Ah...the glorious hip pivot!
Sometimes I feel like I repeat myself…okay, so I feel I do that a lot! Call it what you will, I call it “getting the point across.” There are a few subjects with which this is the case, one of which is the glorious phenomenon of the hip pivot.
Why devote an entire post to this subject?
I could devote several posts to this subject.
Trainers – all of your clients need to do exercises that incorporate the hip pivot action.
Exercise enthusiasts – all of you need to do exercises that incorporate the hip pivot action.
Does that make my point clear enough?
Okay, then…here we go with the “hip pivot nugget of gold” for today.
Why do I feel so strong about the hip pivot? First off, most people have less-than-stellar hip mobility. Most people have tight external rotators of the hip. Do this for me: stand up and walk a few paces, then stop. Look down at your feet. Are they turned out? A clue that you might have this common issue is that your feet externally rotate. Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. Most of my clients initially present with this compensation, which is indicative of tight Soleus/Biceps Femoris/Piriformis and weak Glute Medius. You don’t have to be a fitness genius to realize that if you want to promote balance, you must “calm down” & stretch the tight areas and “fire up” the weak ones. There are many ways to do this for the areas listed, but the action of hip pivoting should not be left out of the equation.
You see, when you perform a hip pivot, not only are you actively driving the pivot leg into internal rotation, you are also driving the stationary hip into internal rotation. This action “fires up” the glutes and provides a dynamic stretch of the tight hip external rotators. It’s a win-win!
Here’s a rundown of a corrective strategy:
- Tiger Tail for Soleus/Gastrocs
- Straight-Leg Hamstring Stetch (assisted or with rope) for Hams
- Static Piriformis Stretch
- Bridge Variation (for Glute Max, which most likely is also weak)
- Miniband Lateral Walks for Glute Medius
- Medicine Ball Pivot Rotations for total-body integration and emphasis on hip internal rotation
Crappy picture quality, but check out my pivot!
Bottom line:
The “lost art” of pivoting must be rediscovered!
WE ALL NEED TO PIVOT!
Til next time, get started and keep on pivoting!
Yours in Health,
Sarah
Filed under: Exercises & Workouts, Personal Trainers' Issues, Sarah Says | Tagged: corrective exercise, hip mobility, hip pivot, internal rotation, medicine ball, pivot, rotation | 7 Comments »
Ah...the glorious hip pivot!
Sometimes I feel like I repeat myself…okay, so I feel I do that a lot! Call it what you will, I call it “getting the point across.” There are a few subjects with which this is the case, one of which is the glorious phenomenon of the hip pivot.
Why devote an entire post to this subject?
I could devote several posts to this subject.
Trainers – all of your clients need to do exercises that incorporate the hip pivot action.
Exercise enthusiasts – all of you need to do exercises that incorporate the hip pivot action.
Does that make my point clear enough?
Okay, then…here we go with the “hip pivot nugget of gold” for today.
Why do I feel so strong about the hip pivot? First off, most people have less-than-stellar hip mobility. Most people have tight external rotators of the hip. Do this for me: stand up and walk a few paces, then stop. Look down at your feet. Are they turned out? A clue that you might have this common issue is that your feet externally rotate. Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. Most of my clients initially present with this compensation, which is indicative of tight Soleus/Biceps Femoris/Piriformis and weak Glute Medius. You don’t have to be a fitness genius to realize that if you want to promote balance, you must “calm down” & stretch the tight areas and “fire up” the weak ones. There are many ways to do this for the areas listed, but the action of hip pivoting should not be left out of the equation.
You see, when you perform a hip pivot, not only are you actively driving the pivot leg into internal rotation, you are also driving the stationary hip into internal rotation. This action “fires up” the glutes and provides a dynamic stretch of the tight hip external rotators. It’s a win-win!
Here’s a rundown of a corrective strategy:
- Tiger Tail for Soleus/Gastrocs
- Straight-Leg Hamstring Stetch (assisted or with rope) for Hams
- Static Piriformis Stretch
- Bridge Variation (for Glute Max, which most likely is also weak)
- Miniband Lateral Walks for Glute Medius
- Medicine Ball Pivot Rotations for total-body integration and emphasis on hip internal rotation
Crappy picture quality, but check out my pivot!
Bottom line:
The “lost art” of pivoting must be rediscovered!
WE ALL NEED TO PIVOT!
Til next time, get started and keep on pivoting!
Yours in Health,
Sarah
Ah...the glorious hip pivot!
Sometimes I feel like I repeat myself…okay, so I feel I do that a lot! Call it what you will, I call it “getting the point across.” There are a few subjects with which this is the case, one of which is the glorious phenomenon of the hip pivot.
Why devote an entire post to this subject?
I could devote several posts to this subject.
Trainers – all of your clients need to do exercises that incorporate the hip pivot action.
Exercise enthusiasts – all of you need to do exercises that incorporate the hip pivot action.
Does that make my point clear enough?
Okay, then…here we go with the “hip pivot nugget of gold” for today.
Why do I feel so strong about the hip pivot? First off, most people have less-than-stellar hip mobility. Most people have tight external rotators of the hip. Do this for me: stand up and walk a few paces, then stop. Look down at your feet. Are they turned out? A clue that you might have this common issue is that your feet externally rotate. Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. Most of my clients initially present with this compensation, which is indicative of tight Soleus/Biceps Femoris/Piriformis and weak Glute Medius. You don’t have to be a fitness genius to realize that if you want to promote balance, you must “calm down” & stretch the tight areas and “fire up” the weak ones. There are many ways to do this for the areas listed, but the action of hip pivoting should not be left out of the equation.
You see, when you perform a hip pivot, not only are you actively driving the pivot leg into internal rotation, you are also driving the stationary hip into internal rotation. This action “fires up” the glutes and provides a dynamic stretch of the tight hip external rotators. It’s a win-win!
Here’s a rundown of a corrective strategy:
Crappy picture quality, but check out my pivot!
Bottom line:
The “lost art” of pivoting must be rediscovered!
WE ALL NEED TO PIVOT!
Til next time, get started and keep on pivoting!
Yours in Health,
Sarah
Filed under: Exercises & Workouts, Personal Trainers' Issues, Sarah Says | Tagged: corrective exercise, hip mobility, hip pivot, internal rotation, medicine ball, pivot, rotation | 7 Comments »
Ah...the glorious hip pivot!
Sometimes I feel like I repeat myself…okay, so I feel I do that a lot! Call it what you will, I call it “getting the point across.” There are a few subjects with which this is the case, one of which is the glorious phenomenon of the hip pivot.
Why devote an entire post to this subject?
I could devote several posts to this subject.
Trainers – all of your clients need to do exercises that incorporate the hip pivot action.
Exercise enthusiasts – all of you need to do exercises that incorporate the hip pivot action.
Does that make my point clear enough?
Okay, then…here we go with the “hip pivot nugget of gold” for today.
Why do I feel so strong about the hip pivot? First off, most people have less-than-stellar hip mobility. Most people have tight external rotators of the hip. Do this for me: stand up and walk a few paces, then stop. Look down at your feet. Are they turned out? A clue that you might have this common issue is that your feet externally rotate. Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. Most of my clients initially present with this compensation, which is indicative of tight Soleus/Biceps Femoris/Piriformis and weak Glute Medius. You don’t have to be a fitness genius to realize that if you want to promote balance, you must “calm down” & stretch the tight areas and “fire up” the weak ones. There are many ways to do this for the areas listed, but the action of hip pivoting should not be left out of the equation.
You see, when you perform a hip pivot, not only are you actively driving the pivot leg into internal rotation, you are also driving the stationary hip into internal rotation. This action “fires up” the glutes and provides a dynamic stretch of the tight hip external rotators. It’s a win-win!
Here’s a rundown of a corrective strategy:
Crappy picture quality, but check out my pivot!
Bottom line:
The “lost art” of pivoting must be rediscovered!
WE ALL NEED TO PIVOT!
Til next time, get started and keep on pivoting!
Yours in Health,
Sarah