Unlock the Key to Your Potential
New Audio Version Added
What is hip extension? Why do we need it? How will it help you run faster?
Here is an accompaniment to our FIRST Running Logic audio series episode. We discuss hip extension, and why it is so important to running, but can be hard to implement due to the way western society and office working dominate many hours of the day.
- What is hip extension?
- Why is it hard to come by?
- Making you faster!
- First steps to success!
What is hip extension?
You may have heard the term used so many times. Hip extension is controlled by the gluts (specifically glut max) in this case. And for running it is used to extend the leg (femur) away from the pelvis. It should facilitate the first stage of your leg cycle – extending 10-15° from the midline of your body. We teach hip extension exercises and drills to maximise propulsion in the leg cycle. When your foot lands and your leg straightens, your glut must activate to propel the straight leg backwards, carrying forward momentum with speed and emphasis.
Why is it hard to come by?
If you are spending 6-10 hours per day at a desk, or significant time on a bicycle then it can be difficult to get a strong extension of the hip. Sitting at 90° will shorten your quads and lengthen your gluts. This means when you stand up straight and go for a run, your gluts can be somewhat switched off and lazy. They might still be strong, but this will be in a range of motion more akin to a sit-stand or deadlift. We need the extension from the midline of the body and pushing away. Similarly, cyclists, they may have exceptionally strong gluts in a range far forward to the midline of the body. Training this from neutral into extension can be tricky – but very achievable, don’t worry!
Helping you faster!
If you can achieve this first stage of the leg cycle – hip extension – you will be faster. If you don’t have it, your legs are overtaxed. Maybe your quads take over all the load, perhaps your calves overwork in the push phase and you get a significant bounce. Either way, the other muscle groups are taking on too much load and will fatigue. If you introduce the glutes, working powerfully to push the floor away, you gain momentum and power in the first phase of your run. The other muscle groups used to pull forward and facilitate landing can work at their optimum level.
First steps to success
This is especially for sitters and cyclists. We want to work on hip extension from two angles. One – release those quads. Foam rolling and stretching of the quads and hip flexors will give you the release to start working on control and movement at the hip. If you are too tight to stand up straight and hold the proper posture, it is very hard to extend the hip. Now, wearing one sock on a slippery floor (tiles, hardwood) stand up tall, support yourself with an arm on a surface and with the sock foot, push the floor away. It is easier sometimes to think about a string pulling your heel back with the leg straight. Another helpful point is to poke the bulk of your bum so that you can feel where it is supposed to work. Do this for 60sec-2min twice per day. This is to get the neural pathway from the brain to the glut – telling it where to move! Once you have that, start implementing it into your running. Slowly start with 30-60sec intervals, increasing the according to how well you adapt.
Recap
- Hip extension in running is the gluts pushing to leg away from the pelvis in the first phase of the leg cycle.
- It can take some time to get if you spend lots of time sitting or cycling.
- It is a huge muscle group and movement – if used correctly will make you faster.
- A few drills to get the signal going will help bring it into running technique work.