Over the course of my 5 year Crossfit coaching career, I collected quite a few certifications; because admittedly just getting a Crossfit Level 1 cert made me feel unqualified to coach grown humans through hard ass workouts. All certifications were very educational and helpful when it came to coaching my athletes, but the absolute best certification and training I ever received was in mobility. This course is where I discovered that I didn't know shit when it came to proper mechanics of movements as basic as the squat or push up; let alone all the ways the human body is meant to move and stretch. Luckily, I know most fitness-y things now.
Now, of course it's important to focus on mobility and recovery for every part of your body and I can talk about those another day. Today, I wanted to talk about the absolute most important body part that we need to constantly be working on... the hips!
Ever dealt with back pain? It sucks a bag of dicks, right?!
How about knee pain?
Ankle pain?
Do you struggle with a belly pooch no matter how many ab workouts you do?
What about your workouts... are you actually improving when it comes to speed and weights?
Whether your struggling with pain management or breaking those plateaus at the gym, hip mobility is a main factor. Your hip functionality directly impacts other parts of your body. So, get them hips healthy and mobile!
In this day and age, we all live sedentary lifestyles that are slowly killing us. Majority of us have desk jobs where at the end of the day we're hunched over looking like friggin' Smeagol protecting his precious. If you are one of those "all day sitters", it is imperative that you spend multiple segments of your day walking or stretching. Do this and prevent pain, rapid joint aging, and know that your body thanks you for simply getting off your ass.
"But Jordyn, I don't have time to squeeze hip mobility into my busy work/gym schedule"
Bullllllllshit
If you have time to watch the Batchelor to see which Hannah is going to win (I don't watch it but I know lots of bitches be named Hannah), you have time to mobilize.
TV watching is the perfect time for mobility anyway. Just put on your favorite wind down movie or tv show, set a running clock on your phone, and hit a bunch of stretches.
Here are my go-to lazy gal hip stretches (google them to see what they look like because I'm not professional enough to do a full blown stretching photo shoot!):
*Hold for 90-120 seconds per leg*
Couch stretch
Pigeon stretch (Tip: keep the foot on your folded leg flexed)
Lizard pose
Low lunge (this one actually has a pic, see below)
Twisted low lunge (this one has a pic too, under the low lunge pic... such professional)
Focus on driving your bottom leg's side butt into the ground. Trust me, you'll feel it.