Everyone's talking about hip mobility - boost yours with these seven simple moves

We’re all guilty of skipping a warm-up or forgetting to stretch after a run, but devoting some time to improving your mobility can unlock plenty of health benefits. From decreasing your risk of injury to helping with aches and pains, finding ten minutes to stretch on a regular basis definitely pays off.

Recently, people have been realizing the importance of hip mobility; the #hipmobility tag has more than 300 million views on TikTok, with users raving about how it’s transformed their performance in the gym and helped them overcome back pain.

Good flexibility in your hips will also improve your form when doing movements like squats and lunges, as well as increasing depth in these movements, helping you to get a better workout.

If you want to improve your hip mobility but don’t know where to start, this session from fitness influencer Britany Williams might help. Combining seven bodyweight exercises, it’s the perfect warm-up before a lifting session or a great way to stay mobile on rest days, helping you get moving without breaking a sweat.  

It's pretty much equipment-free too, although you might want to grab one of the best yoga mats to provide a grippy, cushioned foundation for your movements. 

Watch Brittany Williams' hip mobility workout

The first three exercises in this workout will warm up your muscles while stretching your hips. The last four are progressively more challenging variations of the same base movement, so you can try them one after the other to enjoy a deeper stretch. Or, if you're new to mobility training, you can stick with the easier variations until you feel strong and flexible enough to progress. 

Williams recommends performing two or three sets of each exercise, doing each one for 40-60 seconds. She stresses that you should move slowly throughout, making sure you can feel the stretch at the top of each movement before returning to your starting position.

The good thing about stretches like these is you can scale the movements to suit your needs, sitting as far into the positions as you’re able to. Although it’s important to move far enough that you can feel the stretch, try not to push yourself too far into the stretch to the point of serious discomfort as this could lead to injury, especially if you’re not properly warmed up. 

Combine this workout with our yoga for shoulder mobility to stretch out both the upper and lower body. Or, if you’re looking to take your stretching sessions to the next level, invest in one of the best foam rollers, which will not only help with flexibility but recovery too.