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Advanced Hip Flexor Training

by — Last updated: 2023-07-18 in Workout & Exercises
Reviewed by Medical Team — 2023-07-18

Table of Contents

The hip flexors will never be glamourous. But they are a vital part of the system that lets you walk, stand, run and more. If yours are in poor condition you could be risking injury and losing out on athletic improvements.

For the athlete:

Bulgarian Split Squats

You’ll hold a weight in the front squat position with your rear foot elevated behind you on a bench, and squat as deep as you can go. If you keep the front shin more or less vertical, you should be able to get the front thigh at least parallel, and the rear leg assists, pressing down against the bench with the hip flexors. 

As such, this is a loaded stretch, or an active flexibility exercise – call it what you will, it’s a great way to build strength in the hip flexors.

For everyone:

L-sit progressions

At one end of the L-sit progression continuum, there’s tuck L-sits, where you just raise your bend legs to hip height.  At the other end we encounter craziness like moving between seated Ls and seated Vs for reps.  But anywhere along that continuum is somewhere we can fit in. 

Start by sitting on the edge of a sturdy chair. Raise your knees until your thighs are level with your hips, hold for a count of three to five seconds and slowly lower. The key here is to move slowly and with control. Keep you glutes and core braced the whole time. Once that’s easy, gradually work on doing the same movement with your legs extended. 

Once you can do an L-sit sitting, it’s time to try it on parallettes, parallel bars, the arms of a chair, two walls – basically anything you can hold yourself up at arms’ length with your backside off the floor. 

A dip station is perfect for this if you have access to one. If you don’t try hanging from a bar if you have one of those. 

Medicine Ball Russian Twists

Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet lifted off the ground. Hold a medicine ball or weight with both hands and rotate your torso from side to side, tapping the ball on the ground. Perform 10-12 twists on each side. To progress, increase the weight of the medicine ball or perform the exercise with your feet elevated.

Single-Leg Squats

Stand on one leg and lower your body into a squat position, maintaining balance and control. Push back up through the heel and repeat on the other leg. Aim for 8-12 reps on each leg. To progress, hold dumbbells or a kettlebell for added resistance or perform the squats on an unstable surface, such as a Bosu ball or foam pad.

Go through the same progressions as outlined above – just be prepared for them to be a lot harder!

When you can do full extension L-sits you can try adding additional weight.  You really don’t need much, a few pounds makes a massive difference.  Even the shoes you wear can make the difference between being able to do the move and missing it. 

Read More: Full Extension Or Limited Range Push-Ups?

Fortunately hip flexor moves are pretty easy on the CNS and will fit nicely into the end of most training programs – throw a single set of hip flexor work into the end of your training sessions and watch as your core gets more stable, your back gets stronger and more mobile and minor postural niggles get ironed out.

Try to stretch your hip flexors most days.  Most of us have over-tight hip flexors and regular stretching will let you use them at their natural length, then  your posture will adjust and keeping them functioning well will be easier.  Build your hip flexor strength moves into your training sessions – try super-setting them with a glute dominant move like deadlifts or bridges!