Train the Hips for Better Movement

How many coaches have you heard say, “He/she really doesn’t have ‘good hips’. He/she just doesn’t move well”. If you have been around coaches, then you have probably heard this statement.

The hip joint (also called the hip girdle or pelvic girdle) is arguably one of the most important joints in the human body. It supports the body’s weight near the center of mass and it allows us to run, shuffle and jump. So, athletes who lack hip mobility and strength will probably not achieve optimal performance and may be at an increased risk of injury.

The Perform-X Hip-X™ Machine stimulates all four movements for training the hip –

• Flexion (driving the knee up). Improves drive-phase production of the non-contact limb during all athletic movements.
• Extension (swinging the leg back). Enhances the push-off phase during ground contact in all athletic movements.
• Abduction (raising the leg laterally away from the body). Stabilizes of the pelvis, knee and ankle during athletic movements.
• Adduction (bring the leg back to the midline). Stabilizes of the pelvis, knee and ankle during athletic movements.

And besides increasing strength of the hip musculature during linear and lateral movements, the athlete can also improve the mobility of the hip while going through a full range of motion during these exercises. The versatility to be able to do all four movements plus the 590 lb weight stack certainly makes the Hip-X one of the most advanced strength-specific application for training the the hip.

How important is hip strength to the University of Michigan Wolverines football team? Recently, we placed 16 Hip-X machines in the newly renovated Schembechler Hall weight room. “That’s a lot of Hip machines” says head strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert!