Hip Strength For Runners: Reduce Injuries And Run Stronger
Updated: Nov 5
I have run for most of my life, I started training properly in year 9, and I am now 24- roughly 11 years old. I spent 7 of those years tormented by injury, I was really testing myself mentally to carry on. I was getting in shape in about 8-12 weeks running a PB, feeling confident for the future, then injury would strike. Hip strength for runners is a key part of decreasing your risk of injury.
I spent the last 4 years strengthening my hips, running high mileage, and setting PBs. So, let me talk to you about how your hips may be causing your injuries and how you too can sort these issues.
How do I know if I have weak hips?
A runner with weak hips will have a very different form compared to someone with strong hips, but it may take a slow-motion video for a biomechanics specialist to be able to see the difference. One way to know is if you are consistently getting any of the following injuries:
Plantar fasciitis
Runner's knee
Lower back pain
Shin splints
IT band syndrome
Achilles tendonitis
Stress fractures
Heel problems
Alternatively, you could check out this video below:
How do weak hips lead to running injuries?
So, now you can either stop reading as you may be one of the lucky parts of the small population in the modern world who doesn't have weak hips. Or, you can accept that you have found the problem that has been causing you problems and see if we can fix you with these recommended exercises.
So, when running if your hips are weak then this leads to your glutes will not activate as much and this will lead to your quads and calves doing more of the work when you are running instead. These muscles are not made to be the prime movers when running and this is how injuries happen.
As you can see from the diagram below, the runner on the right has weak hips and this leads to her glute not activating, her knee falling inwards and this would cause her ankle to be put in a pronated position (her foot falling inwards). All of this puts her in a position where she is more susceptible to injury.
Also, it's worth noting that all of these things lead to less optimal form, which means that you will be wasting energy and consequently your performance will be worse than what it could be if you had strong hips. Strong hips help the glutes fire and the glutes are the biggest muscle in the body and are built for running.
You may also like: The Most Important Gym Exercise For Runners: Nordic Curls.
Hip strength exercises for runners
Luckily, if you have read this and found you have weak hips it is not the end of the world. There are many exercises out there that can get you started on your journey to better performance, most of which are best done with resistance bands. If you have weak hips then resistance bands are a must to get you back on the road to running pain-free and faster.
Recommended resistance bands:
Gritin 5 strength resistance bands
1) Single-leg glute bridge
8-12 reps
The glute bridge is an exercise you have probably heard of and adding a resistance band to this exercise helps to further strengthen your hips. This exercise isolates each glute and takes the hips from an anterior tilt to be pushed forward. This maximises glute contraction and also with the resistance gained by the resistance band this exercise, turns into a great exercise for your glute medius which is often undertrained and can be a root cause for a lot of injuries. The strength benefits you get for the glute medius make this a top resistance band exercise and a must-do if you are a runner or are in a sport where you need powerful glutes.
2) Clamshells
12-20 reps
Next, we have clamshells. This exercise is perfect for strengthening your glute maximus, glute minimus, and glute medius. All around your hips will be strengthened from this exercise and this is an exercise that needs to be added to your routine if you do not have strong hips.
3) Reverse Clamshells
12-20 reps
Now reverse clamshells are similar to normal clamshells but the resistance band goes around your ankles. Reverse clamshells are great due to the fact that it trains your internal hip rotators which are a key muscle for your stability and you will find the best athletes in the world making the most of this exercise.
Top Tip: Make sure to do this exercise extra slowly, this increases the amount of work your adductors and abductors will do to strengthen them even more.
4) Fire Hydrant
8-12 reps
Fire hydrants are great for developing your glute maximus, they help with the extension of the hip which is crucial in many sports to develop power, great for your abductors and your external hip rotators. This exercise is one I never leave out of my exercise routine, it is great as an activator exercise before running or squats and it is great to strengthen your hips and develop those muscles that are hard to train.
5) Standing fire hydrant
8-12 reps
This exercise is a multi-purpose exercise due to the fact it has the side benefit of training your core. This exercise will have more emphasis on the hip abductors than the normal fire hydrant and less emphasis on the glute maximus. However, they are reasonably similar exercises.
You may also like: Gym Workouts For Runners: Your Ultimate Guide.
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