Hips — Dynamic Stretches
The hips are the most important region to prepare dynamically before training. They sit at the center of almost every lower body movement and contribute meaningfully to upper body movements through their role in stabilizing the trunk and transferring force. Arriving at a squat or deadlift session with cold, stiff hips is one of the more reliable ways to move poorly and feel it afterward.
Dynamic hip warm up work opens the joint through its full range of motion progressively — rotation, flexion, extension, and lateral movement — preparing it for the demands of whatever loading follows. The hip is a ball and socket joint capable of moving in multiple planes, and a complete dynamic warm up should challenge it in more than one direction rather than just swinging the leg forward and backward and calling it done.
The world’s greatest stretch earns its name. It’s a single movement that addresses hip flexor length, thoracic rotation, hip external rotation, and hamstring flexibility simultaneously — making it one of the most efficient warm up movements in the library. If the hip dynamic warm up is going to be abbreviated, starting and ending with the world’s greatest stretch covers more ground than almost any other single movement.
Hip 90-90 transitions are worth particular attention for anyone who sits for extended periods or who experiences hip stiffness during squatting and hinging movements. Moving through internal and external rotation actively prepares the hip joint for the rotational demands that training places on it and addresses the stiffness that prolonged sitting creates.
Reference Card
Region: Hips Type: Dynamic — moving through range of motion Best Used: Before training, particularly before lower body sessions Repetitions: 10–15 per movement, per side where applicable
Movements
- Hip circles
- Hip 90-90 transitions
- The world’s greatest stretch
- Lateral lunge with reach
Considerations
- The world’s greatest stretch is one of the most complete warm up movements available — prioritize it when time is limited
- Hip 90-90 transitions address internal and external rotation that most other warm up movements don’t — particularly valuable for people who sit for long periods
- Hip warm up work is appropriate before any training session, not just lower body days — the hips contribute to trunk stability and force transfer in upper body movements as well
- Range should increase progressively across repetitions — don’t force depth or rotation from the first rep
Programming Notes
- 4–6 minutes covering all four movements is sufficient as a warm up for this region
- Works well as the fourth stage of a full body dynamic warm up after back and core movements
- Non negotiable before heavy squat, deadlift, and lunge sessions — abbreviated hip warm up before heavy lower body work is a false economy