Assessing this basic capacity of the hip and the inclusion of movement training that develops hip function in a natural progression improves our ability as movers. What follows are some simple and effective movement drills you need to improve hip performance – and therefore athletic performance.

“The sweet spot for real-world hip development is training efficient natural movement and then adding proper resistance training to make additional performance gains.”

Why Train Movement for Hip Performance

The sweet spot for real-world hip development is training efficient natural movement and then adding proper resistance training to make additional performance gains. Training movement is they key to longevity and ensures that further strength development is built on a foundation of good mechanics.

Traditional Olympic lifts and other forms of loaded training are an essential for hip strength gains, but many individuals perform these lifts incorrectly or are poor movers to begin with. Adding heavy resistance training to a poor mover leads to weak performance gains and injury. The complexities of the variables that affect hip mechanics make technique, skill, and motor control essential.

Take the squat, for example. Perfect squat form is a bit of a myth and really varies from client to client. Joint anatomy and mechanics, muscular performance, and knee/hip position are some of the variables that affect the optimization of the traditional Olympic-stile squat.¹ A thorough screening of basic hip function should occur prior to resistance training.

“Traditional Olympic lifts and other forms of loaded training are an essential for hip strength gains, but many individuals perform these lifts incorrectly or are poor movers to begin with.”

Simple Assessment of Hip Mobility

The functional FMS-type squat is one of my favorite first-line assessments for hip mobility, muscle performance, and motor control. Understanding that individual anatomy affects this simple assessment is key when considering the functional squat as an evaluation tool.

A simple modification to the functional squat test can help identify problems that may require something other than mobility work of the hip. Physical therapist Phil Malloy does a great job explaining the functional squat test:

Hip Mobility Flow Drill

Once structural hip problems or other red flags are cleared, my favorite type of hip mobility training is a hip flow routine. The benefit of performing natural-type flow drills is that they require both stability and mobility of the hip (dynamic stability), and they often provide rapid improvements. Dean Somerset, trainer and creator of Ruthless Mobility, offers an example of a basic hip flow series here:

Simple Assessment of Glute Max and Glute Medius

Glute max and glute medius deficiency has been proposed as a predictor of injury in athletes.¹ These two muscles are prime stabilisers of the hip. The function of the hip stabilisers has been compared to the function of the shoulder rotator cuff.² As with the shoulder, assessing the function of these muscles and their firing patterns is helpful.

The use of devices like EMG to measure gluteal activation is expensive and cumbersome. But simpler, less-scientific assessments of glute max and glute medius function are also highly effective. Assessing this basic function tells you a ton about an individual’s movement skill.

“While there is some debate in the medical literature of the role of glute max, it is fairly obvious it is an important hip stabiliser.”

How to Assess Glute Max

Gluteus maximus is the largest of the gluteal muscles. The general functions of the muscle are believed to be extension of the hip, adduction, and external rotation. There is also evidence pointing to the significant role of glute max in force closure or compression stabilization of the SI joint. While there is some debate in the medical literature of the role of glute max, it is fairly obvious it is an important hip stabiliser.

My favorite glute max assessment technique is similar to the one below as explained by Dr. John Gibbons. It involves identifying abnormalities by testing the glute max firing pattern in prone position with palpation and movement. Attempting to isolate one side of the glute max versus the other with isometric contraction is also a helpful assessment for motor control.

Glute Max Activation Movement Drills

Performing the basic assessment as an exercise can assist with glute max activation patterns. Prone-to-supine rolling patterns are also helpful to work on segmental firing and motor control issues of the glute max. Basic rolling patterns are a key component to developmental mobility and something I like to include in early phases of training regardless of firing pattern assessments.

How to Assess Glute Medius

In 2008, researchers from Carmel College in Auckland New Zealand identified glute medius dysfunction as one of the more common deficits found in the hip.²The researchers described an examination and assessment process for identifying glute medius problems. Testing involved side-lying leg raises (abduction) or side-lying clamshell movements.

The point of doing the testing procedure was to see if the glutes were active during their dedicated movement patterns versus the TFL or psoas (a common aberration). Palpation (physically touching) the glutes during the movement is helpful to see if they are active versus the anterior hip muscles muscular. Weight bearing examinations include unilateral stance activity or functional squats looking for a hip drop or valgus collapse.

Mike Reinold, physical therapist and founder of Champion Physical Therapy and Performance, describes the process here.

“The point of doing the testing procedure was to see if the glutes were active during their dedicated movement patterns versus the TFL or psoas (a common aberration).”

Glute Medius Activation Drills

The assessments described above can also be helpful remedial exercises. My personal preference is to use close-stance balancing-type movements and jumping-and-landing drills to train the glute medius and lateral hip stabilisers. Two of my favorite MovNat drills for functional glute training are a balancing drill on a narrow object or jumping-and-landing drills.

The Take Home

Enhancing hip function is one of the first places I look to make significant gains in my clients’ ability to move better. Performing the screens for hip muscle function and mobility will help identify problem areas that impair movement performance and aid in injury prevention.

Adding the basic movement drills is an enhancement to any workout regimen or general wellness plan. Do yourself a favor and build solid foundation for efficient movement, locomotion, and power development by taking a good look at the hips.

Take a look at these related links:

• Mobility: It’s All In the Hips – Or Is It?
• Practical, Adaptable, and Efficient: 3 Natural Movement Principles
• Pop Up to the Top Challenge – Free 4-Week Training Plan
• What’s New on Breaking Muscle UK Today

References:

1. Nadler SF et. al., “Relationship Between Hip Muscle Imbalance and Occurrence of Low Back Pain in Collegiate Athletes: A Prospective Study.” Amer Jour of Phys Med and Rehab. 2001; 80(8): 572-577

2. Fry AC., et al., “Effect of Knee Position on Hip and Knee Torques During the Barbell Squat.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2003;17(4), 629–633

3. Bunker TD., et al., (1997). “Rotator-cuff tear of the hip.” J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1997 Jul;79(4):618-20.

4. Presswood L, Cronin J, et. al. “Gluteus Medius: Applied Anatomy, Dysfunction, Assessment, and Progressive Strengthening.” Strength and Cond Journal. 2008 Oct;30(5):41-52.

Photo courtesy ofCrossFit Empirical.

The post Movement Drills to Improve Your Hip Performance appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Assessing this basic capacity of the hip and the inclusion of movement training that develops hip function in a natural progression improves our ability as movers. What follows are some simple and effective movement drills you need to improve hip performance – and therefore athletic performance.

“The sweet spot for real-world hip development is training efficient natural movement and then adding proper resistance training to make additional performance gains.”

Why Train Movement for Hip Performance

The sweet spot for real-world hip development is training efficient natural movement and then adding proper resistance training to make additional performance gains. Training movement is they key to longevity and ensures that further strength development is built on a foundation of good mechanics.

Traditional Olympic lifts and other forms of loaded training are an essential for hip strength gains, but many individuals perform these lifts incorrectly or are poor movers to begin with. Adding heavy resistance training to a poor mover leads to weak performance gains and injury. The complexities of the variables that affect hip mechanics make technique, skill, and motor control essential.

Take the squat, for example. Perfect squat form is a bit of a myth and really varies from client to client. Joint anatomy and mechanics, muscular performance, and knee/hip position are some of the variables that affect the optimization of the traditional Olympic-stile squat.¹ A thorough screening of basic hip function should occur prior to resistance training. 

“Traditional Olympic lifts and other forms of loaded training are an essential for hip strength gains, but many individuals perform these lifts incorrectly or are poor movers to begin with.”

Simple Assessment of Hip Mobility

The functional FMS-type squat is one of my favorite first-line assessments for hip mobility, muscle performance, and motor control. Understanding that individual anatomy affects this simple assessment is key when considering the functional squat as an evaluation tool.

A simple modification to the functional squat test can help identify problems that may require something other than mobility work of the hip. Physical therapist Phil Malloy does a great job explaining the functional squat test:

Hip Mobility Flow Drill

Once structural hip problems or other red flags are cleared, my favorite type of hip mobility training is a hip flow routine. The benefit of performing natural-type flow drills is that they require both stability and mobility of the hip (dynamic stability), and they often provide rapid improvements. Dean Somerset, trainer and creator of Ruthless Mobility, offers an example of a basic hip flow series here:

Simple Assessment of Glute Max and Glute Medius

Glute max and glute medius deficiency has been proposed as a predictor of injury in athletes.¹ These two muscles are prime stabilizers of the hip. The function of the hip stabilizers has been compared to the function of the shoulder rotator cuff.² As with the shoulder, assessing the function of these muscles and their firing patterns is helpful.

The use of devices like EMG to measure gluteal activation is expensive and cumbersome. But simpler, less-scientific assessments of glute max and glute medius function are also highly effective. Assessing this basic function tells you a ton about an individual’s movement skill.

“While there is some debate in the medical literature of the role of glute max, it is fairly obvious it is an important hip stabilizer.”

How to Assess Glute Max

Gluteus maximus is the largest of the gluteal muscles. The general functions of the muscle are believed to be extension of the hip, adduction, and external rotation. There is also evidence pointing to the significant role of glute max in force closure or compression stabilization of the SI joint. While there is some debate in the medical literature of the role of glute max, it is fairly obvious it is an important hip stabilizer.

My favorite glute max assessment technique is similar to the one below as explained by Dr. John Gibbons. It involves identifying abnormalities by testing the glute max firing pattern in prone position with palpation and movement. Attempting to isolate one side of the glute max versus the other with isometric contraction is also a helpful assessment for motor control.

Glute Max Activation Movement Drills

Performing the basic assessment as an exercise can assist with glute max activation patterns. Prone-to-supine rolling patterns are also helpful to work on segmental firing and motor control issues of the glute max. Basic rolling patterns are a key component to developmental mobility and something I like to include in early phases of training regardless of firing pattern assessments.

How to Assess Glute Medius

In 2008, researchers from Carmel College in Auckland New Zealand identified glute medius dysfunction as one of the more common deficits found in the hip.² The researchers described an examination and assessment process for identifying glute medius problems. Testing involved side-lying leg raises (abduction) or side-lying clamshell movements. 

The point of doing the testing procedure was to see if the glutes were active during their dedicated movement patterns versus the TFL or psoas (a common aberration). Palpation (physically touching) the glutes during the movement is helpful to see if they are active versus the anterior hip muscles muscular. Weight bearing examinations include unilateral stance activity or functional squats looking for a hip drop or valgus collapse.

Mike Reinold, physical therapist and founder of Champion Physical Therapy and Performance, describes the process here.

“The point of doing the testing procedure was to see if the glutes were active during their dedicated movement patterns versus the TFL or psoas (a common aberration).”

Glute Medius Activation Drills

The assessments described above can also be helpful remedial exercises. My personal preference is to use close-stance balancing-type movements and jumping-and-landing drills to train the glute medius and lateral hip stabilizers. Two of my favorite MovNat drills for functional glute training are a balancing drill on a narrow object or jumping-and-landing drills. 

The Take Home

Enhancing hip function is one of the first places I look to make significant gains in my clients’ ability to move better. Performing the screens for hip muscle function and mobility will help identify problem areas that impair movement performance and aid in injury prevention.

Adding the basic movement drills is an enhancement to any workout regimen or general wellness plan. Do yourself a favor and build solid foundation for efficient movement, locomotion, and power development by taking a good look at the hips.

Take a look at these related links:

• Mobility: It’s All In the Hips – Or Is It?
• Practical, Adaptable, and Efficient: 3 Natural Movement Principles
• Pop Up to the Top Challenge – Free 4-Week Training Plan
• What’s New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Nadler SF et. al., “Relationship Between Hip Muscle Imbalance and Occurrence of Low Back Pain in Collegiate Athletes: A Prospective Study.” Amer Jour of Phys Med and Rehab. 2001; 80(8): 572-577

2. Fry AC., et al., “Effect of Knee Position on Hip and Knee Torques During the Barbell Squat.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2003;17(4), 629–633 

3. Bunker TD., et al., (1997). “Rotator-cuff tear of the hip.” J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1997 Jul;79(4):618-20.

4. Presswood L, Cronin J, et. al. “Gluteus Medius: Applied Anatomy, Dysfunction, Assessment, and Progressive Strengthening.” Strength and Cond Journal. 2008 Oct;30(5):41-52.

Photo courtesy of CrossFit Empirical.

The post Simple Tips to Improve Essential Natural Hip Function appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

You may be suffering from the same fate and not even realize you have a problem. Let me explain.

Many people are deficient at two fundamental skills essential to being a human – basic movement and breathing. This sounds hard to believe, but I assure you, it is true.

You may be suffering from the same fate and not even realize you have a problem. Let me explain.

Regaining Lost Movement

Early in my career, I had the honor of working with individuals suffering from massive neurological impairments. Strokes, brain tumors, and a host of other medical maladies wreaked havoc on their brain’s ability to coordinate movement with the rest of the musculoskeletal system.

As a neurology-based therapist, one thing I always recognized when it came to working with these clients was the value of training primitive movements patterns like rolling, crawling, and balancing as precursors to “normal” human locomotion. 

My clients spent endless hours training these natural movements to regain motor skill lost from neurological trauma. Inspiration was in no short supply as I watched them progressing through these patterns to regain their mobility and ability to interact with the world around them.

RELATED: 10 Scientifically Proven Ways Exercise Is Good for Your Brain

The Importance of Diaphragmatic Breathing

Impaired breathing and poor diaphragmatic excursion were also common findings in these clients. The diaphragm is fully integrated with the muscles of the abdomen and core through attachments to the ribs, sternum, lumbar spine, and hip (through the psoas)¹.

Thus, efficient breathing requires coordination between the diaphragm and muscle of the trunk.

“But there are some common threads in my clients now. Many sit behind a desk all day and have racked up numerous injuries over the years.”

Through EMG studies, researchers have confirmed the diaphragm has a role in postural and core stability.²

Because large swaths of postural trunk muscles were often affected by neurological injuries in my clients, diaphragm function was also impacted. This happened whether the actual innervation to the diaphragm was damaged or not. Integrating diaphragm training was an essential component in the restoration of their movement.

RELATED:How to Breathe for Efficiency, Longevity, and Stress Relief

Applications to the General Client

Fast forward nearly two decades and most of my clients are still in a similar predicament. They lack the ability to perform efficient movement patterns and they suck at breathing.

Here is the rub, though – most of the clients I see now don’t have massive neurological impairments. They are considered healthy by all outside appearances. The same people you see at the gym, running marathons, or carrying on with their daily lives are the people I see.

They just have some nagging injury or performance deficit that doesn’t seem to improve.

“[W]hen we train proper movement for repetition and quality, we actually make proper movement more reflexive.”

But there are some common threads in my clients now. Many sit behind a desk all day and have racked up numerous minor injuries over the years.

Most of them exercise (some even work with professional trainers), but they still find themselves in a downward spiral of function and living in general.

These individuals have developed a level of strength, endurance, and performance over a base of poor movement and poor breathing.

The result is inefficient compensatory movement patterns that, while they may lack the severity of those I dealt with early in my career, are still devastating in their own right. These compensations usually go unnoticed for extended periods.

RELATED: Sitting at Your Desk Is Eating Your Muscles

The Science of Proprioception

The body moves inefficiently until there is some obvious and immutable evidence of damage.

By training motor skills through natural movement and efficient breathing, we can perhaps avoid these pitfalls. Research offers ample support for this idea. The type of training is important, though, and I believe MovNat has distinct advantages in this arena.

When researchers studied the brains of rats given unlimited access to a running wheel they found that thirty days of unlimited access did nothing to alter the development of motor maps within the motor cortex.³

Researchers also mapped the movement representation of the motor cortex of the brain when rats were trained for ten days on a skilled and more complex movement task. The motor cortex maps in this second scenario showed significant reorganization of movement representations.⁴

This type of remapping would be consistent with improved motor skill.

Scientific evidence has further demonstrated that when reflexive motor skill is developed it is encoded in the deeper regions of the brain (basal ganglia) that are responsible for automatic movements like eye function.⁴

So, when we train proper movement for repetition and quality, we actually make proper movement more reflexive.

Functional MRI studies have revealed the motor cortex of professional athletes demonstrates more focused activation patterns with imagery than untrained individuals.⁵

RELATED: A System for Maximizing the Movement Potential of Every Person

Legendary research based on proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) techniques for training is also rooted in the idea that the brain does not activate individual muscles – it coordinates movement.⁶

So by training primitive movement patterns and specific movement skills in a natural and developmental way, we are training motor skill in a way that develops our brain’s ability.

Improving Core Activation

Impaired activation of the “core” muscles has been demonstrated in studies involving those classified as failing movement screens (also known as poor movers).

Altered abdominal muscle activation as well as altered function of the diaphragm have also been demonstrated in those with low back pain.⁷

“[M]ost of my clients are still in a similar predicament. They lack the ability to perform efficient movement patterns and they suck at breathing.”

The diaphragm and deep abdominal muscles appose each other to maintain proper intra-abdominal pressure and support normal breathing. So normal function of both muscles should be required for efficient pain-free movement.

The take-home here is if you improve diaphragm function, you will indirectly influence intra-abdominal muscle activation. Taken together, these factors improve core stability and efficient pain-free movement.

Incorporate Basic Drills Into Your Routine

MovNat drills are the perfect addition to any program because training fundamental movement is the cornerstone of every aspect. The training mimics natural patterns of developmental movement acquisition for the motor system, as well as the diaphragm-core complex.

MovNat is a systematic path to better movement and functional ability as a human. 

Start with some basic crawling and diaphragmatic breathing activities. Crawling is a fairly complex exploratory movement that requires the coordination of the left and right side of the brain, as well as reciprocal movement of the limbs.

Crawling also requires the ability to stabilize and mobilize joints in an extremely beneficial manner, and it is a significant building block for other movement skills.

Diaphragmatic breathing can be performed in a variety of ways, as well. Here are two great fundamental crawling exercises from MovNat and a great breathing exercise from the Postural Restoration Institute.

RELATED: Why MovNat Benefits Athletes in All Sports

Knee Hand Crawl

My biggest advice with this one is to be mindful of activating all of the muscles involved with the movement and to stabilize your core.

Foot Hand Crawl

This is a progression of the knee foot crawl. Both should be drilled for repetition and quality.

90/90 Breathing With a Balloon

This is perhaps my favorite breathing exercise of all time. Visit the Postural Restoration Institute for more details, but here are some general instructions and a video demonstration:

1. Lie on your back with your hips and knees flexed to ninety degrees and your heels placed on the seat of a chair or box.
2. Breathe in deeply through your nose while focusing on expanding your abdomen and rib cage laterally.
3. Breathe out forcefully through your mouth, focusing on depressing your ribs inferiorly and expelling all of the air in your lungs.
4. Following the end of the first exhalation, slightly posteriorly tilt your pelvis by driving your heels into the chair, lifting your butt about two inches off the ground.
5. Hold the posterior tilted position for the remainder of the exercise and complete four more breath cycles. Following the fourth breath, relax, drop your hips, and repeat the drill one to two more times.

LEARN MORE: The Roots of MovNat With Coach Erwan Le Corre

The challenge is to train these movements for quality, endurance, repetition, and performance.

This series of exercises alone will make a difference in your general movement and athletic performance.

References:

1. Hodges PW, Richardson CA, Inefficient muscular stabilization of the lumbar spine associated with low back pain: a motor control evaluation of transversus abdominis. Spine. 1996;21:2640–50.

2. Kleim J, Cooper NR, Vandenberg PM, Exercise induces angiogenesis but does not alter movement representations within rat motor cortex. Brain Research. 2002: 934(1); 1-6.

3. Kleim JA, Barbey S, Nudo RJ, Functional reorganization of rat motor cortex following motor skill learning. Jour of Neurophysiology. 1998: 80(6); 3321-3325. 

4. Wei G, Luo J, Sport expert’s motor imagery: Functional imaging of professional motor skills and simple motor skills. Brain Research. 2010:1341; 52-62.

5. Brown P, Roediger H, Mcdaniel MA, Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Cambridge. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 2014.

6. Voss DE, Ionta MK, Myers BJ, Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation: Patterns and Techniques. Philadelphia, Harper & Row Publishers, 1985.

7. Kolar P, Sulc J, Martin K, Sanda J Cakrt O, Andel R, Kumagal K, Kobesova A, Postural function of the diaphragm in persons with and without chronic low back pain. JOSPT. 2012; 42(4): 352-361.

Photos 1, 2 and 3 courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post 3 Basic Drills to Improve Your Strength and Movement appeared first on Breaking Muscle.