Your workouts should prioritize giving your hips the care they deserve.
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Although often overlooked, your hip health is crucial when fine-tuning your fitness routine. As the years go by, hip strength tends to dwindle owing to sarcopenia, a decrease in physical activity, and alterations in joint flexibility. Over time, the surrounding hip muscles lose their vigor and efficiency, leading to potential weakness and rigidity, notes Josh York, Founder & CEO of GYMGUYZ, which stands as the leading in-home and on-site personal training enterprise worldwide.
Having resilient and healthy hips is essential for executing everyday activities like lifting weights and maintaining balance while moving. A decline in hip strength can significantly affect your stability and coordination.
“This weakening might make typical movements feel uncertain and elevate the risk of falling, which could eventually lead to a decreased ability to live independently as routine activities become more cumbersome,” York informs us.
To combat this, we’ve discovered five exercises performed while standing that can enhance hip strength more efficiently than traditional gym workouts after the age of 60.
Standing Hip Extension
“Standing hip extensions strengthen the glutes, which are primary drivers of hip power used for walking, standing, and climbing stairs,” York tells us.
- Begin standing tall with your feet hip-width apart.
- Hold onto a sturdy chair or wall for support, if needed.
- Activate your core.
- Shift your body weight onto one leg.
- Extend the opposite leg straight behind you, lifting it a few inches off the ground.
- Squeeze your glute at the top.
- Slowly lower.
- Repeat on the other side.
Standing Hip Abductions
“This exercise targets the outer hip muscles that stabilize the pelvis and help maintain balance during single-leg movement,” York says.
- Begin by standing tall with your feet hip-width apart and hands on your hips.
- Activate your core and shift your weight onto your left leg.
- Keep your right leg straight and toes pointed forward as you lift it out to the side as high as you’re comfortably able to.
- Hold at the top for a moment before lowering for 3 seconds.
Diagonal Step Reach
“Diagonal step reaches train the hips through multiple movement angles, improving coordination, weight transfer, and real-world movement control,” York notes.
- Begin standing tall with your feet hip-distance apart and arms by your sides.
- Activate your core and maintain a tall chest.
- Step one foot diagonally forward and reach the opposite arm across your body toward that foot.
- Drive through the front foot to return to the start position.
- Repeat on the other side and continue to alternate with every step.
Lateral Step Holds
“Lateral step holds improve lateral stability and control during changes in direction by building strength in a side-loaded position that helps with stepping sideways, catching balance, and shifting weight to turn,” York explains.
- Begin by standing tall with your feet hip-width apart.
- Activate your core.
- Next, step one foot out to the side, assuming a comfortable, wide stance.
- Shift your body weight onto the stepping foot, slightly bending that knee.
- Hold this position, keeping a tall posture.
- Press through your bent leg to return to the start position.
- Repeat on the other side.
Standing Hip Circles
“Standing hip circles improve hip joint mobility while reinforcing control through full-range circular movement patterns,” says York.
- Stand tall with your feet hip-distance apart.
- Lightly hold onto a sturdy chair for support.
- Activate your core.
- Shift your body weight onto one leg.
- Lift the other knee to hip level.
- Gradually trace a circle with that knee, using control.
- Reverse the motion.
- Repeat on the other side.