How To Fix Hip Flexor Tightness

Photos are AI generated, the words are straight from my brain though!

Here is an issue from our bi weekly newsletter specifically for health and fitness professionals. Our owner, Jesse Lewis, shares his experience and ideas as well as stories to help the health and fitness community connect and learn from each other.

From the Community

Was talking with a CrossFit coach this week who said they get asked about hip flexor tightness constantly. They have a few go-to exercises they like, but thought it might be worth diving deeper. So here we go!

From the Clinic

A few years ago, another CrossFit coach came in frustrated with chronic hip flexor tightness. 

He’d been stretching for years. Constantly doing a couch stretch, self-release, kneeling hip flexor work, and more. It all felt good in the moment, but nothing ever stuck.

We did a thorough movement assessment, and what stood out wasn’t tightness. It was weakness. His hip flexors were super weak, especially considering how strong he was everywhere else.

I gave him a couple of basic hip flexor strengthening exercises and said, “Let’s try something different instead of giving you the 8th variation of a hip flexor stretch.”

Within a few weeks, the tightness was gone. And it finally stuck.

I think about that case all the time because it highlights something I’ve learned the hard way:

Tightness doesn’t always mean something is tight.

 It can be weakness. Or guarding. Or overactivation. Or just your nervous system playing defense.

Strengthening? Really?

Yes. Really.

Hip flexors have gotten a bad rap. I’ve heard “my hip flexors are tight” probably 10,000 times in my career. So we assume they can’t be weak.

But they can. And they often are.

Just like upper traps (more on that in a future issue), hip flexors are muscles, just like any other. And very little of our programming directly targets them. So it’s surprisingly easy for them to get weak.

In fact, when someone comes in complaining of tight hip flexors, we usually test strength and find usually they don’t have enough.

That’s why we now program hip flexor strength all the time. And one of my favorite ways to do that is with loaded stretching.

If we can get a muscle into end range and load it up that's the sweet spot.

In Practice

My favorite for this is a Thomas test position leg raise. I give it out all the time because:

It’s hard (in a good way)It feels amazing at the bottom it trains both control and range without letting the back or anything else compensate.

It's basically a hanging leg raise. But, check the last 30 seconds of the video below to see it in action.

If We Are Going to Stretch

If we are going to stretch the hip flexors, let’s make it count.

1. Watch what we're stretching

The couch stretch mostly hits the rectus femoris (a hip flexor, but also a quad). It does not get the deeper hip flexors like the iliopsoas. So totally fine to do as long as we want to stretch the rectus.

2. Watch for lumbar compensation.

The classic kneeling lunge stretch often turns into an aggressive lumbar extension. That’s fine, but it pulls focus away from the hip.

3. Use a posterior pelvic tilt.

Start in the kneeling position and cue a slight posterior tilt. In most cases, they’ll already feel a stretch before leaning forward. That alone makes it more effective.

One Last Thing

If someone says they feel hip flexor tightness at the bottom of a squat, it’s not tightness.

That’s anatomically impossible.

Hip flexors shorten in a squat. They’re not on stretch. If they’re feeling something there, it’s probably:

Hip impingement, weakness, or something else going on (labral tear, compensation, etc)

But it’s not tight hip flexors.

Connecting the Community

Trying something new here.

We talk to a lot of coaches, gym owners, and trainers every week — and sometimes, we hear:

“I’m looking for a place to coach.”

or

“We’re hiring and struggling to find good people.”

If you're a fitness pro looking for a new opportunity, let me know.

If you run a gym and you’re hiring, let me know.

I’d love to help connect good people to good places. No strings, just trying to support the community.