Hip Exercises
For many women hip exercises are needed to keep excess fat on the hips becoming a real problem. The composition of a woman’s physique is very different from a man’s! At puberty women begin to widen out at the hips in preparation for pregnancy.
As many women know one of the first places excess fat deposits itself is the hips whether pregnant or not! To reduce the amount of fat deposits hip exercises should be carried out along with eating a healthy and nutritious diet. Hip exercises should also be part of a women’s workout routine to strengthen the hip joints and reduce the risks associated with osteoporosis in later life.
Simple walking will warm up the muscles around the hips before beginning hip exercises such as squats and lunges. Hip exercises should automatically be covered in any exercise program as circuits using adductor machines which rotate the hip joints in a controlled manner. If the hip muscles are to be worked hard then it should be remembered that other exercises which require stability should be avoided.
Novices can carry out effective hip exercises without going to a gym to use adductor machines. Begin the exercise routine with walking and carry out squats, lunges and leg raises, remembering to keep the back straight and the movements under control throughout. It is equally important to control the leg raises on the way down as well as up. Allowing the leg to simply fall back will not have any benefit at all in helping to exercise the hips, Slow, smooth movements and concentration are need to make leg raises an effective hip exercise.
Using a large inflated ball can also be used to strengthen the adductor muscles. Laying on the floor, sitting on a firm chair or standing holding the ball between the lower legs around the calf area, gradually squeeze the ball trying to apply equal pressure from both legs and hold for a couple of seconds before releasing and carrying out repetitions. If carried out while standing balance needs to be controlled and it is more appropriate to use one leg for stability and carry out the exercise on one leg at a time and then changing legs.
These ball squeeze hip exercises can be gradually increased to approximately twelve each session. Once this goal has been achieved increase the amount to fifteen and try and hold the squeeze for a longer duration or inflate the ball so that it is slightly firmer.