I remember slogging through an 8 miler this summer and feeling the hip ache enter the chat around mile 5.

*massive eye roll and groan* like seriously, my guy?

Now realize: no, I didn’t stop mid run to work it out. Sometimes the long run just is what it is.

But once I got home, I defaulted to “ugh it feels so tight, how do I stretch this?”

Dear reader: stretching does NOT often work for my body.

So please tell me why I proceeded to try and stretch anyway *facepalm*

Did it “work”? No. As predicted.

And I realize a lot of you are increasing mileage, working on maintaining high weekly mileage, maybe marathon training and you’re 8-6 weeks out from race day.

We all got some cranky, stiff, tight hips.

And it doesn’t help that if, when, you go to physical therapy and try to described it, it’s often “it gets tight during or after my long run”. “It’s sort of in the front of my hip” “sometimes it’s my hip flexors; sometimes it feels tight, deep IN my hip”.

I swear, hips like to be drama queens.

This is NOT to say STOP stretching. If you like, if it works for you, please keep at it.

But if you find yourself stretching and re-stretching every 15-20 minutes...

that's a sure sign in my book that your body is reverting to its tight stage for a reason.

When it comes to hip flexors, and the combo stiff-hip feeling, these two are in cahoots typically out of "protection mode." Hip flexors and hamstrings do sort of this same thing, where they act as "super-protectors", getting very tight in what's called "guarding".

Guarding. Protector Mode. You get it.

Somewhere along the line, your body flipped a switched that said "this particular mile, run, workout, etc" is TOO MUCH. It sees it as a threat (real or imagined). Either way, when it's below the belt line, hip flexors or hammies jump to the rescue, tighten up, and slow you down, so you can't do "further damage".

This is why stretching doesn't work. You're arguing with a 2 year old who insists the sky is orange. Your body WILL revert to that tight stage.

But with hip flexors, there IS the potential that this particular muscle will feel tight, go into tight-protect mode, because it doesn't have the load capacity, or the endurance-strength, to meet the demands of a particular run or workout.

This is the ONE time I really focus on strengthening hip flexors: when a runner is chasing speed OR some serious distance they've never done before.

So either way, you can start to see the WHY behind the tight hip flexor and stiff hip. So to bring it full circle...

This week, I put together the exact 10 minute tight, stiff, front-of-hip recovery circuit that I WISH I’d done after that 8 mile long run.

And if you’re really pressed for time, jump to the last exercise and focus on that one. It’s my personal favorite.

Dare to Train Differently,

Marie Whitt, PT, DPT //@dr.whitt.fit

P.S. Be on the look out for weekly running inspiration, workouts, or new tips and tricks. There's always something new to learn!

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