Part of my Lower Body Mobility series. Part one is the ankle post.

The ankle problem at least had a clear number. The hip problem is more basic: lie on my back, pull one knee toward my chest, and it stops well short of the ribs. I have tried pushing it further with my hands, for years on and off, and it has never moved.

So this post starts further back than most hip mobility advice does. These are my notes on what is going on, what to check, and the routine I am starting with.

Pushing harder does not work

This was the first thing I had wrong. When you force a stiff hip, the muscles around the joint tense up to protect it. The harder you shove, the more they guard, and the range gets worse, not better.

Everything below is done at a mild stretch, roughly a 4 out of 10, with slow breathing, for long enough that the nervous system lets go. It is boring. It is also the only version that works.

Muscle or joint?

Before spending months on stretches, it is worth knowing what kind of block it is.

Lie on your back, hug one knee and pull it toward your chest. Then let the knee drift slightly outward, toward the same-side shoulder.

  • If drifting out gives you more room, the limit is mostly soft tissue. That improves with the work below.
  • If you get a sharp pinch deep in the front of the hip or groin at the end, whatever the angle, the bone of the thigh may be meeting the socket rim. That is a structural shape, it is common, and stretching into it for months does not help. It is a reason to have a physio look once.

This is the hip flexion test from The Ready State, with the benchmarks of past 90 degrees and then 120 to 125:

And a set of self-tests for the pinching kind of block:

Three things the hips need for a squat

Flexion. The thigh folds deep toward the torso. This is my worst one.

External rotation and adductor length. The knees have to track out over the toes, which needs the hips to open and the inner thighs to allow it. Knees caving in, or a pull in the groin at the bottom, is this.

Hip flexor length. Tight from sitting, they tip the pelvis forward and make the lower back arch at the bottom of the squat.

Each one gets a drill below.

The routine

About 10 minutes, daily. In order.

1. Knee hugs

On your back. Pull one knee toward the chest, 10 slow reps, letting the knee drift outward each time to find the easy path. Then hold the best position for 1 minute. The other leg stays flat on the floor. If the lower back lifts off the floor or the other leg rises, you have gone past your real range.

2. Supported deep squat

Hold a door frame or pole at chest height, heels on the plate. Lean back into your hands and sink as low as you can. Breathe there for 1 to 2 minutes, gently shifting weight side to side. The hands take the balance problem away, so the hips can just open.

The Barbell Physio on using this position to build squat depth:

3. 90/90, elevated

Sit with the front shin across your body and the back shin out behind you, both knees at 90 degrees. If you cannot sit upright, and I cannot, sit on a cushion or a yoga block so the pelvis is higher than the feet. Hold 1 to 2 minutes each side, torso tall.

The block version for people who cannot get upright yet:

4. Adductor rock-backs

Hands and knees, one leg straight out to the side, foot flat. Rock the hips back toward the heel of the kneeling leg, slowly, 10 reps per side. You should feel the inner thigh of the straight leg.

Two more angles on the same drill: Mike Reinold and Prehab.

5. Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch

Kneel on one knee, front foot flat. Squeeze the glute on the kneeling side, tuck the pelvis under, then shift forward a little until you feel the front of the kneeling hip. Hold 1 minute per side. The glute squeeze and tuck are the whole stretch. Without them you just arch the lower back.

The mistakes version, worth watching once: How NOT to stretch your hip flexors.

To check whether your hip flexors are actually tight, the Thomas test, done at home:

6. Ankles

The two ankle drills from part one. Hips and ankles share the squat, so they go in the same session.

Full routines

If you want one video to follow:

Timeline and retests

Nothing for two weeks. A noticeable change at four to six. A different squat at three months. Hips move slower than ankles.

Every two weeks, cold: knee hug distance, whether I can sit upright in 90/90 without hands, and the Thomas test. Numbers go on the main page.

And one visit to a physio, to settle the muscle-or-joint question properly. Ten minutes with someone who does this all day beats months of me guessing.