289,206,82,145,341,355],"class_list":["post-44464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exercise","category-fitness","category-yoga","tag-exercise","tag-mobility","tag-recovery","tag-stretching","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2yoga"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44464\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}