Feeling Free: How to Loosen Up Tight Hips and Glutes

We've all felt it - that tightness in the hips and rear that makes moving uncomfortable. As a fitness coach, I constantly have clients coming to me complaining of inflexibility and restriction in their hips and glutes. They feel "stuck", like their bodies just won't let them move freely. So today, I want to share with you an amazing self-massage routine that will help loosen up even the tightest hips and glutes. Keep reading to free your body!

"If you have tight hips and tight glutes, Well, I'm gonna show you a simple routine that you can use every day to loosen up your hips and glutes and make them feel amazing," says Tyler, a coach at WeShape. Their goal is to help you feel better in your body - something we can all get behind!

The first step is to get a massage ball. You don't need anything fancy - even a tennis ball or lacrosse ball will do. Just make sure it's something you can put your weight on. Once you've got your massage ball, place it on the floor and position yourself so the ball is right under your tailbone. Gently roll around, moving towards your tailbone, until you find a "trigger point" - a tight knot in the muscle.

When you find that knot, pause and gently rock back and forth. Take some deep breaths and rotate your hips to help loosen things up. Don't move on until you feel that knot relax! For an added challenge, cross one ankle over your knee to intensify the pressure.

Slowly trace the massage ball around your entire pelvis, looking for more trigger points. When you find one, repeat the process - gentle rocking, breathing deeply, and rotating the hips until it releases. Make sure to trace all around the front, sides and back of the pelvis.

"You'll probably find a lot of them on the side of the hip. These are some muscles that generally are very tight on people or very underactive, and there can be a lot of knots in there," says Tyler. Sit on those side knots until you feel them soften.

Take your time with this routine, spending several minutes to massage every part of the hips and glutes. Once you've gone all the way around one side, pause and notice how different that hip feels compared to the other! Then switch sides and repeat the massage on the other hip.

Tyler recommends doing this routine every day for a few weeks to get the most benefit. He says, "If you do this consistently for a few weeks, you're going to get rid of a lot of those knots and trigger points in your glutes and your hips that are restricting your range of motion and making your hips and glutes feel tight."

I couldn't agree more! Stick with this routine and you'll be amazed at how much freer your hips and glutes will feel. No more feeling "stuck" - just freedom of movement. Give it a try and let me know how it goes! Remember to breathe deeply, take your time, and be consistent. In a few weeks, you'll have happy hips and glutes!