Hip mobility exercises: 8 moves for tight hips, step by step

Your hip is a ball-and-socket joint built to move in every direction: forward, back, out to the side and in rotation. On most days, though, many of us use only a small slice of that range. Long hours of sitting keep the hips bent, and many people notice tight hips, especially at the front, when they stand up. This is a common experience, not a diagnosis.

Age plays a part too. MedlinePlus notes that joints become stiffer and less flexible as we get older, and that exercise is one of the best ways to slow or prevent problems with muscles, joints and bones. The US Physical Activity Guidelines put it simply: move more and sit less.

Mobility is not the same as flexibility: flexibility is how far a muscle can lengthen, and mobility is how well you control a joint through its range. See mobility vs flexibility for the difference. If stiffness comes with swelling, redness or pain that doesn’t go away, read about joint pain first.

These five points apply to every move in this guide:

Works hip rotation inward and outward, a range daily life rarely asks for.

One of the most useful hip flexor stretches: it targets the front of the hip, the spot many people feel after long hours of sitting.

Strengthens the glutes, the muscles that extend the hip, so you can use the range you gain.

Takes the hips into deep bending while your hands help control your weight.

Slow, controlled circles that move the hip through its whole range. In fitness circles they are called controlled articular rotations, or CARs.

Stretches the outer hip and buttock, including the piriformis area.

Strengthens the side and back of the hip, muscles that help keep your pelvis steady when you walk.

Moves the hips into deep bending while your hands and knees share the load.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends flexibility exercises for each major muscle group at least two days a week. For most adults it suggests holding a static stretch 10 to 30 seconds; older adults may get more benefit from 30 to 60 seconds. Aim for about 60 seconds in total per stretch, for example 2 to 4 holds of 15 to 30 seconds.

A 2016 systematic review found that the extra range from a single stretching session usually lasts less than 30 minutes, so consistency matters more than any one session. The CDC advises muscle-strengthening activity at least 2 days a week, and the bridge and clamshell fit there. How much and how fast your hips change varies from person to person; there is no guaranteed timeline.

According to the CDC, more than one in four older adults falls each year, and falls cause the large majority of emergency visits and hospital stays for hip fractures. The CDC advises exercises that make your legs stronger and improve your balance, such as tai chi. Hip mobility work fits alongside that, always with support:

• Instead of the floor 90/90: sit tall in a chair and let one knee drop inward, then out.
• Standing hip flexor stretch holding a counter, instead of kneeling.
• Seated figure-four instead of lying down.
• Hip circles with one hand on a counter, small circles first.
• Standing up from a chair and sitting back down slowly; the CDC lists this as a balance activity.
• Standing bridge: holding a counter, squeeze your buttocks and push your hips forward.

The CDC’s STEADI initiative helps doctors screen for, assess and reduce fall risk. If you have fallen in the past year, feel unsteady, or worry about falling, ask your doctor for a fall-risk check before you start a new routine.

Put the moves together in this order; the warm-up is built in. Times are approximate; go slower if you need to.