Some things, no doubt, are complicated: long division, the Krebs cycle, nuclear fission, Brexit, figuring out the plot of West World, vaginas. There are plenty of examples in the universe. I’m sure we could think of hundreds, if not thousands. The hip hinge isn’t one of them—or at least it shouldn’t be.
Trust me, you can do it.
The most sensible place to start is a quick explanation of what a hip hinge is. To do that, I borrow a line from renowned strength coach and writer Dan John: “The Hip Hinge = maximal hip flexion with minimal knee flexion.” That was easy.
So why does it matter? In strength and conditioning, the hip hinge is the foundation for a lot of what we do to make people stronger, faster, and more athletic. Deadlifting = hip hinge. Jumping = hip hinge. But in everyday life, too, the hip hinge shows up all the time: bending to pick up your child, grabbing something off the ground, sitting down, and getting into an athletic stance in your recreational basketball league.
Whether you realize it or not, and whether or not it involves lifting heavy things (or your recycling bin), you likely hip hinge many times a day. And you’re probably pretty proficient at it.
Some fitness professionals like to make things more complicated than they need to be. When it comes to the hip hinge, what we’re after is the ability to dissociate hip movement from lumbar movement. We want to move from the hips with little to no movement from the spine, especially under heavy load.
Some trainers will assess the hip hinge and, if it looks off, jump straight into corrective exercise, putting someone through a long program with dowel rods, bands, breathing drills, and maybe a Shaolin monk (in the worst cases) to fix things. I’m not here to bash corrective exercise or those who coach hip hinge drills. I’ve written several posts on the topic, so I’d be a jerk to dismiss it.
But today I want to offer some context and remind coaches that sometimes all a person needs is a small nudge or reminder of what you want them to do. With a hip hinge, the goal is simply to dissociate hip movement from lumbar movement. If I can cue a bit of tension in the front of the core so that they can’t move through their lower back, then I’ve done my job.
This drill is as simple as it gets: the bear hug hip hinge. Yet, alas, it’s often treated as the most complicated thing.
