Hip Hinge Drill

The Hip Hinge Drill is a skill exercise that teaches you to bend at the hips while keeping your spine stable. It trains your hamstrings and glutes to control the movement, with help from your lower back and core.

Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and a slight bend in your knees. Hold a dowel behind your back so it touches the back of your head, your upper back, and your tailbone all at once. If you are using a band, anchor it low in front of you and hold it with light tension.

Push your hips back toward a wall behind you, as if you were trying to close a car door with your hips. Keep the dowel in contact with your head, back, and tailbone the whole time. Your knees should stay soft, your back should stay flat, and you should feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Stop before your back rounds, then drive your hips forward to stand tall.

Take a breath in and brace your core before you hinge, then exhale as you return to standing. To make it easier, hinge only a few inches or place your hands on your hips instead of using a dowel. To make it harder, stand closer to the wall, pause for a second at the bottom, or use a light band pulling your hands forward.

Fault: Your lower back rounds and the dowel loses contact with your tailbone. Fix: Stop the hinge earlier, keep your ribs down, and focus on keeping the dowel touching your head, upper back, and tailbone throughout the movement.

Fault: You bend your knees too much and turn the hinge into a squat. Fix: Keep your knees soft but mostly still, and think about pushing your hips straight back toward the wall rather than sitting down.

Fault: Your head lifts up and breaks contact with the dowel. Fix: Keep your gaze at the floor a few feet in front of you and let your head move with your torso so all three contact points stay in place.