It’s all in the hips…

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I’m getting cheeky with the Shakira video but I’m trying to prove a point. If you’re active, you should have a good idea how your hips work as it’s crucial to your success.

The more I look at all the activities I do (golf, running, hockey, cycling, etc), the more I realize it’s all in the hips. I can usually tell how good someone is just by looking how they use their hips.

Most of us have tight hip flexors from sitting more than 9 hours a day. And then we ask our bodies to go and perform like stars on the weekend. It’s not usually a recipe for success. Over the past few months I’ve been doing a lot of hip-specific stretching and strengthening exercises and it’s paid off.

One of the biggest things that pop on the screen when you watch world class athletes, especially runners and golfers, is how loose their hips are. They definitely use hip rotation as an advantage. You see can even see that rotation and it truly looks effortless.

The great thing about hips and core strength is that it’s transferable to all the other activities. The more core strength and hip awareness you have, the better you can be off at volleyball, stand up paddling (SUP), etc. Maybe not the fine motor skills but that’s where most of your power comes from.

I remember doing power cleans in university and I didn’t get why. Let’s just lift heavier. But now I realize it’s all about the snap of the hips if you want power. Your hips and your core connect your upper body to your lower body, and that’s where the magic happens. And the great thing is your core muscles are some of the most efficient muscles in your body so you can use them on a daily basis. And now I do kettlebell swings for fun…

Unfortunately loose and awareness hips won’t happen overnight but try to pay some more attention. If latin dancing is your thing, do it up. It can’t (and shouldn’t) hurt!

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