Even though I have a relatively active lifestyle, I still spend a lot of my day sitting down, which is one of the main reasons people develop tight hips.
Recently I noticed my hips feeling stiff while squatting, so I set out to find a quick, accessible stretch that could help and I soon struck gold.
I landed on the 90/90 hip stretch, which involves sitting on the floor with one leg in front of you, one leg behind you and both knees bent at 90° (hence the name).
Keen to find out more, I asked physical therapist, NCPT and Balanced Body educator Lindy Royer to talk me through the move’s benefits, then I committed to doing it every day for a fortnight in a quest for more mobile hips. Here are my results.
How to do the 90/90 hip mobility stretch
- Sit upright with your left leg bent in front of you. The outer side of your left thigh and calf should be resting on the ground and your knee should be bent at 90°.
- Bring your right leg out to the side so your right thigh and left calf are parallel. Your right knee should also be bent at 90°. Hold this position for a few seconds.
- Keeping your feet on the floor, move your knees up and over to the other side so they’re resting on the floor, rotating your torso as you move. You should now be mirroring your starting position on the other side of your body.
What I learned doing the 90/90 stretch every day for two weeks
I used the 90/90 stretch in two different ways. To warm up for my gym sessions, I treated it as a dynamic hip-loosening move by working through a higher number of repetitions, between 10 and 20.
I also used it as a static stretch at home when I was feeling a bit stiff from working at my desk. I would do a few repetitions but hold the position for 30 seconds on each side.
From the get-go the move highlighted just how tight my hips were. I struggled to keep them square as I faced my front knee, particularly on my left side, and found it difficult to keep my torso upright when twisting unless I planted my…
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