Favorite Strengtheners for Iliopsoas- Q & A with Ryan Booth (me:)

Reciprocal Innervations Personal Training and Post Rehab writes:

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Hey Andrea! I thought you were trying to trick me using a word like “favorite” with regards to hip strengthening. I kind of look at it a a necessary evil. However my hip flexors are pretty tight. They are weak too. As a result I do certain lengthening and strengthening exercises that relieves a lot of back pain. Remember to make sure your hip flexors are equally strong before you go working them together, because of there relationship to the spine pelvis and femur they can cause imbalance that will lead to pain. I’m sure you know this as my fave massage therapist extraordinaire.

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 Step One: Test

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 Seated iliopsoas strength test is really a hip strengthener. Sit on a counter or bench that is high enough to dangle your feet. sit up straight with your hands on your hips and one leg at a time lift your knee up towards a shoulder. Try to hold for a minute. If you notice one leg raises higher than another or is much easier to lift and hold there may be an imbalance that will have to be treated. One can perform this test on the weak leg until both legs achieve the same ease. One can make this exercise more difficult with bands or by placing a hand on the working knee.

Watch that the leg does not rotate outwards or inwards and have the person report if they feel the contraction moving to the outside of the hip(TFL).

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Step Two: Walk

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After balancing the hips, I like to activate them in a walk pausing with my knee held high in the air. Later I’ll work it up to something like this:

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Step Three: Run

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 The three step take off drill: At a ‘starting’ line stand with your feet in a ready or athletic stance. run forward three steps. Return to the line. Try to deliver three quick strikes into the ground. Then repeat this exercise starting from the side(face sideways at the starting line). Try the exercise by jumping forward before taking off. Try to get my knees up as high as I can as I do.

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(no video for this yet. sorry)

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After this then I will work acceleration. Map out 5 meters, 10 meters, 20 meters, depending on how strong I feel that day. Beginners should start with no more that 5 meters. Begin at my starting line and try to accelerate to the 5 meter point, hold THAT speed to the 10 meter point, slow down to the 20 meter point. Recover. Repeat three to five times.

 Probably should have mentioned that I do all my ‘pendulum’ and high kicking exercises as a precursor to the acceleration drill.

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Step Four: Dynamic Resistance

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 I do two or three short sets of single leg flexion.

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… or a compound multi joint IF I fell completely balanced.

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 Remember this is just what I do. I find this sequence has helped my running(sprinting) a lot. It is how I start athletic people who begin my boot camp. This may not be appropriate for the more advanced athlete, nor the total novice. As each person is different, they will have different requirements.

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