20 Exercises To Work on Hip Strength and Mobility

Your hips—those ball-and-socket joints—do a lot of work all day. Taking care of them through hip exercises that strength and stretch can improve your range of motion and posture.

When you are ready to get your hips strong and mobile, try these 20 hip exercises to strengthen them, reduce pain and discomfort, and keep you functioning at your best.

Use the following routine created by Wilkens to warm up. Then, strengthen key areas of the hips using different exercises. Add the workout to your routine twice weekly for the best results.

The Importance of Hip Strength and Mobility

Your hip is a ball-and-socket joint that balances your upper body while standing and walking. Your hips provide the stability that supports you as you move daily.

"[The hips] take on standing stress, sitting stress, and stabilizing stress," Chelsey Wilkens, NASM-CPT, a trainer at Soho Strength Lab in New York, told Health. "Adding strength to the part of your body that gives you the greatest support will improve your ability to move throughout daily tasks without hesitation."

Relaxes Your Joints

When a person has tight hips, it generally means that they have been sitting a lot, like at a desk job working on a computer all day, said Wilkens. Some evidence suggests that sitting for long periods can reduce hip extension and cause stiffness.

"By doing active stretches before or after sitting for extended periods, you'll help relax the area, feel less tight, and allow yourself to sit comfortably for longer," said Wilkens. "This will also help protect you from injuries."

Improves Your Posture

When the hip tightens, it can stress the low back or the knee joint. Research has found that tight hips can alter posture and gait, or how you walk, and lead to injuries. Hip strength and mobility can help improve movement patterns and posture. 

"If one joint isn't working as it should—say, the hips are tight and immobile—this can cause stress for the joint above or below it," explained Wilkens.

Helps Reduce Arthritis Symptoms

Arthritis is inflammation and swelling in one or more joints, causing painful symptoms. As a result, people with arthritis may find certain daily activities hard. Strengthening and stretching your hips helps increase your range of motion, alleviating pain and making those tasks easier.

In a study published in 2017, people with hip osteoarthritis (OA) saw a significant decrease in pain after a 12-week exercise program. OA is a type of arthritis that causes the joint and bone to deteriorate.

Precautions While Doing Hip Exercises

Some people may need to take precautions while doing hip exercises. For example, you may need to slowly add new exercises into your routine if you have arthritis or painful joints. By doing so, you will get your body used to the activity.

Start by exercising for three to five minutes twice daily, then slowly add more time. You may need six to eight weeks to adjust to new activities.

You will want to go easy on your joints, so ensure your activity is safe. Adjust your movement if symptoms like pain, stiffness, or fatigue flare up.

Before starting a new exercise routine, talk with a healthcare provider to be sure it's safe for you. A healthcare provider can advise certain hip exercises, depending on your range of motion and goals.

Talk to a healthcare provider right away if you notice symptoms like:

• Joints that feel hot to the touch or appear red
• Limping
• Pain or swollen joints that do not go away with treatment (e.g., rest, medicine, heat, or ice)
• Pain that worsens at night
• Sharp pain that lasts more than two hours after exercising
• Worsening swollen joints 

6 Warm-Up Hip Exercises for Mobility

It's always good to start stretching exercises before moving on to other, more intense ones. Stretching will get your blood flowing and increase your flexibility as it warms up your muscles. Warming up your body before exercise helps you avoid injuries.

Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and repeat the stretch for three reps if you do any of these exercises to increase flexibility.

World's Greatest Stretch

1. Start in a plank position, your hands on the floor stacked directly under your shoulders. Engage your core, and keep your body in a straight line.
2. Step your right foot forward and outside of your right hand.
3. Lift your right hand, and place it behind your head. Lower your right elbow toward the floor.
4. Then, reach your elbow toward the ceiling as you rotate your torso to the right. Hold for three seconds.
5. Place your hand back down and move your right leg back to the plank position.

Repeat the movements on the left side. Continue alternating for five reps on each side.

Banded Ankle Side and Back Kick-Slides

1. Place a looped exercise band around your ankles and stand with your feet hip-width apart. Sit back slightly into hips.
2. Standing on your left leg, drive your right leg out to the side as you straighten your knee.
3. Step back to hip-width, then repeat the movement for 10 reps.
4. Next, drive your right leg diagonally behind you, straightening your knee. Then, step back to hip-width. Repeat the backward movement for 10 reps.

Switch sides, then repeat each stretching movement for 10 reps on the left side.

Banded Glute Bridge

1. Place a resistance band around your thighs above your knees.
2. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor—about six inches in front of your glutes—with your feet at hip distance apart.
3. Without letting your knees fall inward, engage your core and glutes as you push through your heels to raise your hips toward the ceiling.
4. Slowly lower back down.

Repeat this slow and steady stretch for 15 reps.

Dynamic Banded Glute Bridge

1. Place a looped band around your thighs, just above your knees.
2. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, about six inches in front of your glutes and hip distance apart.
3. Without letting your knees fall inward, engage your core and glutes as you push through your heels to raise your hips toward the ceiling.
4. Slowly walk your feet about three small steps forward, away from your bottom. Then, walk them back under your knees. Keep your hips lifted the entire time.

Repeat this movement for five reps.

Quadruped Pigeon

1. Begin on your hands and knees in an all-fours position with your hands stacked under your shoulders. Keep your knees directly under your hips with your toes tucked.
2. Move your right ankle in front of the left knee. Your shin will be parallel to your hips and shoulders.
3. Push your hips back as you fold forward at the waist.
4. Bend your left elbow as you reach your right forearm forward on the floor.
5. Hold for five breaths. Then, walk your hands back under your shoulders and uncross your ankle from in front of your knee as you return to the all-fours position.

Repeat the stretch for three reps. Then, switch sides, crossing your other ankle in front of your knee.

Half-Frog Straddle Stretch

1. Begin on your hands and knees in an all-fours position. Keep your hands stacked under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips with your toes tucked.
2. Lower your arms to your elbows and place your hands together, forming a prayer-like position. Keep your back slightly arched.
3. Extend your right leg straight out to the side and plant your foot. Feel the stretch in your inner thigh.
4. Move the left foot slightly outward so that your knee bends by 90 degrees, increasing the stretch.
5. Gently rock forward and backward for five breaths.

Move back into the all-fours position, then switch legs to repeat the stretch on the opposite side.

14 Hip-Strengthening Exercises

Hip strengthening exercises will build the muscles in your hips, thighs, and glutes. These are all large muscle groups that burn a lot of calorie energy.

Hip exercises help maintain or improve posture and movement. At the same time, those exercises reduce hip and lower back discomfort from long hours of sitting or standing.

Banded Lateral Squat Walks

1. Place a looped band around your ankles and stand with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Push hips back and lower into a shallow squat position.
3. Step your right leg out slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Step your left leg in so your feet are again at hip-width apart.
4. Continue moving laterally for 10 steps. Do not let your knees fall inward as you do the movement.

Repeat the exercise on the opposite side.

Banded Quadruped Donkey Kick

1. Place a looped band around your thighs above your knees.
2. Come to the floor in an all-fours position. Keep your hands stacked under your shoulders, your knees under your hips, and your toes tucked.
3. Keep your right knee bent 90 degrees and your foot flexed as you perform a donkey kick upward toward the ceiling. Hold your back flat. Keep your weight evenly distributed on both sides of your body.
4. Slowly lower your leg in a controlled movement for greater impact.

Repeat the exercise for 10 reps, then switch legs.

Banded Quadruped Fire Hydrant

1. Place a looped band around your thighs above your knees.
2. Come to the floor in an all-fours position. Keep your hands stacked under your shoulders, your knees under your hips, and your toes tucked.
3. Keep your right knee bent at 90 degrees and your foot flexed. Flatten your back and evenly distribute your weight on both sides.
4. Lift your right knee to the side and up to the hip level in a male dog peeing motion.
5. Slowly lower your knee back down.

Repeat for 10 reps, then switch legs.

Banded Prone Hamstring Curl

1. Place a looped band around your right ankle and the arch of your left foot.
2. Lie flat on your stomach, your hands stacked under your chin, legs extended behind you, and your toes tucked.
3. Keep your left foot steady. Bend your right knee to curl your right foot up toward your glutes.
4. Slowly lower your leg back down.

Repeat the movement for 10 reps, reposition the band, and repeat on your other leg.

Weighted Single-Leg Glute Bridge

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor about six inches in front of your glutes and hip distance apart.
2. Keep your thighs parallel as you extend your right leg straight toward the ceiling.
3. You can place a dumbbell on your left hip to kick this movement up.
4. Without letting your knees fall inward, brace your core and glutes as you push through your left heel to raise your hips toward the ceiling.
5. Slowly lower back down to the starting position.

Repeat for 10 reps, then switch sides.

Weighted Front Rack Squat

1. Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Point your toes slightly outward.
2. Hold one dumbbell in each hand. Raise the dumbbells to shoulder level in front of your chest, parallel to your shoulders, and your palms facing you.
3. Do a squat movement, keeping your back straight and upper body tall. To squat, push your knees outward as you bend them. Send your hips down and back to lower into a squat.

Push through your feet to stand back up. Repeat for 10 reps.

Weighted Sumo Squat

1. Stand with feet reasonably wider than shoulder-width apart. Point your toes outward. 
2. Holding one dumbbell in each hand, extend your arms with weights between your legs, palms facing inward.
3. Keeping your back straight and upper body tall, push your knees outward. Bend your knees and send your hips down and back to lower into a sumo squat.

Push through heels to stand back up, then repeat for 10 reps.

Weighted Transverse Lunge

1. Start standing with a dumbbell in each hand. Extend your arms down by your sides. Position the left toes behind the right ankle, lifting the left heel. This is your starting position.
2. Step your left leg toward a four o'clock position and lower down, both knees bending. Frame the front right foot with the dumbbells.
3. Push through both feet to stand back up, bringing the left foot forward and back to starting position.

Repeat for 10 reps, then switch legs.

Weighted Supported Single-Leg Deadlift

1. Start with feet hip-width apart, a dumbbell in your left hand. Place your right hand on a wall, bar, chair, or anchor for balance.
2. Keeping your back flat, hinge at the hips to lower your chest forward and dumbbell toward the ground. At the same time, raise your left leg behind you. Keep the dumbbell close to your body, like it's replacing your left foot.
3. Press through the right foot to rise back up to standing.

Repeat for 10 reps, then switch sides.

Front Lunge

1. Start standing with your feet staggered wider than shoulder-width. Plane your right foot in front and your left foot behind you. Lift your left heel off the floor.
2. Bend your right knee slightly past 90 degrees with your knee not going past the toes. Slightly bend your left knee.
3. Push through your right foot to straighten your right leg and return to standing in a staggered stance.

Repeat for 10 reps, then switch sides.

Squat to Reverse Lunge

1. Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Point your toes slightly outward. 
2. Keeping your back straight and upper body tall, push your knees outward as you bend your knees and send your hips down and back to lower into a squat.
3. Push through your feet to stand back up.
4. Then, step your right leg back into a reverse lunge position, both knees bending 90 degrees.
5. Step back up to stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width.
6. Repeat, stepping your left leg back to reverse lunge after you squat.

Repeat for 20 reps. Do 10 reps on each leg with a squat between each.

Lateral Lunge to Balance

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Without bending your left leg, step your right leg out to the side. Bend your knee to lower into a side lunge, hips going straight back, toes and knee pointing forward.
3. Push through your right foot to stand back up. Pull your right knee towards your chest, balancing only on the left foot.

Repeat for 10 reps before you place your right foot back down to switch sides. Repeat for 10 reps on the left side.

Single-Leg Deadlift to Airplane

1. Start standing with your feet hip-width apart. Extend your arms down by your sides. Shift your weight to your right foot. 
2. Keeping your back flat, hinge your hips to lower your chest forward. At the same time, raise your left leg behind you until you are about parallel to the floor.
3. Keeping your arms extended, slowly lift your right hand toward the ceiling, in line with your shoulder.
4. Lower your right arm back down in front of you.
5. Then, press through your right foot to stand back up, still balancing on your right foot. 

Repeat for six reps, then switch sides.

Jump Squat Out-in-Twist

1. Start in a squat, your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Engage your core while keeping your upper body tall.
2. Jump your feet almost together.
3. Then, jump to twist your lower body to the right, your shoulders still facing forward. Quickly jump again to re-twist your hips to face the front.
4. Jump your feet back out slightly wider than hip-width, landing softly back into a squat position.

Repeat twisting to the left. Continue alternating twists, with a squat jump in between, for 10 reps.

A Quick Review

Your hips do a lot of work, supporting and stabilizing your upper body while standing and walking. Many people have tight hips from sitting for long periods. Others may have painful hip joints due to arthritis. By doing these hip exercises, you can strengthen and stretch your hips to improve your mobility and reduce pain.