How do you strengthen your hip flexors?

Micawber - 2007-10-29 2:35 PM  And if we were on slowtwitch, someone would suggest power cranks.

I have friends who swear by these:

http://www.powercranks.com/

That sounds like it might be bad for one's back.

To the OP, does your insurance allow you visits with a PT without needing a referral? They might be able to give you a good idea of what would work best for you, and identify the root of the problems you're experiencing that people are attributing to weak hip flexors.

There are a lot of things you can do (movements and workouts) that will hit the hip flexors to varying degrees, and some of them won't have a tendency to injure your back. That is part of the problem -- anytime it involves spinal movement, there's the risk of injury there.

Hanging leg raises or knee raises can work, but you have to be especially careful of not hyper-extending the back at the bottom of the movement. Same with lying leg raises -- you have to really engage the whole core to keep the spine stabilized while you move your LEGS, and not rotatoe the pelvis as well.

Powercranks will hit the hip flexors in a BIG way (I could do no more than 5 minutes at a time when I first started using them -- I've since sold them). They're relatively spine-safe, so there's less worry there, but the price... Well, take a look and decide for yourself.

One of the easiest that I've done is a standing high-knee "march" (think drum majorette here), but you bring the opposite elbow toward the knee (almost like a standing cross-over sit-up). Uses the obliques a lot along with the hip flexors. Again, this one is relatively spine safe, but don't over-twist it.

Hope that helps.

I got this one from a PT to fix a knee problem, but it works the hip flexors and is fine for lower back:

Lie on your back, with right knee bent and foot flat on floor.
Left leg is out straight.  Lift left foot with your foot coming no higher than right knee.  20 times. fast.  Keep that left knee locked out straight.  It causes the hip flexor and upper quad to do all the work.  Core gets engaged just a bit.  And remember the foot does not go higher than the opposing knee.

Change sides and repeat.
Next set, same except raise yourself up onto your elbows.
Next set, same except raise yourself almost to sitting - leaning back on your hands, which are behind you.  (you will be supprised at how much different this slight change in position is)

after you master three sets of each, add ankle weights.

It really works

While sitting on the floor, keep one leg flat on the floor, bend the other knee bringing that foot as close to your butt as comfortable.  While keeping it straight, lift the straight leg about 6-10 inches off the floor in a slow, controlled motion 20 times.  As mentioned before, keep your abs/obliques tight to stabilize your lower back.  Switch to the other leg.  Repeat three times. (3x20 for each leg).

I strained my hip flexor by running too hard, too soon after a long, tough run. Short story is 20mile run on Saturday, followed by a mile repeats on Tuesday and tempo run Wednesday.  A better approach is after tough runs, take it easy for several days.  From now on, any run of 18-20 miles will be followed only by EZ runs for 7 days.

Fortunately, I was still able to complete the marathon three weeks later.

Moral of the story: Always approach running intensity with caution and take some time to recover from tough runs.

I don't normally weigh in on such matters as this but about a year ago I had a pretty serious bout with this type of problem. It held me out of training and away from planned events. Here are a few of the things that worked for me and  I hope they work for you.

Step training or step aerobics. My personal favorite for cross training. Good cardio workout with the advantage of targeting quads, glutes, hams, and core.

Weight training to correct "weak quads vs tight hams". Sometimes we think that as much as we ride and run that this wouldn't be the case but consider the terms "weak" and "tight" as relative. Many of us suffer from this and it impacts our running and cycling ability. Squats, stiff leg deadlifts, lunges, and hack squats have helped me a lot.

Core, core, core. Lots and lots of dumb bell exercises on one foot. Get a wobble board and use it every day. Do sets of 3 sec high knee kicks, adductor swings and abductor swings with an ankle collar and resistance bands.

Yoga and pilates.

Diversity and experimentation. Last night I tried a work out I call the "Boxer". Jump rope at a high intensity for 3 minutes. Drop to a sitting position on a mat. Lean back and lift your feet off the floor. Have a partner toss you a 10 lb medicine ball. Catch it, lay back while extending it over your head and then sit up while throwing it back. Keep your feet off the floor. Do this for 1 min. Go back and jump rope for 3 mins. Drop to the plank position for 1 min. Go back to the rope. Repeat while alternating between the med ball sit ups and the plank. Each 4 min evolution is a "round".

Stretch, stretch, stretch.

Hope you get better quickly.