Tight hips? If you got a pair, you likely know it.
Limited hip mobility can pose as a gnarly speed bump in route to a better squat position, greater deadlift successes, or even halfway decent moves on the dance floor. As you enter your own fitness space looking to lift weights or move loads, access to fully capable hips is paramount.
So… You’re telling me to stretch right?
Well, not exactly. Static stretching ― the good old fashion kind your elementary gym teacher made you do ― can be of some merit, but at MSP Fitness we take argument against ye olde toe touch for two primary reasons:
- Static stretching requires a warm up beforehand to be effective.
-and- - Positive results from static stretching require holds of a longer duration.
You see, this blog it’s not a judgement piece against mindlessly sitting on the ground while holding a single position for two minutes. Okay, I lied, there was a good deal of judgement in that last sentence. What I mean to say is that while there are some positive effects of static stretching use, they pale in comparison to the benefits of dynamically moving through full ranges of motion and actively promoting blood flow through movement.
Okay Mr. Fancy Pants, what does “dynamically moving through blah, blah, blah look like?”
I’m glad you asked because this week on our Instagram channel I compiled three of my go-to dynamic movements into a short video I’ve imbedded below. In the sped up footage, you’ll see me accessing elements of static stretching (the bottom squat hold, hurdler stretch, and half kneeling runner’s stretch) yet flowing through each of them to keep things dynamic.
Now it’s time for the rubber to hit the road.
Try out this dynamic flow (or something you’ve made up) for a few weeks and compare it against your previous static stretching performance gains. I have a strong feeling you’re going to like the time you save and the room you make in your joints while using this more fluid warm up / mobility repertoire. Let me know how it goes! Good, bad, or ugly.