THE NEW SCIENCE OF HIP MOBILITY

Own the weight room, crush backyard football, and beat back pain by strengthening and stretching your hips.

- CORI RITCHEY

YOU WANT BIGGER arms and a chiseled chest. Oh, and don't forget stronger legs-super important. Oh, and a resilient core, too! So the last thing you want to do is train your hips-we get it. But here's the thing: Your lack of hip TLC just may be holding you back.

Yes, really. Sure, there was a time when hip mobility mattered only if you were doing Jean-Claude Van Damme splits on Volvo trucks. But these days, more and more trainers are recognizing that tight hips can stealthily wreck nearly every part of your life. New hip stretches and exercises often flood Fit Tok, and a Google search for "hip mobility" turns up about 1 million results.

"It's good that it's trending," says veteran trainer Lee Boyce. "Hip functionality dictates the efficiency of many capabilities we have."

So whether you're trying to slash your half-marathon time, crush a CrossFit WOD, or just keep up with your kids on the playground, buttery-loose hips can help. The best part is it doesn't take much to train your hips. All you need to do to start: understand the answers to these five questions.

1. WHEN ARE MY TIGHT HIPS HINDERING ME THE MOST?

Every single time you stand up after a few hours of sitting. When you're sitting, whether you're at your desk for the whole morning, on a long road trip in a car, or stuck on a ten-hour flight to Europe, your hip flexors, the muscles that help bring your thigh to your chest, wind up trapped in a shortened position, unable to stretch out. Your glutes, meanwhile, are in an ultra-relaxed, stretched position. When you stand, you're often left with a nagging tightness in the front of your hips.