Fitness Progression through Exercise
Exercise is not linear in its progression. If so, we would have people deadlifting 1,000 pounds and running sub-3-minute miles. There comes a point where results will start to plateau, even in the best of training programs. On that same line of thought, what is a good goal you should strive to reach in strength for overall health? A goal that can function as both an assessment of your current physical fitness and barometer of the effectiveness of your training program. I recently started to think about how much weight is enough in the deadlift. In the squat, it’s been established that you want to first establish movement competency first, and then work towards a squatting twice your bodyweight. This recent benchmark has made single leg squats more popular because loading the person is more achievable and safer, but what about the hip hinge?
What is a Hip Hinge?
A hip hinge is a movement that allows you to flex/bend at the hips while maintaining a neutral spine. The hip hinge is a series of exercises that can be used to help patients learn to move through the hips while at the same time holding the lumbar spine stable. These exercises are important for those suffering from back pain, as well as for those who want to improve their hip and leg strength. Patients should do these exercises as part of a formal exercise/rehab program.
I reference the hip hinge and not the deadlift, because the hip hinge is a movement pattern, and the deadlift is an exercise. I wanted to look at proficiency in the movement. We can view true strength as a benchmark of your efficiency in that movement pattern. In recent years, research has proven the value of strength in the hip hinge. As humans we are biomechanically equipped to lift heavy loads from that position. Maintaining a neutral spine, the human body can generate tremendous force using the hamstrings, gluteal muscles, hips, and paraspinals. How much is the gold standard in that movement? As in all things, too much of a good thing eventually starts to lead to diminished returns. Running five to ten miles, four days a week is good for cardiovascular fitness. Upping that distance to fifteen to twenty miles will start to lead to overuse injuries. Let’s first consider which muscles are used in the hip hinge.
Muscles Used in the Hip Hinge
The hip hinge uses a combination of muscles in both the posterior, spiral, and functional lines of fascia tissue. Dr. Thomas Meyers brought to the attention of the strength and conditioning industry that the fascia trains in his breakthrough book Anatomy Trains. In his book we can see how the posterior, functional and spiral lines include the glutes and hamstrings. These muscles create a sling shot effect, first lengthening and then quickly shortening, initiating the movement while the erector spinae and latissimus dorsi maintain an isometric contraction.
Why is the Hip Hinge Exercise Important for Strength?
So, why do we need to maintain strength in this pattern? Just go load salt in your water softener or pick up a case of water and you’ll know why. As we age, we are more prone to lose range of motion in a squat due to skeletal issues (ankle and knee) compared to the hip hinge. The ability to pick something heavy off the ground is more achievable from a hip hinge position.
After digging through the research archives, I was unable to find a definitive answer in how much you should strive to lift in the hip hinge. I was able to find recommendations. Twice your bodyweight was the consistent answer for how much weight is enough to lift. This means that if a 200-pound male can lift a 400-pound barbell off the floor he does not need to work to improve strength in that area. At this point, he has achieved enough strength and can shift to a maintenance program.
Training the hip hinge pattern is also a valuable format to train for overall fitness and longevity. The kettlebell swing or a hang clean, using a sandbag, provide benefits in multiple areas. When I design a fitness program, I want to make sure I address mobility, power, strength (with an emphasis on grip), and the cardiovascular system. In the popular Torch workout that we use at the training studio (J and D Fitness Personal Training studio), we check the box at every workout for each of these components. Now I will add that you should receive clearance from a certified strength coach or personal trainer to perform loaded hip hinges. At the studio we use the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) to determine if someone can demonstrate adequate hamstring mobility with pelvic stability.
Importance of Movement Patterns
In the movement pattern hierarchy, I would rank the hip hinge close to the top next to gait. To review, the movement patterns of the body are (not in ranking order):
·Squat
·Hip hinge
·Lunge
·Gait (walk, jog, run)
·Push (both horizontally and vertically)
·Pull (both horizontally and vertically)
·Rotate (which includes the ability to resist rotation)
The Hip Hinge and Back Pain
The hip hinge is the most valuable because of back injuries and pain that many Americans experience. Much of that is due to the lack of strength people have within that movement pattern. If you don’t see the value in getting and maintaining strength while performing a hip hinge, here are a few statistics.
Back Pain Statistics
· Eighty percent of Americans will experience back pain at some point in life
· 7.5% of the world’s population suffer from lower back pain
· In 2017, back pain was the leading cause of disability worldwide
· Americans spend at least $50 billion annually on treating back pain
· Nearly a third of women suffer from LBP, compared to a quarter of men
· Lower back pain becomes more common as you get older
· Three million years of productive life is lost in the US every year due to back pain
· 29% of Americans believe stress is the cause of their back pain
Final Thought by J & D Fitness of Las Vegas, Nevada
Maintain your fitness by training all your primal movement patterns and keep the hip hinge as one of your pillars for overall strength. Your body will love you for it.