The hips play a pretty critical role in running. To push power through every step, to keep your body stable (and therefore avoid injury), to keep you moving forward with speed—you need strong hips. That means you have to target the quads, glutes, hip abductors, hip adductors, and all the other little muscles around this ball-and-socket joint that keep you running strong and fast, with strength-training exercises.
To do that, you need solid hip workouts, like this one created by Yusuf Jeffers, a NASM-certified personal trainer and USATF-certified running coach. He breaks down the benefits of this hip workout in particular, plus how to add it to your routine.
The Benefits of Hip Workouts for Runners
“A strong lumbo-pelvic-hip complex is a crucial part of an athlete’s ability to dynamically stabilize and produce force,” Jeffers tells Runner’s World. “A weak lumbo-pelvic-hip complex is a fundamental problem inherent to inefficient movement that may lead to predictable patterns of injury.” Translation: A not-so-stable midsection can hinder your performance and increase your chance of becoming sidelined.
That’s why Jeffers created a hip workout circuit specifically designed with runners in mind. The exercises he included build unilateral stability and strength (that means you work one side at a time, helping to address imbalances), and “closely resembles the way in which our bodies work while running,” he says.
Strength Training Guide: Perform each exercise for 1 minute total (30 seconds per leg where applicable). Complete 2 to 4 rounds of this 7-move circuit, resting 2 minutes after each round. Each move is demonstrated by Jeffers in the video above so you can learn proper form.
1. Hip Controlled Articular Rotation
Start on all fours, knees under hips and shoulders over wrists. Keep belly button drawn in toward spine, back flat. This is your starting position. Lift left leg out to the left side, keeping it bent 90 degrees and stopping at hip height. Then, lift left leg back and up like you’re doing a donkey kick. Circle left hip inward to come back to starting position. Repeat this motion of “out, up, and back” for 30 seconds, then repeat on other leg for 30 more seconds. Keep hips and shoulders square to the floor as you go. If either drop, make the circle smaller.
2. Hip Raise With Lateral Leg Lift
Start lying on right side with right forearm on the ground, forming a straight line from head to feet, feet stacked on top of each other. Bend the bottom leg and keep the knee in contact with the floor, lessening the load. Engage core and slowly raise hips, then lift top (left) leg. Return top (left) leg to ground, then lower hips back to ground. Repeat for 30 seconds, then switch sides and perform the movement for 30 more seconds.
3. Over-Under Hurdle Walk
Start standing with feet hip-width apart, hands on hips. Moving toward the right, drive right knee up and over an imaginary hurdle, then drive left knee up and over the same imaginary hurdle. (You should step to the right.) Next, take a big step to the right, squatting to crouch under an imaginary hurdle. Repeat the sequence (going over and under an imaginary hurdle) moving toward the left. Repeat for 1 minute total, alternating between the left and right legs/sides.
4. Seated Leg Lift
Start sitting on the ground, both legs extended straight out on the ground, arms bent at 90 degrees with hands in fists in front of your stomach. Place a yoga block, water bottle, or other object of similar height to the left of left leg. Keeping left leg straight, lift it up off the ground and over the yoga block, tapping heel on the ground each time you lift leg up and over. Repeat for 30 seconds, then switch legs (moving the yoga block to the right of right leg) and perform the movement for 30 more seconds.
5. Single-Leg Glute Bridge With Leg Lift
Lie faceup, left knee bent and right leg extended straight out on the ground. Engage glutes and lift hips up, driving through left heel, to coming into a single-leg glute bridge. Lift right leg toward the ceiling, keeping knees in line. This is your starting position. While keeping glutes lifted off the ground, lower right leg down to ground. Then lift it back up to starting position. Repeat for 30 seconds, then switch legs and perform the movement for 30 more seconds.
6. Single-Leg Glute Bridge
Lie faceup, knees bent, feet planted, arms down by sides on the floor. Lift left leg up toward the ceiling but keep both knees aligned. Engage glutes as you lift hips up, driving through right heel. Lower hips back to the floor and repeat for 30 seconds, then switch legs and perform the movement for 30 more seconds.
7. Standing Hip Hinge With Rotation
Start standing with feet hip-width apart, hands on hips. Lift left foot a few inches off the ground, lifting it behind you, and hinge forward at hips by sending butt straight back. Keep shoulders down and back, back flat, and core engaged. This is your starting position. Rotate hips and torso to the left, then back to starting position. Rotate hips and torso to the right, then back to starting position. Continue rotating torso to each side for 30 seconds, then repeat on opposite side for 30 more seconds.
Danielle Zickl is a freelance writer who has 10 years of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition. She's a graduate of Ithaca College. You can find her work here on Women's Health, and in many other publications including PS, SELF, Well+Good, Runner’s World, Outside RUN, Peloton, Men’s Fitness, and more.
