As if you guys aren’t tired of me talking about recovering from my hip injury yet (it’s been a long road and just when I have a day when I think the pain is behind me, the next day comes and proves me wrong), I did enter into physical therapy to help me get over the hurdle of being in pain while standing. Overall, the general consensus is that while I still reframe from running (I’m told I should be able to get back eventually without trouble though some days that seems doubtful), but to get there I need to strengthen my hip muscles. So today, I thought I’d share with you the exercises that my physical therapist has me doing to help strengthen my hip flexor muscles, just incase anyone else ever needs this sort of help too.
Mini Band Monster walks
Do the following exercise for 3 rounds of 30 seconds with a resistance band around ankles/calves:
Lateral Band Walks
Do the following exercise for 3 rounds of 30 seconds with a resistance band around thighs, for more hip action, band can be placed around ankles/calves:
Banded Mountain Climbers
Do the following exercise for 3 rounds of 10-15 reps on both legs:
Supine Hip Flexor March
Do the following exercise for 3 rounds of 10-15 reps on both legs, alternatively this could be done standing:
The Supine Hip Flexion march is my favorite and I feel I get a ton of benefits from that alone. You can even do that one standing with the band, but for me there was just a little too much popping when I did that so I only do it lying down for now. I hate the banded mountain climbers, but boy do those work too! I have a love hate relationship with them.
It’s important to work your way up to doing these exercises. Start with light resistance and as you get stronger and more comfortable work your way up to more resistance and more reps.
I think physical therapy is really important for injury recovery and prevention, along with regular rest and stretching. This has been such a long road and I’m hoping to see a light at the end of the tunnel soon enough!
Have you ever utilized PT? What kind of exercises did you have to do? Let me know in the comments below.
Until next time,
Kat
I do not on any grounds consider myself a “yogi” or someone who does yoga multiple times a week and does it well. In fact, I only do yoga every once in a while, maybe once a month if that. Pretty much I use yoga as a tool to help me out when I need it around my own running work outs and other exercises.
The most important part of your pre-workout routine is the warm up. Jumping jacks or a brisk walk can help raise your body temperature and warm your muscles. This is important because you can’t work out and stretch cold muscles or else you could be causing muscle damage. Your warm up also increases your heart rate and gets blood and oxygen flowing to your muscles. As we learned earlier, oxygen is important for muscle contraction, so getting the flow going early is a huge benefit for your work out.
Kat Classics 