Can You Make Your Hips More Flexible?

When I was in college I took advantage of a lot of free stuff, one of which was free fitness classes. One particular class--cardio kickboxing--I loved to hate. It was physically challenging, but made me feel like a bada$$ at the same time. I attended this one as regularly as my schedule--and willpower--allowed.

For whatever reason, these classes weren't super popular. Occasionally, I was the only person in the class! One such time, the instructor (a slim and trim upperclassman who was also a member of the popular all-girls modern dance troupe) introduced a new and complicated sequence. Being the only student in the class, it must have been painfully obvious to her that I just wasn't getting it. This particular sequence involved a side kick-roundhouse kick-combo. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't get my leg "up to there" or my hip and knee to externally rotate enough in order achieve the desired height, at least not without teetering precariously on the standing leg! None of her cues helped, and she eventually gave up. I remember leaving that class feeling totally inept and defeated.

Yeah, my leg doesn't go up to there!

It wasn't until much later, and with consequently much more knowledge about exercise physiology and basic anatomy, hat I realized that there was--is--nothing wrong with me.What was wrong was letting my so-called 'failure' at cardio kickboxing determine my self-worth. The idea that I should be able to achieve some specific feat of athleticism because someone else can, despite the fact that our bodies are built completely differently, was pure insanity! It was insane for me to attempt, over and over again, to achieve this arbitrary goal when a simple lesson in anatomy would have put the whole charade to bed.  If I'd only known then what I know now: that my lack of cardio kickboxing skills is dependent almost exclusively on physiological factors out of my control.

The reason I can't do a perfect side-kick-roundhouse kick combo is because I have limited flexibility in my hips. Flexibility refers to the length of a muscle. Factors like like joint structure, age & gender, connective tissue, and muscle bulk & weight training all affect an individual's flexibility. The size of our bones, their density, the elasticity & plasticity of our connective tissue, the angles of our joints and their relative alignment, the length of our muscles...these configurations make us unique, too. Any number of these factors may contribute to, or take away from, our individual ability to complete a particular movement or exercise.

In my case, it means that I can't fully externally rotate my upper thigh without compromising my joint alignment or stability. Like any movement restriction, this is frustrating, especially for an athlete. As you've already read, this aspect of my anatomy burdened me for years. That is, until I realized that it had nothing to do with my actual ability.


In this superb article by Dean Somerset, he argues that the structure of your pelvis, and subsequently the width, depth, and angles of your hip joints, affects an individual's ability to deadlift well, as well as squat, move in the frontal plane, and even touch his/her toes. Somerset theorizes that the narrower and deeper the pelvis, the better equipped to deadlift. Hence, the wider and shorter the arches, the less likely one is to be able to sustain significant vertical loading. In other words, folks in the former category (obviously much depends on factors such as training, diet, work ethic, etc.) may have a genetic advantage when it comes to pulling sick numbers of weight off the floor.

Generally speaking, where there's an advantage from a genetic standpoint, there is a also a disadvantage. For example, an individual with a wider, shallower pelvis is likely to have more natural mobility in the hips, regardless of the amount of stretching. Judging from the video below, Dean Somerset is a card-carrying member of the "Extra-mobile Hips" group!:

Conversely, someone (like me!) with narrower and deeper pelvic angles would be hard-pressed to execute such a feat, at least not without some compensation. In the first video below, Eric Cressey of Cressey Performance bangs out a laudable 600# trap bar deadlift for 4 reps. Clearly, he's got The Right Stuff when it comes to withstanding compressive vertical loads. On the other hand, Cressey's hip mobility in the frontal plane is slightly limited. Check out the kneecap on the extended leg in the second video:

As Somserset writes, "Everyone has different joints and bones, and it's the combination of these that allows for some of us to do specific things that others can't." While it's true that Somerset may never deadlift 600lbs for 4 reps, Cressey may never do a Cassock squat to sit, and I may never nail the sidekick-roundhouse kick, there are exercises and  drills that we can all do to improve our mobility.

For example, someone with Somerset's hindrances could focus on getting stronger in the sagittal plane by loading the body in a way that doesn't compromise the spine. Exercises such as carries, front planks (building up to weighted planks), and anti-extension presses (like the kneeling Pallof Press) would be great additions to a training program. Someone like Cressey could benefit from hip rotational movements like crawls, hip abduction up the wall, and other passive hip openers.

In conclusion, and to answer the question posed in the title of this post, joint flexibility is determined by several physiological factors, many of which are out of our control. However, it's important to keep in mind that these restrictions are not a determinant of an individual's self worth. As practitioners, not only do we have a responsibility to create safe and progressive programs for our clients, but identify these restrictions and work around them without hurting our clients' pride. The programs we create should emphasize their strengths while incorporating exercises and drills that will  help clients progress in the areas where they may not be as strong.