Strongman Joey Szatmary uploaded a video with Martins Licis, 2019 World's Strongest Man, and Jujimufu, currently a bodybuilder, to help Joey work through his hip issues with the help of some valuable tips and drills that everyone should be using.
Joey said he has pain in his right hip whenever he deadlifts; all other lifts he says don't cause him any pain. Apparently, Martins also deals with this kind of pain while he deadlifts, so they both think they deal with the same issues.
TIPS ON HOW TO FIX HIP PAIN
The first tip of the day comes from Juji, who says that he has never dealt with hip pain; he believes that everyone should be doing mobility work and drills to increase strength and flexibility. He also believes that his long history of martial arts and gymnastics helps reduce his risks of injury.
So the first drill he goes over is walking high knees/high toes (front lift stretch) for 20-30 reps on each leg. A dynamic warmup like this isn't inhibitory and doesn't reduce strength the more you do them. Juji also recommends doing these stretches every day in the morning after you wake up to reset your flexibility and get your heart rate up.
After a quick transition, Martin steps up to show off his own drill to help increase hip mobility and activate glutes, core, abductors, and adductors. The name of the exercise is a hip airplane.
Martins recommends holding on to something until you get comfortable with the stretch, as this stretch seems to be quite challenging to perform. It's incredibly impressive that a strongman like Martins can perform this stretch with so much ease compared to Juji and Joey in the video.
Martins' unilateral movements with this stretch are pistol squats and single-leg hip bridges. He also recommends performing a ten-second hold at the top of each rep for both movements. A bilateral movement he suggests is a two-legged hip bridge with a medicine ball between your knees, which incorporates your adductors.
Sample Hip Mobility Routine
We modeled the following hip stretching routine after the one the big men performed in the video above. This routine can be done at any time.
- Front Lift Stretch: 2 sets x 30 reps (per side)
- Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch: 2 sets x back & forth 10 times per side (30-second hold)
- Hip Airplane: 3 sets x 5-6 times (per side)
- Pistol Squats/TRX Pistol Squats: 2 sets x 8-10 reps (per side)
- Two-legged Hip Bridge: 3 Sets x 10-12 reps per side（10-second hold at the top）
Note: Always check with a physician before trying any of these stretches.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It's vital to incorporate hip mobility drills as the guys demonstrated in the video to avoid potential pain or limited ROM. Strength, power and mobility will help you move better in everyday life.
As always, if you try this stretching routine, let us know in the comments below what you thought of it!
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Related: How to Fix Hip Pain When Squatting: Hip Mobility & Release Exercises
Kiel DiGiovanni
Author