If the hips hurt more than the abs during basic workouts, something is wrong. And when your hip muscles inadvertently monopolize your effort during an abdominal exercise, you are likely to experience hip pain or discomfort. To add insult to injury, your abs, which aren't working as hard, miss out on the benefits.
Below we will solve the reasons why your hips can hurt during an abdominal session. Plus, we share strategies to silence those overactive hip flexors and activate your core for the ultimate ab burn.
Causes of hip pain when doing crunches
Despite being in top shape, some exercises can cause hip pain when not performed properly. Next we analyze the main reasons that generate this discomfort when doing sit-ups.
Your hip is overcompensating
Abdomen-focused exercises such as sit-ups, Pilates exercises, knee bends, or leg lifts decrease the distance between your upper and lower body. When your abs aren't strong enough to close this distance, that is, bring your trunk closer to your thighs, you often rely on your hips to do the work.
Strong and powerful muscles, the hip flexors kick in and take over the movement, compensating for weak abdominal muscles. That's why it's so important to fully focus on the abs when performing core exercises.
You're not engaging your abs
Some days, you just go through the motions or rush through workouts without thinking, only to cross it off the schedule. The problem is that when you don't focus on your core during ab exercises, you won't reap the results. That's why you can do 500 crunches and barely feel a thing.
Since your hip muscles are strong, they're happy to take most of the work when you're not focusing on your abs. This will not only lead to a bad core workout, but also to stiff hips.
Instead of letting your mind wander to chore lists or your child making noise in the next room, stay in the present and connected to your physical body. Putting your mind on your active muscles will activate them more.
In fact, just thinking about moving a muscle can make it stronger even when you're not exercising, according to the American Council on Fitness (ACE). And a small study in the March 2016 issue of the European Journal of Applied Physiology found that bench presses that practiced the mind-muscle connection increased muscle activity in the pecs and triceps.
To further improve the mind-muscle connection, reduce the speed of your movements. The more time you spend at peak contraction, the more time you have to focus and strengthen your muscles.
Your hip flexors are weak
If the hips hurt more than the abs during core workouts, weak hip flexors are to blame. Weak flexors and stiff hips are often a symptom of a sedentary lifestyle.
Since we're not using our hips to lift our legs and move throughout the day, they get progressively weaker and shorter. Tight flexors can also be a side effect of exercises like long-distance running and bicycling.
This weakness can cause a muscle imbalance, affect your range of motion, and alter your alignment, which is why you may feel pain or discomfort in your hips during abdominal exercises.
To start, get out of your chair. The more you move, the better your hips will be. Simply get up for a walk every 30 to 60 minutes to keep your hips and glutes engaged. Regular stretching can also combat tension and improve range of motion. The Stretching The most effective hip opening and mobility exercises work the hips in all three planes of motion.
But stretching is only part of the puzzle. You must also incorporate the strength training. By strengthening the surrounding muscles, such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteals, you support the entire hip joint. Start with simple exercises like glute bridges, squats, and clams.
Exercises to avoid hip pain
To prevent your hips from hijacking your ab routine, do some prep work beforehand. Activation exercises like the bird-dog, forearm planks, and pelvic tilt can help you fire up your core and activate your core muscles.
bird dog
- In tabletop position, keep your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees no wider than your hips.
- On an exhale, stretch out your right arm directly in front of you. At the same time, kick your left leg back.
- Switch sides, stretch your left arm forward, and kick your right leg back.
forearm plank
- Get on all fours on the floor and place your elbows and forearms on a comfortable surface (such as a mat, towel, or rug).
- Extend your legs back and push up into a plank, creating a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles.
- Keep your neck in neutral alignment looking at your hands.
- Hold this position without moving. Keep your hips level and flush with the floor and don't allow your lower back to arch.
Pelvic or hip tilts
- Lie on your back and enter a low glute bridge and lower your back off the floor (your upper back remains on the floor) with your feet hip-width apart.
- Slowly tilt your pelvis so that your tailbone tilts toward the ceiling without allowing your lower back to drop to the floor.
- Return to a neutral pelvis and repeat.
Glute bridge
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet planted on the floor a few inches from your butt.
- Driving through the heels, lift your butt off the ground using the strength of your glutes. Lift as high as you can while maintaining a neutral spine (don't arch your lower back).
- Lower in the same way and repeat.
Squatting
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Turn your feet to point slightly to the side.
- Rotate your hips and bend your knees (as if you were going to sit in a chair) while keeping your chest up.
- Raise your arms in front of you to shoulder height for balance, or bring your hands close to your chest.
- Once you've gone as far down as your hip flexibility will allow, squeeze your glutes and step back.
Clams
- Lie on your side with your knees bent and one leg directly on top of the other.
- Slowly raise the top of your knee while keeping your feet in contact with each other.
- Slowly lower your upper leg down.
- Twist to the other side to go to the opposite leg.