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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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The side-by-side photos and the instruction to compare both legs make this explanation easier to follow. For an instructional video, matching each demonstrated position to a short spoken cue would help viewers track the sequence without losing the visual detail.
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The Thomas test is a clear, practical way to screen hip flexor and quadriceps restrictions before changing squat technique. I also like using <a href=”https://trendsmonitor.net/”>Trends Monitor</a> to follow rising search topics when researching mobility and training content.
The Thomas test is a useful way to separate hip mobility limitations from technique issues, especially when comparing both sides. For tracking rising search interest around mobility and training topics, <a href=”https://trendsmonitor.net/”>Trends Monitor</a> is a helpful research companion.
The “assess movement first” sequence makes the article easier to follow: begin with the squat, then use the screen to investigate what might be limiting it. The side-to-side comparison is also a useful detail to make explicit rather than recording only a single pass or fail. A simple diagram labeling the held leg and the relaxed leg would make the two observations in the Thomas test clearer for new readers.
The article’s focus on screening hip mobility is practical, especially when small movement limitations can affect squat technique. For coaches who also need clear visual materials, Seedream 5.0 can create and edit reference-based infographics and exercise visuals.
The reminder to assess movement before choosing a drill is excellent, and the Thomas test gives readers a concrete way to connect symptoms with mobility limits. For teams building clear instructional or movement-demo content, <a href=”https://ltx23free.com”>LTX 2.3 Free</a> collects prompt examples and workflow guidance for planning AI video ideas, which could help visualize these concepts for different audiences.
This hip mobility screening progression is so practical – I especially like the ASLR baseline check before adding flexion and rotation work. Tight posterior capsule was exactly my issue after sitting all day, and the 90/90 stretch cue of driving the knee made an immediate difference. Would you change the order of the screen for older clients with arthritis? As far as evening relaxation to your routine, I like to finish the day with a few minutes of Skate 3 Browser (https://skate3browser.org/) before sleep.
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Thanks for sharing such a practical breakdown of hip mobility. I appreciate the focus on identifying the specific limitations behind a squat issue rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach. Understanding the underlying cause makes it much easier to find an appropriate solution. I also enjoy learning from businesses that focus on solving practical problems, such as Efanda Logistics, which provides international shipping services for businesses.
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Really helpful screen — thank you. I tried the Thomas test right after reading this and noticed my left side is noticeably tighter than my right, exactly the asymmetry you warn about here. Combining the assessment with your rib-down brace cue from the article made the hip flexor work feel much more targeted than my usual stretching routine. One thing that has helped me stick with it: I treat these drills like squats themselves — short warm-up blocks, then a quick 10-minute browser break like the aim trainer at https://okiaimx.app/ before getting back to work so the desk stiffness does not creep back in. Looking forward to the corrective exercise progressions in the next parts of the series!
Great breakdown of hip mobility for squats! I have been working on these drills and they have made a real difference. Also been using NanoImageAI to generate custom exercise infographics for my training log – super helpful for visual learners.
Posting on behalf of Remake Checklist: the link to part two helps readers follow this screening discussion into the next article. Could the series include a short contents list showing which posts cover assessment, interpretation, and when an in-person professional assessment is needed?
The connection you drew between stiff hips and the knock-on failures upstream is spot on — I never realized my knees caving in at depth was really a hip flexion problem until I started screening it seriously. The torso-to-femur line method for estimating flexion angle is a simple way to track progress without a gym full of tools. Sedentary desk work catching up with a lot of us makes the sitting connection very real too. Looking forward to the Thomas test walkthrough, as I have heard the name for years but never knew how to self-administer it properly.