The Best Hip Flexor Stretches for Tight Hips

Are you wondering how you can keep your hip flexors loose, improve your posture and have more effective workouts? Let’s go over what your hip flexors are and why they matter first.

Purpose of hip flexors

Your hip flexors are a group of skeletal muscles that flex your hip joint, stabilize your lower body, and give overall mobility to your legs.

Why stretch your hip flexors?

If you have tight hip flexors, and especially if you are prone to them, it is crucial to know some of the best hip flexor stretches.

After all, if you have tight hip flexors, it can negatively affect your workout results, result in greater risk of anterior pelvic tilt, cause a lot of pain, and increase risk of injury.

• You want to have proper hip flexor mobility in order to perform exercises, such as squats, and get better results, such as a better booty and tighter abs.
• Anterior pelvic tilt occurs when your butt sticks out, something that can cause back pain and alter the effectiveness of your workouts. When you stretch out your hip flexors, you can correct anterior pelvic tilt.

Now that we gave you the purpose of hip flexors and reasons why you should pay attention to them, let’s go on to learn some exercises to stretch hip flexors. Remember to warm up the muscles before jumping into any of the stretches first! You can, for example, start out with high knees or leg swings.

Once you’re ready to get into the stretches, follow this guide to learn 5 of the best hip flexor stretches.

Best stretches for tight hip flexors

Lying Glute Stretch

1. Begin by lying on your back on the floor with arms and legs fully extended.
2. Raise one leg up, bending and drawing it towards your abdomen while maintaining ground contact with your other leg and your upper back.
3. Grab the raised knee with both arms, pulling it closer to the abdomen, not allowing it to rotate outwards.
4. Maintain this position for the duration of the set, alternating legs in subsequent sets.

Split Squat Stretch

1. Begin by entering a lunging position, maintaining your hands on your hips and a flat back.
2. Lean into your forward leg, allowing it to bend at the knee.
3. Continue to lean until you no longer can without removing your shin from the ground or lifting your forward leg.
4. Maintain this position for the duration of your set, alternating legs in subsequent sets.

Standing Quadriceps Stretch

1. Begin by standing upright with your feet shoulder width apart and arms by your sides.
2. Begin to raise one leg behind you while bending it.
3. Grab onto the raised leg with the arm of the side, bending at the knee slightly further.
4. Maintain this position for the duration of the set, alternating limbs in subsequent sets.

Butterfly Stretch

1. Begin by sitting upright.
2. Bring your feet together, bending your legs at your knees.
3. Sit down into your hips and keep your back straight, abs engaged.
4. Drive your knees into the floor.
5. Maintain this position for the duration of the set.

Head To Knee Stretch

1. Begin by sitting upright with your shoulders back.
2. Place the sole of one foot onto the inner thigh of the other leg, and extend your other leg.
3. Flex your foot on your extended leg.
4. Twist your torso to be in line with your straight leg.
5. Take a deep breath.
6. Exhale and slide your hands forward, bending your torso over your extended leg and try to touch your head to your knee, going as far as you comfortably can.
7. Keep your foot flexed and hold.
8. Come back up.
9. Alternate limbs in subsequent sets.