Hi there
If your hips feel tight all the time, especially after 40, your first instinct might be to stretch more.
I used to do the same.
And stretching can feel amazing. I still love it. I still do it.
But here’s what surprised me:
Stretching alone never really changed my hip mobility.
For years, I repeated the same hip flexor stretches.
I added hip lift variations.
Band walks.
Massage and manual therapy.
All the “right” things.
I kept hoping my hips would finally open up.
They didn’t.
What finally made the difference wasn’t more stretching. It was building real strength in my hip flexors.
Gradually over time, gaining more control in my hip flexor mobility through the right kind of strength training. Through full, supported ranges and blood flow.
Once my body felt stronger there, the tightness started to soften on its own.
And my hips opened up! And I realized hip flexors are essential for lower back stability too because they connect our hip to our lower back and pelvis.
What’s more is that your hamstring muscles are critical for stabilizing your lower back and pelvis to counter balance your hip flexors.
And many people experience chronic tightness in the hamstrings too.
When strong, your hamstrings pull your pelvis into a posterior tilt to prevent excessive anterior tilting. Reducing stress on the lower back.
So tight doesn’t always mean too over worked. Often, it means under-worked.
Sometimes tightness is just your body asking for more strength and stability with the right exercises and the right muscles.
This is especially true for us in midlife. As we have years of sitting under our belt.
It’s even more important we implement these key exercises as we grow older to keep our knees, hips and lower back happy and healthy.
Inside this week’s YouTube video, I walk you through:
• Why tight hip flexors are often weak
• Why just stretching alone can keep you stuck
• Why training your hip flexors is knee-friendly an lower back strength work
• My key ATG-style movements that build strength and mobility together
Because strength creates stability and structured balance in the body.
And stability is what allows tight muscles to let go and weak muscles to get stronger.
If your hips (or knees) have been feeling stiff or limited, or your lower back continues to bother you this one’s for you.
And if you want support learning how to train this way, I offer personal training in Portland and online programming inside the Thrive Strong community.
You don’t have to force your body to change. You can build strength and let change happen naturally.
In health and happiness,
Allison 🤍
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