For the past few weeks, we have discussed in detail on how the mobile ankle is crucial for the perfect squat technique. Today, we’re going to skip the knees for now and move onto the hips. This is another area of the body that tends to develop stiffness. A sedentary lifestyle and excessive sitting are a couple reasons for why we develop stiff hips. Limited range-of-motion at the hips can limit our ability to squat to full depth. Most of us could benefit from working on our hip mobility issues.
When the hips lack adequate mobility a few things can happen. First the knees will lose stability and start to bow inward. Second, the lower back will fail to remain stable and collapse into a rounded position. Each of these movement problems wreaks havoc on our power and increases our risk for injury.
Adequate hip flexion and hip internal rotation is needed to reach a full depth squat (hips below parallel). You can measure flexion of the hip by drawing a line with the torso and another line with the outside of the upper leg. The smaller or more closed the angle is, the more hip flexion the athlete has. Internal rotation is a little harder to judge on your own and will be a topic of a later lecture.
If you are unable to squat to full depth with toes relatively straightforward, hip mobility is likely a limiting factor. Today I want to introduce one of my favorite tools for assessing hip mobility. It is called the Thomas test (1).
This test is performed while lying on your back. The Thomas test’s main purpose is to look for either Iliopsoas (hip flexor muscle), Rectus Femoris (quad muscle) or Iliotibial band tightness. All of these soft tissue structure can contribute to hip mobility issues.
Start by standing next to a bed or a bench. Your hips should be in contact with the edge. Grab one of your knees and pull it towards your chest as you gently fall backwards. The knee you grab should be pulled as close to your chest as possible. As you lie on your back while holding onto your knee, allow your other leg to relax completely.
What position does your body end up? Having a friend help you with this screen is extremely beneficial. Once you screen one leg, perform the same movement on the opposite leg and see what you find.
Did you have checks in every box of the ‘pass’ column? If so you show adequate hip flexion mobility. However if you had any checks in the ‘fail’ column for this screen, you have a hip mobility restriction.
If you were unable to pull your knee fully to your chest, we are dealing with a possible hip flexion mobility issue. This could be caused by a number of factors including tight or restricted soft tissues, or even hip capsule restrictions.
If you were unable to pull one of your legs as far towards your chest as the other, you have a possible asymmetry in hip mobility. This is a red flag. Asymmetries are very important to take care of as they can negatively influence barbell squats. Often these small side-to-side differences go undiagnosed. Left untreated, asymmetries can lead to over-use injuries.
The Thomas test also allows us to screen for mobility restrictions in the opposite hip. An inability to keep your opposite leg flat on the bed and in a straight line can also point towards hip stiffness. These types of restrictions can often be due to soft tissue tightness and will be a part of the discussion in next weeks lecture.
Next week we will learn how to decipher between soft tissue issues and joint mobility issues of our hips. In addition, we will talk about a few ways to improve hip mobility with the goal of improving our squats.
Always assess movement first. If you found a problem in your single or double leg squat, we can then use different tools (like the Thomas test) to find out the cause of the breakdown the movement.
Until next time,
Dr. Aaron Horschig
With
Dr. Kevin Sonthana
References
The way comscore is explained here feels pretty natural, and scorecardresearch makes it feel less generic. When I circle back, family photo editing will be easy to grab.
This note on this topic reads naturally, and the details on the page is what gives it a real-world feel. I’ll probably revisit Free AI Photo Editor when I need it.
The way Notify me of new posts is explained here feels pretty natural, and getElementById( ak_js_1 ) makes it feel less generic. When I circle back, photo video will be easy to grab.
Good timing on this one — the ankle mobility posts were helpful, but the hips are where I’ve always felt the real restriction. The point about excessive sitting creating stiffness rings true for me since I sit at a desk all day, and I can definitely feel it once I get near the bottom of a squat. Curious whether you’d screen hip flexion and internal rotation separately, or if one test gives you enough info to work with before you start addressing it.
The this topic angle here feels practical, with the details on the page keeping it from sounding templated. photo translate is easy enough to come back to later.
The this topic angle here feels practical, with the details on the page keeping it from sounding templated. Image to Video Generator is easy enough to come back to later.
What stood out to me about this topic was how calm it feels, and the details on the page is the detail I’d remember. I’d stash AI Try On in my notes for a later pass.
Really helpful breakdown of hip mobility, especially the way you explain how restrictions can affect squat mechanics. The step-by-step approach makes it much easier to understand what to work on instead of simply trying to force better depth.
For anyone who enjoys other grid-based projects and visual planning, I also use https://minecraftpixelartgenerator.com/ to turn images into Minecraft pixel art that can be planned and built more easily.
Clear and helpful overview. I recently came across Rikaido Me while researching the same topic, and it may give readers another useful point of reference. Thanks for sharing.
This is a really helpful breakdown of how hip mobility affects squat depth, and I appreciate how clearly it explains the ripple effects on the knees and lower back. If you’re looking to stay consistent with learning and self-improvement, I’ve also found useful resources at [business chinese](https://businesschineseai.com/) that complement this kind of practical guidance.
This was an easy-to-follow read. memoji creator could also be relevant to people looking for additional tools or resources in this space. I appreciate the practical information here.
Great breakdown of hip mobility—simple, practical, and really helpful for improving squat technique safely!
Great article! I’ve been struggling with squat depth and didn’t realize how much tight hips and too much sitting could affect my form. The Thomas test sounds like a simple way to check what’s really limiting mobility before just adding more stretches. I’ll try this and pay closer attention to any side-to-side differences. Check out: https://handwritingpersonalitytest.net
Please I just want to let you all know about the latest bybit referral code New users can use the referral code 56612 for this year during registration to become eligible, along with exclusive welcome rewards, trading incentives, and promotional benefits available to qualifying accounts. This is the new version of the food.
Good day dice dreams game lovers. Here’s your chance to get free dice dreams rolls from updated source that dose not require any task. You don’t want to miss this so hurry because it’s a limited offer.
This mobility guide makes the key squat mechanics easy to understand. The practical screening ideas are especially useful for noticing small limitations before they affect training. Clear visual explanations like these also translate well to instructional video.
This mobility walkthrough gives a clear way to think about hip position and control. The visual checks make the technique easier to understand and apply.
The part of this screen that stands out is how it separates iliopsoas, rectus femoris, and IT band tightness, since each restriction points to a different correction rather than just more general stretching. Filming the Thomas test from a side angle before and after the drills covered in part two would make those asymmetries far easier to spot, which is the kind of side-by-side clip comparison Reelcomet seems suited for. Do you typically retest an asymmetry right after soft tissue work, or wait a day or two before judging whether it actually changed?
The side-to-side comparison was the most useful part for me. Easy to overlook when you’re just focused on squat depth. Thanks for explaining what to look for.
Coming back to this series years later and it is still the best breakdown of hip mobility for squats anywhere. The part about hips lacking flexion and internal rotation forcing the knees to cave and the lower back to round described my squat exactly. Working on the drills you outlined finally got me below parallel without that pinch at the hip crease. Anyone reading this, film yourself from the side, it makes the compensations obvious right away. I log all my mobility drills and progress notes with the Decisions API so I can see which drills actually move the needle week to week, this progression has earned a permanent spot in my warmups.
It’s 2:37 a.m. Your phone glows under the blanket like a harbored secret. You’ve refreshed the UniUni tracking page forty-seven times tonight, each click a tiny prayer. The status hasn’t budged since yesterday’s “Out for Delivery,” and the silence feels heavier than the $89 Temu coat you ordered. You smell rain on the porch where it should be. Instead, there’s nothing but the echo of your heartbeat.
Thank you for this wonderful article. I just want to let you all know about the latest bybit referral code New users can use the referral code 56612 for this year during registration to become eligible, along with exclusive welcome rewards, trading incentives, and promotional benefits available to qualifying accounts. I can’t wait to see more of this.
Wonderful article my friend. And hello day dice dreams game lovers. Here’s your chance to get dice dreams free rolls from updated source that dose not require any task. You don’t want to miss this so hurry because it’s a limited offer. Thank you very much
It is very good! thanks a lot!