Are you hip enough?

Wow, I can't believe that nearly a month has passed since my last post.

Time really does fly when you're working yourself into the ground! Working in an office for, what seems like, 25 hours a day 8 days a week can really take a toll on you.

One thing I really noticed from sitting a lot was that my hips were feeling really tight. I mean, really, really tight. I kept stretching them out and moving them about (insert weird hula hoop image here) but they were still feeling really tight.

Thankfully, a combination of reading the right blog posts and ordering the ultimate back dvd by Dr Stuart McGill I found some new stretches and movements for the hips and glutes (as well as a reminder of some forgotten ones) and I have really felt the difference.

Lying Hip Internal Rotations



Hip Hurdles



Hip Aeroplanes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra4ixkizd5U

(have to link it as embedding is disabled, gah!)

With regards to the hip aeroplanes, you should err on the side of caution for a start as the balancing part can be tricky when you start moving and I don't want you falling over and blaming me!

The other thing about the hip aeroplane is that whilst it looks fairly easy, to do it properly is a bit more tricky. You need to brace the obliques and concentrate on moving the hip and shoulder as one. A lot of people tend to lead with the shoulder or hip rather than together - this shows poor motor patterns and should be corrected if possible.

I promise I'll post sooner next time!