5 Best Hip Stretches That Every Athlete Needs to Know

Your hips are both an anatomical miracle and a (literal) pain in the butt. You already know this if you spend any time running, hiking, cycling, climbing, jumping, dancing, kicking, diving, or doing just about anything besides standing. But things can go awry. An estimated 40 percent of adult athletes experience chronic hip pain. Because of the anatomical complexity of the hips, the possible number of issues you could experience is wide-ranging. Hip pain is often even more confounding than many other types of muscle soreness because easy-to-miss indicators can include back pain, knee and ankle pain, poor balance, and bad posture.

And athletes may be especially susceptible. Research indicates that one contributing factor to hip soreness and decreased range of motion is strength or mobility imbalance in any of the muscles that control your hips, including imbalanced athletic training. Stretching can help. Trick is, there’s a difference between knowing that you need to stretch and knowing the most essential hip stretches for athletes. And there’s not exactly an abundance of information regarding the latter.

Why Athletes Need Hip Stretches

Each hip is surrounded by more than a dozen muscles that allow you to move your legs forward, backward, side to side, in and out, and in rotation. Ideally, you want to target as many of the various muscles contributing to hip mobility as possible. And practicing the same two stretches you’ve been doing since high school isn’t going to deliver on that.

5 Best Hip Stretches for Athletes

The following hip stretches can help bring relief to stiffness and soreness in the hips and help . It’s ideal to practice them after a workout or when your muscles are warm. If you experience hip pain, always consult with your physician or physical therapist.

1. Frog Pose

One of the best hip stretches for athletes, Frog Pose can improve your hip rotation and reduce knee strain.

Benefit: Mobilizes the hips, inner thighs/groin, shoulders, and chest. Improves lateral strength and speed, reduces knee strain, and allows for better rotational capability in the hips for sports such as martial arts.

How to:

1. Get into a tabletop position with your elbows under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Slowly slide or walk your legs apart as far as you comfortably can, keeping your knees in line with your hips and your ankles in line with your knees. Your toes should be pointing left and right.
2. Engage your abdominals to keep your lower back from sagging.
3. When you feel a stretch in your hips, stop there and breathe for 1 to 2 minutes.

Modify: If you’re feeling particularly inflexible in this position, place a yoga block, rolled towel, or pillow underneath your chest or pelvis. This helps support your weight and prevents overstretching or strain in your hips.

2. Prayer Squat

Practicing Prayer Squat can release tension in the hips, hamstrings, and lower back.

Benefit: Mobilizes the hips, shoulders, ankles, glutes, knees, hamstrings, and lower back. Increases squatting depth, enhances explosive power, improves running efficiency, and contributes to improved Achilles tendon health.

How to:

1. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart with your legs turned slightly outward at your hips.
2. Bend your knees and hips and slowly descend into a very low squat, keeping your heels on the floor, your chest lifted, and your knees in line with your toes.
3. Press your palms together in front of your chest and place your elbows against your inner thighs to gently push outward against your knees. Draw your tailbone down as you lift the crown of your head up. Breathe here for 1 to 3 minutes.

Modify: If your heels don’t reach the floor, place a rolled or folded blanket or a small set of weight plates underneath your heels for support. This enables your muscles to release slowly and without strain.

3. Half Split

Half Splits can be integral in stretching your calves, hamstrings, hips, and lower back—not to mention increasing your running efficiency.

Benefit: Mobilizes the hips, hamstrings, calves, and lower back. Improves squat depth and power, increases running efficiency, improves range of motion for sports like gymnastics and dance.

How to:

1. Begin in a lunge with your right foot forward and your left knee on the ground.
2. Place your hands on the floor on either side of your right foot under your shoulders, then shift your hips back over your left knee and slowly straighten your right leg, flexing your foot and pulling your toes toward your shin.
3. Keep your back as straight as possible as you walk your hands forward and hinge at your hips until you feel a stretch in the back of your right leg. Breathe here for 1 minute. Switch sides.

Modify: If you experience difficulty reaching the floor or find yourself rounding your back, place yoga blocks or stacks of books underneath your hands to allow for length in your spine and back body. You can also keep a slight bend in your right knee.

4. Cross-Legged Forward Fold

This seated hip stretch for athletes targets the IT band and other potential problem areas for runners and cyclists. This modified version is inspired by Easy Pose and Baddha Konasana.

Benefit: Mobilizes the back, shoulders, hips, piriformis, knees, and ankles. Improves gait, increases power and flexibility, supports superior balance for sports such as cycling.

How to:

1. Sit cross-legged with your knees stacked over your ankles. Relax your feet and thighs as much as you can.
2. Press your sit bones into the floor and then slowly walk your hands forward, hinging at your hips and keeping your back straight.
3. When you can no longer fold forward, allow your back to round forward and release your neck and head. You can rest your head on a block if that’s comfortable for you. Breathe here for 30 to 60 seconds. Switch the crossing of your legs and repeat.

Modify: If your sit bones lift off the floor, place a blanket, yoga block, or pillow underneath your glutes until your hips are higher than your knees. This can often increase your range of motion.

5. High Lizard Lunge

One of the most challenging and best hip stretches for athletes, High Lizard Lunge melds elements of three yoga poses—Lizard Pose, Low Lunge, and Forearm Plank—to bring release to several muscle groups at once.

Benefit: Mobilizes the hamstrings, hip flexors, quads, and lower back. Increases overall lower-body power, improves agility and speed, enables a more refined running stride.

How to:

1. Find a Plank or push-up position with your head, hips, and heels aligned. Place your elbows directly underneath your shoulders and clasp your hands.
2. Step your right foot outside your right elbow with your knee bent 90 degrees and your left leg straight behind you.
3. Press down into your elbows and right foot to partially support your weight. As your left hip flexor along the front of your thigh begins to relax, redistribute your weight toward your left side to enhance the stretch. Breathe here for 1 minute.

Modify: If this is a super-challenging position for you, perform this move on your hands rather than your forearms. You can also place your hands on a yoga block.

RELATED: The Hip-Strengthening Workout You Didn’t Know You Needed

A version of this article originally appeared in Oxygen Magazine.