Increase strength and mobility by doing hip flexor stretches
Although they seem to be one of the most important parts of the body for athletic and sports activities, the hip flexors seem to be one of the most neglected muscle groups for strength training. It is not very common to find training programs that include hip flexor exercises and stretches.
Some of the main reasons they’ve been neglected are that there really isn’t any way to train the hip flexor with free weights. They are also deep seated rather than surface muscles that may have been overlooked by many fitness experts in the past.
One way they seem to get stronger is through complex leg extension exercises. The hamstrings can also be strengthened and developed through the use of hamstring leg curls.
There are many advantages to having strong hip flexors in different sports and athletic activities. Running with longer strides and lifting the knees high is very important and having stronger, more flexible hip flexors increases this ability for this type of athlete. Hip flexor strength is also associated with different activities in soccer. For example, kicking a ball involves simultaneous knee extension and hip flexion, so achieving a more powerful kick requires different hip flexion exercises. Strong hip flexors can also be very helpful in taking down an opponent in soccer or rugby. The explosive power and ability of an athlete is directly reflected in the amount of flexibility and strength in the quads and hip flexors.
Soccer and rugby players who have developed quadriceps and gluteal muscles are often unable to lift their knee as high and lose mobility on the field, simply dragging their feet. Having stronger hip flexors would allow them to improve their mobility and strength.
One of the problems in building hip flexor strength has been the lack of available exercises. Some of the exercises that have been used are hanging leg raises and incline crunches, both using your own body weight. Although they do strengthen the hip flexor, it appears to be very limited.
Many seem to have neglected the effective development of techniques that would increase strength in the hip flexor as it seems unimportant. We don’t really know the true benefits of what the hip flexors can actually do to increase athletic performance and ability. It is an area that has generated more attention and only seems to offer more and more potential.
