Hinge

Hip Hinge and Single-Leg Hip Hinge  The Hip Hinge is a fundamental movement needed to safely load before jumping and to lift and pick up items. Being able to keep a neutral spine while hips hinge backward is key to back health. For athletes, it’s also key to efficient jumping mechanics, hip extension during sprinting, throwing, kicking and other athletic movements—as well as the ability to safely lift a lot weight—as in the deadlift.

Note: As integral as the Hip Hinge is to back health and strength, it can be one of the most difficult movements to master. Some athletes catch on to the Hip Hinge immediately, while others take months or longer to become proficient. An inability to learn the hip hinge can be due to a number of factors, including restricted mobility in the hips, hamstrings, or ankles; inefficient neuromuscular recruitment; or insufficient low back strength and/or endurance. Athletes: DO NOT move on to weighted deadlifts until you have baseline strength and endurance through the muscles that stabilize the spine and until the mechanics of the Hip Hinge are fully engrained to muscle memory. If back strength/endurance and/or Hip Hinge mechanics are lacking, Super Hero, Half Airplane, and Bridge will help.

 

Hip Hinge

1. Stand with feet hip width, knees bent, toes pointed forward, and hands resting on thighs.
2. While engaging the deep core, push your hips back. 
3. Keeping a slight bend in the knees, weight toward heels, continue to hinge hips backward (push butt backward) sliding hands down the front of your legs until they reach about mid-shin or just a few inches below the knee.
4. Keep chest tall and shoulders back so that the spine remains neutral—not rounded or over-extended—from head to tail bone. If hamstring flexibility doesn’t allow for a neutral spine throughout the movement, limit range of motion until mobility improves.
5. Drive through your heels to push back to starting position—squeezing glutes and extending hips to neutral when you reach the top.

 

Single-Leg Hip Hinge

1. Stand on left leg, knee bent, toe pointed forward, and hands resting on thighs.
2. While engaging the deep core, push your hips back. 
3. Keeping a slight bend in the left knee, weight toward heel, continue to hinge hips backward (push butt backward) keeping hands close to your body until they reach about mid-shin or just a few inches below the knee.
4. As hands come closer to the floor allow your right leg to extend behind you, keeping hips level.
5. Keep chest tall and shoulders back so that the spine remains neutral—not rounded or over-extended—from head to tail bone. If hamstring flexibility doesn’t allow for a neutral spine throughout the movement, limit range of motion until mobility improves.
6. Drive through your left heel to push back to starting position—squeezing glute and extending hips to neutral when you reach the top.
7. Perform desired repetitions and repeat on other side.

Hinge Deadlift (HDL) and Single-Leg HDL   After baseline strength and endurance through the muscles that stabilize the spine and the mechanics of the Hip Hinge are fully engrained to muscle memory, athletes can move on to a weighted Hip Hinge (Hinge Dead Lift). The Hip Hinge (Deadlift) movement is key to efficient jumping mechanics, hip extension during sprinting, throwing, kicking and other athletic movements. Developing a strong deadlift (both bilaterally and unilaterally) is also crucial to injury prevention in sports because it promotes a stable low back along with strong hamstrings and glutes—all of which are key to supporting the spine and remaining stable while exerting force and receiving contact from an opponent.

Note: As integral as the Hip Hinge (HDL) is to back health and strength, it can be one of the most difficult movements to master. Some athletes catch on to the Hip Hinge immediately, while others take months or longer to become proficient. An inability to learn the hip hinge can be due to a number of factors, including restricted mobility in the hips, hamstrings, or ankles; inefficient neuromuscular recruitment; or insufficient low back strength and/or endurance. Athletes: DO NOT move on to weighted deadlifts until you have baseline strength and endurance through the muscles that stabilize the spine and until the mechanics of the Hip Hinge are fully engrained to muscle memory. If back strength/endurance and/or Hip Hinge mechanics are lacking, Super Hero, Half Airplane, and Bridge will help.

 

 

Hinge Deadlift (HDL)

1. Stand with feet hip width, knees bent, toes pointed forward. Hold a barbell or a dumbbell in each hand resting weight against your thighs.
2. While engaging the deep core, push your hips back. 
3. Keeping a slight bend in the knees, weight toward heels, continue to hinge hips backward (push butt backward) sliding weight down the front of your legs until hands reach about mid-shin or just a few inches below the knee.
4. Keep chest tall and shoulders back so that the spine remains neutral—not rounded or over-extended—from head to tail bone. If hamstring flexibility doesn’t allow for a neutral spine throughout the movement, limit range of motion until mobility improves.
5. Drive through your heels to push back to starting position—squeezing glutes and extending hips to neutral when you reach the top.

 

Single-Leg HDL

1. Stand on left leg, knee bent, toe pointed forward. Hold a barbell or a dumbbell in each hand resting weight against your thighs.
2. While engaging the deep core, push your hips back. 
3. Keeping a slight bend in the left knee, weight toward heel, continue to hinge hips backward (push butt backward) sliding weight down the front of your legs until hands reach about mid-shin or just a few inches below the knee.
4. As hands come closer to the floor allow your right leg to extend behind you, keeping hips level.
5. Keep chest tall and shoulders back so that the spine remains neutral—not rounded or over-extended—from head to tail bone. If hamstring flexibility doesn’t allow for a neutral spine throughout the movement, limit range of motion until mobility improves.
6. Drive through your left heel to push back to starting position—squeezing glute and extending hips to neutral when you reach the top.
7. Perform desired repetitions and repeat on other side.