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Training the right muscles for touring (hip flexors concern)

Noodler

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So I've felt my hip flexors fatigue a bit when on long hikes or MTB rides, but NOTHING like I felt today during my first uphill lap. I did about 1200' vertical in 45 minutes (no idea how that fares), but it was my hip flexors that were just screaming. After I was done and hanging out in my car waiting for the lifts to spin, I was thinking about my workout regimen and realized that I have nothing that truly hits my hip flexors like skinning does. I'm going to see if there's something I can do with my TRX suspension workout system, but does anyone have some advice for what can be done to strengthen these specific muscles when not on the mountain?
 

Scruffy

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Dead lifts, rowing, leg blasters work for me.
 

Steve

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Did you have the heel lifters up?

1200 in :45 is a good pace for your first time. Maybe you overdid it a little
 

martyg

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There are a number of very cool movements, often while balancing on one leg, that are super beneficial for targeting hip flexors. The one leg aspect, introducing balance, has the added benefit of core strengthening.

Find yourself a certified strength and conditioning coach. You will also want to pay close attention to stretching. Hammering hip flexors, and not strtetching them, can lead to adaptive shortening, which will screw your lower back.
 
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Noodler

Noodler

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Did you have the heel lifters up?

1200 in :45 is a good pace for your first time. Maybe you overdid it a little

I did use the heel risers. Started with the lower level for the second half of the first leg. Then needed the higher riser for the steepest sections.

I will admit, that I didn't do a great job of pacing myself, but that's part of the learning process I guess. I started out like gangbusters and soon realized that there was no way I was going to maintain that pace.
 

Steve

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The first time I skinned I put up my heel lifter/stop thingamajigs. My hips started hurting. I put them back down and they stopped hurting. It seems they're only good when it gets steep for me, and with my bindings (Marker Tour F12's)

Yes, yoga is very much about the hips.
 
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Noodler

Noodler

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There are a number of very cool movements, often while balancing on one leg, that are super beneficial for targeting hip flexors. The one leg aspect, introducing balance, has the added benefit of core strengthening.

Find yourself a certified strength and conditioning coach. You will also want to pay close attention to stretching. Hammering hip flexors, and not strtetching them, can lead to adaptive shortening, which will screw your lower back.

Thanks for the guidance. So not only must I focus on the correct exercises, but the flexibility/stretching part cannot be ignored. I already deal with some minor back issues from swinging golf clubs, so I certainly don't want more trouble.

I need to spend some time with creative Google searches this evening to see what I can dig up on hip flexor exercises.
 

Steve

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Another thing for me is sliding the skis forward rather than lifting them up on each step. I saw younger more fit people going faster and they were lifting their feet and skis up more than I was. I like the slow steady slide the skis forward pace, and it's less work too.
 

Scruffy

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None of those exercises replicate the movement pattern of dragging skis uphill.

Of course not. When you train muscles you usually do it multi-dimensionally, not the exact movement you plan to use in your sport/work or what have you. You would be better served to strengthen your hip flexors, not simply replicate the exact movement you're having a problem with. If that's what you want to do, just skin more, and add ankle weights.

How about forward sled push and drag?

And yes, stretching is important.
 

Pequenita

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I need to spend some time with creative Google searches this evening to see what I can dig up on hip flexor exercises.

Lunges. There are a couple of variations:
(1) Start in all 4s and then step one foot forward, in its "lane," so you now have one knee on the ground, tib/fib lined up behind it, toes can be either tucked under or pointed back, and opposite foot forward, sole of the foot on the ground. How far forward the foot is and how upright your upper body is will change the intensity of the stretch in the hip flexors. What you want to be mindful of is whether your low back is arching excessively, or if it's getting jammed/low back is cranky; you want to keep the pelvis neutral, which means depending on your flexibility, you may need to tilt your entire upper body forward. Notice whether your hips are rotating in one direction. Often, the hip on the leg that is forward also tends to move forward, so you'll want to make sure they're in the same rotational (coronal?) plane. Hands can go on your thigh or you can have them on the ground or elevated on blocks/books. This is low lunge, crescent lunge, and I think yin yoga calls it flying dragon? If your knees hurt on the mat, put a blanket underneath to pad them.

(2) variation: from where you are in the lunge, walk the front foot out to the side (away from the midline) and take both hands to the the floor on the inside of your forward foot. You can stay there, elevate your hands, or lower onto forearms. This is called lizard or dragon.

If your hamstrings are tight, too, you will notice it in the front leg.

Those are the two main ones. There's another one that is super intense. It is a lunge with the front knee bent at a right angle and your back knee is bent and the back lower leg is up a wall, so it's a quad stretch in addition to hip flexor stretch. The pose is called "King Arthur."

I taught yoga for 5 years, but it's been 5 years since then, so pose names are escaping me!

I don't think yoga does anything to strengthen hip flexors in isolation because we're often trying to get people to not cheat with ab/core exercises.
 

Slim

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Wilhelmson

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here's another one that is super intense. It is a lunge with the front knee bent at a right angle and your back knee is bent and the back lower leg is up a wall, so it's a quad stretch in addition to hip flexor stretch. The pose is called "King Arthur."

That's basically the type of yoga some people might refer to but it more of a flow than a particular exercise.
 

martyg

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That's basically the type of yoga some people might refer to but it more of a flow than a particular exercise.

It is a particular exercise. Called a Bulgarian split squat.
 

martyg

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Of course not. When you train muscles you usually do it multi-dimensionally, not the exact movement you plan to use in your sport/work or what have you.

Like anything, it is about the outcome that you are trying to engineer.
 

Pequenita

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That's basically the type of yoga some people might refer to but it more of a flow than a particular exercise.
It is a particular exercise. Called a Bulgarian split squat.

What I'm describing is a static hold with the back knee in the corner of the wall/floor, but I see the exercise you're describing. (Not me)
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LuliTheYounger

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Hurdle technique drills + a lot of track sprinter drills tend to be pretty hip flexor heavy? There's a million variations that you can find under "hurdler drills," "dynamic sprinter warmup," "speed training," etc, but these are two videos that look pretty familiar to me. I think a lot of younger track runners have done basically the same drills, if you wanted to work with someone in person.

Hurdle drills for hip mobility (better if you can find some hurdles at a track, but you can kinda simulate them regardless):

Dynamic track warmup (mostly thinking of the skipping drills, doesn't require hurdles):
 

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