The 3 Best Hip Flexor Stretches on the Internet

The best hip flexor stretches on the internet? If you’re a skeptical modern-day google browser like me, I know what you’re thinking.

What makes these stretches so special? Am I just using this title for click-bait?

Yes and no. If I don’t create enticing titles, no one would ever read my articles or know who the hell I am. But more importantly, I won’t be able to help you.

So, are these the best hip flexor stretches on the internet? Maybe. But what matters more is what you learn about your body when you do them.

Stretching is a stepping-stone, not the destination. It is a common misconception that stretching is something you need to do all the time to reduce the feeling of tightness.

A feeling of tightness is more than just tight muscles. It’s a sensation created by your nervous system alerting you that something in this area of your body feels off.

A feeling of tightness can also be caused by muscle weaknesses, poor blood flow, a lack of proper load distribution or even emotional stress.

This doesn’t mean stretching has no value. It does. But you need to do it in an open-minded explorative way, rather than a rigid mechanical way. 

How to Stretch the Hip Flexors

The mechanical style of stretching is the idea that to “fix” tightness or pain, you simply need to stretch whatever muscle is causing the issue. Similar to how you would fix a car or computer that is malfunctioning.

The explorative style of stretching is much more open and free. You stretch without any preconceived notion on what the problem is in your body. You act more like an artist than an engineer.

There are no perfect formulas when improving movement. Some things work for some people sometimes. It’s all about finding out what stretches and exercises help open up YOUR body.

Done with the right intention, stretching can be a form of movement meditation. Where you pay attention to what is happening in your body when you enter and exit certain positions.

This is how you will finally understand why your hip flexors always feel so tight and what to do about it.

Keep these principles in mind as you experiment with the below stretches.

Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch (Easy)

The first exercise is one that you likely tried before – the kneeling hip flexor stretch. But I am going to ask you to do something different than what you’ve done before.

I want you to think about this exercise as a movement rather than a stretch. Don’t worry about feeling a stretch in the hip flexor. Instead, focus on how it feels when you come in and out of the position.

Do your hip flexors feel tight when you go into the position? Are you able to get more range of motion than you thought? Or less?

What happens when you tuck your pelvis? Does this make the movement more challenging or less? How about if you bring your pelvis in the opposite direction? Or squeeze your glute?

There are no right answers. Just things to think about when you’re exploring the movement.

Standing Hip Flexor Stretch (Intermediate)

The next stretch, often referred to as the Wall Stork, is an absolute game changer for many people. It will highlight for you what is happening in your hip flexors when standing in a healthy upright posture.

There is no wrong place to feel this exercise. It may be your hip flexors but it might also be your lateral hip muscles, back, quads and feet.

As long as you’re in the right position, you will feel it where it matters most. See if you can just observe rather than trying to control the experience.

Lunging Hip Flexor Stretch (Difficult)

The last exercise is a more traditional movement for stretching the hip flexors, the lunge. Although I label this one as the most difficult one in this article, there are many variations you can experiment with to find what works best for your current level.

A cue I like to think about when working on new stretches is “what is the least amount of range of motion I need to take before I feel a stretch.”

This helps me ensure that I’m not mindlessly going into a position without feeling some type of stretch, whether in the hip flexors or somewhere else. Then, once I understand what the stretch feels like, I try to go deeper into the position to see where my end range might be.

The beginning of your final range and the true end of the range might feel drastically different. It’s a good idea to explore these two points in the movement, as well as all those ranges in between.

Programming

Since you’re bringing a more explorative approach to these stretches, I recommend performing them for time, rather than reps.

For example, you can spend 1-2 minutes in a stretch for 2-3 sets, on each side. I recommend at least 2 sets because as you’ll likely notice, the second set usually feels different than the first.

Once you spend some time on these stretches, see if you can think of creative ways to implement them in dynamic activities to see how your hip flexors are feeling.