If you wanted to commit to just one thing that you could do everyday that would improve your physical fitness and mobility. If you can commit to simply two minutes a day that might get you started on the lifelong road to health and strength. Let’s start with the hip hinge.
We’ll be able to stimulate flow and movement in the circulatory, digestive and fluid stagnation of your mid-section from sitting all-day. We’ll also lengthen the tendons and connective tissue in your hip, which will loosen up your tight and stiff lower back and wake up your glutes. Hip hinges will help restore your hamstring and posterior chain from all the muscle sleep and poor circulation sitting all day and commuting causes.
You can do this at office chair or find a nice level place to sit. Try to maintain a neutral 90 degree joint angles in your ankles, knees and hips. Gently and easily lean forward into a “good morning” position. Folding your hip joint like a book, create a sharp crease in your hip joint, as a queue place your fingers in between your hip joint and try to get your hip to crease down onto your fingers. Keep your lower back as straight as possible. Only going down as far as your lower back doesn’t start to round. i.e. don’t lower your chest just to try to reach lower. Relax into this position, release any tension in your back, hamstring and mid-section. After a few breaths, you should be able to relax into a lower position. Repeat this breathing and relaxing a few more times to get as low as you’re able.
The essential key is to try to release any tension in your hips, lower back, tendons and connective tissues. Without releasing zero tension in your tendons, they will not build lengthening adaptations. If there’s any tension in your tendons, the tension will keep them short and reduce the amount of lengthening you are extending. It’s really that releasing and relaxing of your tendons that creates lengthening adaptations.
Do hip hinges everyday! They feel good and refreshing. Try to do it for at least a minute but two minutes is even better. The reason why you want to do it for at least a minute, you should not be straining by the end of it, if you’re straining or it’s not relaxing your holding onto tension somewhere. Really try to create that mind-body connection find those nooks and crannies to relax and release tension. If you can comfortably hold it for two minutes then you can literally stay there for 5 – 10 minutes without strain which means you’ve reached the ability to release all tension.