Movement Library
Hip Hinge
- Pattern
- Hinge
- Trains
- Technique
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Measured in
- Repetitions
How to perform
- 1Push your hips straight back with a flat back and soft knees.
- 2Feel the stretch in your hamstrings, then squeeze your glutes to stand.
Technique in detail
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a soft, unlocked bend in the knees. Keeping your spine in one straight line from head to tailbone, push your hips backward as if you were closing a car door behind you. Your torso lowers because your hips travelled back, not because you bent your waist. Go as far as you can while feeling a stretch in the hamstrings and keeping the back flat, then drive the hips forward to stand. Learn this pattern before loading it — it is the foundation for deadlifts, swings and every pick-up you do in daily life.
Common mistakes
- Squatting instead of hinging. If the knees travel forward and the hips drop straight down, it is a squat. The hips must move backward, and the shins stay nearly vertical.
- Rounding the upper back at the bottom. Hold a broomstick along your spine touching the head, upper back and tailbone — if any point loses contact, you have gone too far.
- Hyperextending at the top by pushing the hips through and leaning back. Finish standing tall and neutral, glutes squeezed, ribs down.
Equipment
- No equipment
Progression
Movements in this library are chained from easiest to hardest, so you always have a next step.
Progresses to
Band Pull-Through
Easy
Face away from the anchor, hinge, and stand tall to pull the band through your legs.
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Easy
Slide the dumbbells down your thighs as you hinge at the hips.
Good Mornings
Easy
With hands behind your head, hinge at the hips until your chest nears parallel.
Single-Leg Deadlift
Moderate
Hinge forward on one leg, letting the other extend behind you.
Related movements
Glute Bridge
Beginner
Drive through your heels and squeeze your glutes to lift your hips.
Hip Thrust
Easy
Rest your upper back on the chair seat and drive your hips to the ceiling.
Dumbbell Swing
Moderate
Hinge and swing the dumbbell between your legs, then snap your hips forward.
Single-Leg Glute Bridge
Moderate
Extend one leg, then lift your hips with the other.
Want these tracked — sets, reps and progress over time?
Start tracking freeThis library is general fitness education, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, injured, or managing a health condition, check with a clinician before starting something new. Stop if a movement hurts.