This exercise will lengthen your hamstrings, adductors and hip rotators, mobilize the joint capsule and activate pretty much all of your hip muscles.
It’s a great bang for your buck technique, so be THANKFUL you landed here because your hips are going to feel renewed after doing the exercise I’m sharing with you.
Lucky you. 🙂
I call it the Supine Hip PNF because you’re lying down on your back (this is what supine means) and PNF stands for Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation, which is not just about stretching, but a system of exercise and movement that trains muscle activation, joint stability AND flexibility.
I first learned about PNF from the book Supertraining by the late Mel Siff and in the book Siff lists 23 principles of PNF and the exercise you’re about to do today includes (but not limited to) these important ones:
- Use of spiral and diagonal movement patterns
- Motion crossing the sagittal midline of the body
- Recruitment of all movement components, especially flexion-extension, adduction-abduction and internal-external rotation
- Movement free of pain, but not free of effort
To summarize, here are some of the benefits of doing this exercise and thus applying these principles:
- No equipment – do it anywhere you can lie flat on your back
- Anyone can do it regardless of level of fitness
- Strengthens muscles in end ranges of motion where most people are extremely weak
- Works rotational and diagonal movement patterns (PNF), which fully integrates your left and right brain hemispheres
So, watch the video in FULL and if you have any inkling that you might benefit, I urge you to do the exercise as soon as possible, ideally, right now.
Don’t just watch it then leave – this is what most people who watch exercise videos online do, which is why most people are inflexible and out of shape.
But I mean, if you landed here and for some reason thought you were going to watch a Mike Chang video, then you don’t have to do it as I can understand your supreme disappointment. 😉
For the rest of you, it’s GO TIME:
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Ideally perform 3 reps in both directions on each leg, but even 1 rep on each side is better than none.
Once you’ve tried it out, you qualify to leave a comment, so hit me up when you’re done.
Can’t wait to hear from you, champ. 🙂
And if this exercise does feel great, please SHARE it because everyone these days is so tight from all the damn sitting! I’m sure you know at least a few people who will really appreciate getting this from you so don’t be shy.
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