You might not know it, but your hips are kind of a big deal. At their strongest, they can help you change direction quickly, increase your range of motion, and prevent countless injuries. But when they’re weak, they can wreak all sorts of havoc on your body, especially your knees and lower back, says Michelle Lovitt, a celebrity trainer and Asics America conditioning coach.
The hips are made up of 17 different muscles in four different muscle groups: the glutes, adductors, iliopsoas, and lateral rotator group. These are located from your low back to your mid-inner thigh. As part of your core, the hip muscles aid in stabilizing your body, as well as enabling you to perform every movement from standing up straight to running to bending over to tie your shoes, says Lovitt. If any of those four muscle groups are weak, you risk tight hip flexors, knee injuries, and other issues.
In addition to strengthening your hips, stretching them is important for maintaining your health. “Just because you have strong hips, it doesn’t mean that you have flexible hips,†says Lovitt. When your hips are nice and loose, they can improve your posture and increase your range of motion—which helps you keep your form during workouts and is just good for you body in general. Both of these things lead to a decreased risk of injury. On the other hand, when your hips are tight, those muscles can pull on others and put your body out of balance, says Lovitt. Therefore, she says it’s important to stretch frequently to increase the blood and oxygen flow to tight muscles and tendons and reduce stiffness.
Check out Lovitt’s top hip-strengthening and stretching moves below. They target all of your hip muscles and can keep you injury-free. Â
MORE: 6 Trainers Their Favorite Exercises for a Tighter, Sexier Butt
Â
Strength and Flexibility Builder: Barbell Hip Raise
Why It Help Your Hips: This move engages three major glute muscles, while also targeting your hamstrings and stretching your hip flexors, says Lovitt. In other words, it’s a triple threat.
How to Do It: Sit on the floor with your upper back against a stable bench, your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Put a padded barbell across your hips, and grab the barbell with an overhand grip, about shoulder-width apart (A). Keeping your back against the bench and the barbell just below your pelvis, raise your hips—while squeezing your glutes—until your hips are in line with your body (B). Return to the starting position and repeat.
Â
Strength Builder: Dumbbell Side Lunge
Why It Help Your Hips: When you drop into the lunge, you use your glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors for stability, says Lovitt. When you come back up, you also engage your quads, which balances out the strength in your lower body, she says.
How to Do It: Hold a pair of dumbbells at arm’s length next to your sides, your palms facing each other (A). Lift your right foot, and take a big step to your right as you push your hips backward and lower your body by dropping your hips and bending your right knee (B). Pause, then quickly push yourself back to the starting position. That’s one rep.
MORE: QA: How Do I Stay in Shape While Injured?
Â
Flexibility Builder: Groiners
Why They Help Your Hips: These are awesome hip openers, says Lovitt. Bonus: If you contract your glutes while doing them, you’ll get an even deeper stretch in your hip flexors.
How to Do Them: Get into pushup position (A). Bring your right foot forward, place it next to your right hand (or as close as you can), and lower your hips for a brief moment (B). Return to the start, and repeat with your left leg.
Â
Flexibility Builder: Single Pigeon
Why It Help Your Hips: This move stretches several key hip muscles that can get tight from sitting and impact your risk of injury, says Lovitt.
How to Do It: Step your left leg forward, and slide your foot toward your right, working to get your shin parallel to the front of the mat. Keep your back leg straight as you lower your pelvis to the floor. Roll the outside of your left leg down by pushing into the outside edge of your foot. Even out your hips. Keep your front foot flexed. Repeat on the opposite side.
MORE: 4 Amazing Stretches for Injury Prevention
Exercise how-tos adapted from Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises, Women’s Health Big Book of Yoga, and Women’s Health Big Book of Abs. For even more moves, get Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises, Women’s Health Big Book of Yoga, and Women’s Health Big Book of Abs today!