Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies (2013) 17, 266e268

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/jbmt

PREVENTION & REHABILITATION e SELF-MANAGEMENT: PATIENT SECTION

PREVENTION & REHABILITATION e SELF-MANAGEMENT: PATIENT SECTION

Training the hip: A progressive approach*

Craig Liebenson, D.C.

L.A. Sports & Spine, 10474 Santa Monica Blvd, #304, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA

Received 5 February 2013; accepted 5 February 2013

KEYWORDS Summary In this article a progressive series of exercises to enhance motor control or move-
Hip training; ment competency of the hip are described. The training begins with control of center of mass
Gluteal training; during forward leaning by the muscles of the sole of the foot. This progresses to a novel lunge
Tai Chi; exercise emphasizing eccentric quadriceps control the knee. Then gluteal training is shown in a
Kua modern variation on Tai Chi along with a hip stability exercise during trunk rolling movements.
ª 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Hip problems are common, and typically the response is  Stand tall and slowly lean forward until you feel your
after the fact when dysfunction has settled in for some toes gripping the floor (Fig. 1a,b).
time. Ideally, preemptive screening will look for signs of B Be sure to keep your heels on the floor (ideally train
weakness, and a progressive program will be instituted to in bare feet).
restore movement competency.  Go back and forth maintaining your upright posture (or
What follows is a progression that focuses on restoring plank): “re-setting” the activity in the sole of your feet
function to this key area beginning from the “ground up”.

Vele’s forward lean “Pantomine in the wind” Janda’s forward lunge

This exercise developed by the Czech Physiologist Pr. Vele This exercise developed by the Czech Neurologist Pr. Janda
is designed to activate the muscles of the sole of the foot is an excellent way to train eccentric quadriceps control of
(Liebenson, 2005, 2006). the patello-femoral joint (Janda et al., 2006).
In particular, it targets the muscles of the transverse
arch that are used for gripping. This exercise is the begin-  Stand tall and slowly lean forward until you feel your
ning point of training a sprinter in the acceleration phase of toes gripping the floor as in Fig. 1a,b
gaining a good start (Liebenson, 2009). It requires excellent B Be sure to keep your heels on the floor.
core control to maintain the plank position.  Go back and forth maintaining your upright posture (or
plank) “re-setting” the activity in the sole of your feet
 On the next repetition lean forward a little further and
* when you feel your heels raise up, step forward into a
This paper may be photocopied for educational use.
E-mail address: [email protected]. lunge (Fig. 2)

1360-8592/$ - see front matter ª 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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Training the hip 267

PREVENTION & REHABILITATION e SELF-MANAGEMENT: PATIENT SECTION

Figure 3 Common mistake.

 Common Mistake: losing the plank position of the back

(Fig. 3)
Figure 1 a, b Vele’s forward lean. The Janda Lunge (See
Figure 1a,b Vele’s forward lean).
The Janda Lunge with rotation
 As the front foot lands attempt to quickly stabilize the This exercise is a modification of Janda’s lunge and an
body so no further forward movement occurs. ancient Tai Chi exercise called Kua (Yang, 2003; Helme-
 Watch that you maintain a straight line from your rear Guizon, 2010). It is also very similar to one taught by
ankle to your ear so that your entire body is leaning modern Czech rehab expert Dr. Pavel Kolar (unpublished).
forward. What is novel about this particular exercise is that one body
 Watch also that your front knee does not pass in front of part (the front leg) is kept fixed while the rest of the body
your toes.
 Repeat 3e4 times.

Figure 2 Forward lunge in a plank. Figure 4 The Janda Lunge with rotation.
 268 C. Liebenson

The hip airplane (after McGill)

Developed by Pr. McGill this exercise is designed to activate

the gluteal muscles on the stance leg while developing
motor control or movement competency during trunk roll-
ing challenges (McGill, 2004).

 With your arms spread out balance on one leg and then
PREVENTION & REHABILITATION e SELF-MANAGEMENT: PATIENT SECTION

raise your other leg and lean your trunk forward until
you are in a plank
 Level your hips so that the buttocks on the elevated leg
is not higher than on the stance leg (Fig. 5a)
 Push the heel on your elevated leg back until your body
shifts backwards and you feel you are sticking your
buttocks out on your stance leg
 The knee on your stance leg should be only slightly bent
and stacked over your ankle
 You should feel your weight going back towards your
stance leg’s heel so that it is tricky to balance
 Finally, attempt to rotate towards the stance leg
(Fig. 5b)
 Perform 3e4 repetitions
 You should primarily “feel” activation in your stance
leg’s buttocks

Acknowledgement

Thanks to Pr. Stuart McGill, Dan John, and Dr. Pavel Kolar
for many of the ideas from which these exercises sprang.

References
Figure 5 The hip airplane.
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