From sprinting to squats, your hips are crucial to your workout, and you should give them plenty of attention in your warm up
For any number of exercises, as well as staying flexible and loose in general, you should make sure that there isn't any tightness in your hips and that they're well stretched before workouts and training.
Hips are crucial both to your flexibility and mobility as well as your sprint speed, so the tighter your hips, the slower you're going to move. Here are a few simple exercises to do as a warm up that will have you loose and in great shape whether you're taking to the field for GAA, rugby or soccer.
Justin Tucks
Named after NFL player Justin Tuck (although we're not quite sure why) you need to get your back up against a wall or pillar (as in the video) and use a hurdle, trash can, or plyometric box to life your leg over, making a sort of circle. Do three sets of 20 on each leg
http://vimeo.com/11153750
Hip rotations
You might have seen this one being done by footballers in training, and it's a great one for loosening the joint. This is done at walking pace, so lift one leg high and rotate it as if you were stepping over a fence. Do three sets of 20 on each leg.
http://vimeo.com/11153794
Sumo steps
These exercises might not make you look very cool in the gym, but they're great for the hips. You want to squat down in a wide stance, as if you were a sumo wrestler (hence the name) and as you return to standing upright, swing one leg over and pivot with the other so that you face the other direction. Do ten in each direction.
http://vimeo.com/11153845
Step overs and step unders
The final stretch is a two part exercise, that you can do with a squat rack or smith machine in the gym. Set the bar up at hip height, and step over the bar, performing ten on each leg.
http://vimeo.com/11153883
For the step unders, set the bar at around the same height (you may need to set it slightly higher on the first few sessions or if your hips are particularly tight) and step under the bar, performing ten on each leg again.
http://vimeo.com/11153914
Nutrition is always key to any workout, and for something great with a high protein content that’s also delicious, try Mooju chocolate milk. With over 10g of protein in a 250ml container, as well as carbohydrate. Mooju is ideal for your workout.
Enjoy Mooju as part of a healthy balanced diet and active lifestyle.
Hat-tip to OneResult.com for the videos
