The Hip “Open the Gate” exercise is a dynamic mobility drill used to warm up and activate the muscles around the hips, including the hip flexors, glutes, and inner thighs. This exercise is commonly prescribed to improve hip joint range of motion, stability, and flexibility, making it useful for athletes and anyone preparing for lower body exercises such as squats, lunges, or running. It’s also a great way to enhance coordination and hip control.
Instructions:
- Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, hands resting on your hips or extended out for balance.
- Lift your right knee up towards your chest, creating a 90-degree bend at the knee and hip.
- Keeping your torso upright and your core engaged, slowly rotate your right knee outward, as if you’re “opening a gate,” while keeping your standing leg stable.
- Once your hip is fully rotated outward, lower your foot back down to the ground.
- Repeat on the left side.
- Continue alternating legs for the duration prescribed by your physiotherapist.
Common Errors:
- Rotating your torso or shifting your upper body to compensate for limited hip mobility.
- Moving too quickly, which can reduce the effectiveness of the exercise.
- Letting the standing leg lose stability by shifting the weight unevenly or allowing the knee to collapse inward.
- Not lifting the knee high enough to get a full range of motion in the hip joint.
Progressions:
- To make the exercise more challenging, you can:
- Perform the movement while balancing on a soft surface like a foam pad to increase the difficulty of stabilisation.
- Add ankle weights to further engage the muscles.
- Increase the speed of the movement once you have mastered control, turning it into a more dynamic warm-up.
Regressions:
- To make the exercise easier, you can:
- Perform the movement while holding onto a stable surface (such as a wall or chair) for balance.
- Reduce the height to which you lift your knee if you find the range of motion too difficult.
- Slow down the movement and focus on controlled, smaller rotations to gradually increase hip mobility.
All exercises are provided as an educational resource and should only be completed under the guidance of your physiotherapist.