Jefit's Best Exercises for Building Strong Hips

The hip area is a complex, made up of approximately 17 muscles groups. These muscles fall into one of four groups based on how they attach to the hip joint. They include: the gluteal group; the lateral rotator group; the adductor group; and the iliopsoas (hip flexor) group. Here is a breakdown of some of the exercises needed to develop strong hips.

Gluteal Group

The “glutes” are made up of three muscles groups, gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. Some of the more popular Jefit exercises used most often by the Jefit community include the following.

Bridge
Dumbbell Lunges
Barbell Squat
Glute Kickback
Smith Machine Lunge
Cable Pull Through
Barbell Hip Thrust
Alternating Leg Bridge
Reverse Hyper on Flat Bench

posterior hip view — Posterior Hip View / Source: Wikipedia

anterior hip view — Anterior Hip View / Source: Wikipedia

Lateral Rotator Group

This lateral hip group consist of the piriformis, gemellus superior, obturator internus, gemellus inferior, quadratus femoris, and obturator externus muscle. These muscle group rotate the hip laterally.

Adductor Group

The seven muscle groups involved in hip adduction include: adductor brevis, adductor longus, adductor magnus, adductor minimus, pectineus, obturator externus and lastly, the gracilis. Some of the more popular Jefit exercises targeting the inner thigh include the following.

Machine Hip Adduction
Dumbbell Lateral Lunge (with Bicep Curl)
Bodyweight Side Lunge

Hip Flexor Group

The final group is the iliopsoas which we’re calling it the hip flexor. This area is comprised of the iliacus and psoas muscles both of which flex the hip. The iliopsoas is the prime mover of hip flexion, and is the strongest of all the hip flexors. Some of the more popular exercises that strengthen (and stretch) this area include the following.

Dumbbell Step-Up
Mountain Climber
Exercise Band Quad Stretch (to stretch the area)
Stability Ball Hip Flexor Stretch
Split Jump
Knee Tuck Jump

Keeping your hips strong is vital for aging, to overall sports performance and of course they play a big role in the gym.

Stay Strong Together

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Michael Wood, CSCS

Michael Wood, CSCS, is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and Content Manager for JeFit app. Michael is a former Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University of Connecticut and Exercise Physiologist at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. He is the Founder of Michael Wood Fitness, named twice to "Top 100 Trainers in America" by Men's Journal and voted Best of Boston by Boston Magazine. Michael previously taught at the University of Connecticut and Boston University. He is the author of TBC30: 6 Steps to a Stronger, Healthier You.