Unravel Yourself...learn the hip hinge

Published: Sun, 10/11/15

Hi

Happy Sunday!

****This is the next in the series I wrote a few months back, I will add the next main moves across the coming emails this week****

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The deadlift is the king of exercises. If asked which exercise I would do for the rest of my life if not allowed any others..it would be this.It got it's name from the technique that Roman soldiers would use to pick up the dead on the battlefield. 

A hip hinge is the movement your body goes through in deadlifts, kettlebell swings or correctly picking something heavy off the floor. Ideally it is a minimal knee bend and maximal knee bend.

Think about the positions we spend our day in.

Any amount of sitting for too long bends us over, inhibits our posture, switches off our Glutes (butt!) and shortens the hip flexor (bending) muscles. This effect can possibly be linked to pretty much any type of pain in the back, hips and even legs.

Adding a hip hinge exercise can counteract all the above as it trains pretty much every muscle on the back of your body.

As with the squat, the whole technique/ form is designed to keep the load directly above the heels/ back mid portion of the foot. See below picture showing how we need to start a sumo deadlift, another great hip hinge exercise. Looks very similar to a squat bottom position, however, as you will see in the video at the end it's a different move.

The load (in this case a kettlebell) must travel in a very straight line...basically following the green arrow line. As with a squat the heels need to do the work. It doesn't have to be a barbell or Kettlebell from the floor...you could also hold the top of a dumbell or large bottle of water to add a simple load.

First, however it is really benefited to learn how to hinge first so you can get your centre of gravity way over your heels.

An excellent way to learn the hip hinge and back alignment is to use a broomstick, rod or (as in my case today) Kim's mop handle!

Place a rod/ pole between your shoulder blades so it touches the back of your head, and sits between the top of your butt cheeks (sorry, there is no other way to say that!) 

This is how your back should be when you squat down and pull anything off the floor, every time!

Now, lets add movement to this:

  1. feet slightly wider than hip width apart, parallel
  2. stand approximately foot length away from a wall (you will find the best distance in step 6)
  3. place rod/pole against back as above
  4. pull shoulder blades back and down, and engage torso (create a cube of air in the tummy)
  5. feet 'screwed into floor' (imagine your feet are on two plates and you are trying to turn the left foot anti-clockwise and the right foot clockwise)
  6. NOW WE MOVE
  7. push your hips back to try and touch your Glutes/butt to the wall. This should be done with minimal knee bend (not locked!), without the pole coming off ANY of the 3 contact points. Flexibility and mobility will come into play here. 
  8. try to keep the shins vertical at all times..hard to do I know!
  9.  if done correctly you should feel a certain amount of stretch in the hamstrings just above the knees
  10. Repeat for a number of reps, ten is good

The above move with just body weight is effective enough to really increase hip strength and mobility. Loading with a bar from the floor (deadlift) or holding a weight in front of the chest are a couple of ways you can add resistance. 

Keep at this as the more practice you get the better you get at keeping your back aligned. Having the proprioception (awareness of where your body is in space) to keep the back in this position could prevent back injury later in life.
Correct form for a deadlift would mean stand up bringing the load up and then back down in a straight line.

This takes practice as everything needs to follow a pattern. See below a video of me doing a Kettlebell deadlift:
Work hard at this lift/ move and you will find that keeping the back position will become natural. Add in loads as you progress and it is the path to a super strong back.

*****Please be careful, this does not replace one to one coaching if you need it, and you shouldn't try this if you have any joint or back issues of any kind. If in doubt ask your GP****

Stay Strong,

J
James Chandler
Personal Trainer
07870 262741

'To inspire, educate and support our clients on their journey to better health'