HealthWatch-Hip exercises

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - The weather has been warming up here in the Black Hills. And that means it’s time to shake off some of that stiffness you have from being cooped up inside. YMCA group exercise coordinator Nicole Craig has some ideas in this week’s edition of HealthWatch.

“Happy February and welcome to HealthWatch. For this month, we have been inside for most of January, probably a lot of December. Hips are getting a little bit tight and a little weak. So let’s work on strengthening the hips and reducing some of that strain. First, we’re just going to sit in a chair with our legs at 90 degrees. And then if you can, or if you have the ability, you’re going to kind of support yourself behind the chair or directly underneath. I want you to kind of push the feet down into the floor and lifting the hips. You’re going to push and lift those hips, probably about five to ten seconds and the release. Push through the feet, and lift the hips but not coming all the way off the floor. What that’s going to do is strengthen that hip flexor area. Hold for about five to ten seconds, whatever you think is comfortable and release. Three or four times, about ten seconds each, that’s going to get the heart rate going and you’ll feel like you’ve gotten a workout. The next one is, we’re going to sit in that same position, take out hands along the sides of our knees or right along where the IT band goes, but definitely not low because we don’t want to kind of bend over. Sit up nice and tall, have our hands here. And using all of our strength, push our knees out into our hands, but we’re not going to let the hands let the knees get the way. We’re going to push them in. Just kind of opposing forces. And against that same way. Five to ten seconds for each hold. And finally, we’re going to stand up and shift our hips side to side. So for that, you want a nice wide stance and imagine you’re sitting back into that chair as you just shift the weight side to side. the hips are back. We don’t necessarily come forward and around. Just going right to left. and about 30 seconds for that. Doing those exercises morning or night will definitely relieve some of the hip tightness and strain you’ve built up from sitting down through these cold winter months. I’m Nicole Craig for HealthWatch.”

Copyright 2024 KEVN. All rights reserved.