My hips are very cranky lately and instead of just being annoyed most of the time and stretching when I think of it, I have decided to actually try to make them happier by doing some targeted exercises and stretches and the like.
Yes, I know that a problem with my hips is not an isolated thing – I probably have a whole series of cranky muscles that need some kind attention – but I also know that my brain loves falling into the trap of ‘if I can’t do everything, I won’t do anything’ so I have decided to start by focusing on my hips.
And since I also know that my brain gets easily bored exercise routines, I have decided that ‘focusing on my hips’ means ‘trying all kinds of different videos to see which ones my hips like best.
So, here is my ‘happier hips’ experiment:
Try each of these videos once over the next two weeks and see which ones we (me and my hips) like best.
Updates will follow as events warrant.
A video called ‘7 Tight Hip Stretches’ from the Ask Dr Jo YouTube channel. The still image shows Dr. Jo, a woman with light skin whose brown hair is pulled back in a bun, sitting on a mat on the floor with her hands on the mat behind her. Her right leg is bent at the knee with her foot on the floor and her left leg is bent with her knee facing the camera and her left foot on her right knee. She is facing the camera and she is mid-sentence.
a short YouTube video called ‘Tight Hips? You’re not alone’ from the Yoga with DJ channel. In the still image a person in a grey tank top and black shorts. with black framed glasses with their hair in a bun on top of their head sits on a black yoga mat with the soles of their feet touching each other and their knees pointed to the sides of the mat (butterfly pose), and they are using their hands to push downwards on their knees. There are shelves of plants behind them and their yoga mat is on light-coloured parquet flooring.
a video called ‘Gentle Yoga for Tight Hips’ from Yoga with Adriene. In the still image, Adriene, a woman with long dark hair and a happy expression is wearing back leggings and a black tshirt as she sits on a yoga mat that is divided long ways into two shades of green. Her hands are resting behind her on the mat and she is leaned back slightly. Her left foot is on the floor and her left knee is bent (pointed toward the ceiling) Her right leg is bent, her right foot is resting on her left leg, and her right knee is pointing away from the viewer. Her dog Benji is sleeping in front of her but near the back wall and a table with a plant and a decorative item on it is behind her to her right.
a video called ‘Hip CARs//For IT Band Syndrom, Piriformis Syndrome etc’ from Tom Morrison. The left hand side of the image is red with text reading ‘What is The Best Hip Mobility Drill Ever!?and the right shows Tom Morrison, a man with long hair wearing a black shirt and dark pants and a woman in a black shirt and grey capri leggings with her blonde hair in a high ponytail standing next to the frame of a machine at the gym. She is holding on to the frame and tipping her leg to one side to stretch her hips.
another Yoga with Adriene video. This one is called ‘Hip Mobility – Open Your Hips – 13 Minute Yoga practice and there’s still image shows her lying on her back on a light green yoga mat and she is wearing a one piece exercise suit that is both a tank top and leggings. She is making the figure 4 position with her legs. Her right leg is bent with the knee pointing away from the viewer and her right ankle is resting on her left thigh as she pulls her left thigh toward her with her hands .
This video from Oscar Moves is called ‘Give Me 4 Minutes. I’ll Fix Your Tight Hips.’ Still image is divided into halves. On the left, he is wearing a dark shirt and shorts and he is pushing down on his right leg near the knee with both hands. On the right side, he is wearing a green shirt and dark shorts and he is sitting with the souls of his feet together and his knees pointing out to either side in butterfly position and he looks relaxed.
After years of planning to buy a rowing machine, I finally got one a couple of months back and I am thoroughly enjoying using it.
I love that I don’t have to put much thought into the how and the what of exercising with the rowing machine. I can use it at any time without having to put on specific clothes and I can choose to have a harder workout or an easier one without having to make a specific plan.
It’s a kind of automatic exercise for me which is really good for my ADHD brain – there are few, if any, choices to make in advance and that means there are very few potential obstacles between me and my workout.
Plus, I like the very nature of the movement back and forth, the repetition has a soothing element to it.
This does NOT look soothing. I hope I look a little smoother than this when I row. Image description: a GIF of a person in an inflatable T-Rex costume is using a rowing machine in a small living room with potted plants all around. Because the head of the costume is so far above the person’s head, their movements look very jerky.
And, I like that I can do a very specific type of multi-tasking – watching YouTube videos – while I row.
I enjoy learning by video but I don’t often make time to do so. Combining my exercise with videos is a win-win situation – I am doing two enjoyable things at once and my brain and body are both busy so I don’t get any of my usual feeling that I should probably be doing something else.
I even pick out my videos the night before so there is little between my pyjama-clad self and my exercise session in the mornings. I can get up, let the dog out (and back in!), grab some water, take my meds, and then head to the basement to row. It’s all part of my waking up routine and it really feels great.
Speaking of feeling great, my rowing has brought me an unexpected positive side-effect – my hips have loosened up considerably.
Maybe they aren’t quite *this* loose but they do feel good. Image description: GIF of cartoon character Daffy Duck standing in a spotlight with his wings up behind his head, his hips are moving in a very loose circle.
Because of long-ago sessions at the gym, I knew that my arms, back, and legs were going to benefit from using the machine but I hadn’t really thought about how the set of movements required to row would help my hips, too.
I sort of have a ‘trick’ hip. It’s mostly fine but every now and then I’ll do something that will wonk it out and it will take me a few days to get it to calm down again.
Practicing kicks at taekwon-do has often triggered my hip in that way but I only realize it *after* I have done it. I’ve done a variety of things to work on it (with various degrees of consistency – I’m still me after all) but nothing has been especially helpful. Until now.
About three weeks after starting regular rowing sessions, our Thursday night TKD class was all about practicing sidekicks and angle kicks. Normally, with a night full of those kicks, my hip would wonk out at some point during the evening and I’d either have to reduce my movements or do something else entirely.
This time, however, I was tired but my hip was completely fine. I was puzzled at first but as I was pulling my leg up and back into position for one of the kicks, I realized that the motion was familiar. It’s not exactly like the position of my leg as I pull all the way forward on the machine but it’s similar.
I didn’t have any trouble with my hips that night. And, more importantly, I didn’t wake up stiff or in pain the next morning. In fact, I rowed for a bit longer than I had the day before.
It turns out that my rowing was setting me up for new success with taekwon-do.
Okay, this is just straight-up wishful thinking on my part. Image description: GIF of a person standing on one foot, spinning in a circle and then executing a very high kick. Their hair is in a ponytail, and they are wearing a pink shirt and black leggings.
That’s a pretty good side-effect for an activity I was enjoying already.
Have you ever had one type of exercise ‘accidentally’ help you in another like that?
Tell me about it in the comments! (Pretty please.)
