by 
This is Your Quick Training Tip, a chance to learn how to work smarter in just a few moments so you can get right to your workout.
ONE OF THE most common admonitions you’ll hear from trainers is that you should, above all else “focus on form” when you're exercising. Whether you’re performing the chinup, bench press, squat, deadlift, curl, or any other movement, good technique is paramount.
This fixation on form is the key to maximizing the benefit from every rep while minimizing your risk of injury, and when it comes to lower body exercises such as the deadlift and squat, no movement is more important than the hip hinge.
What Is the Hip Hinge?
The hip hinge comes into play during any exercise that requires you to descend towards the floor from a standing position. But it's more than just leaning forward and bending over at the waist.
The key to nailing the hip hinge is simple: Instead of bending forward at your waist, initiate the movement by pushing your hips backward while keeping your back flat and core engaged. In so doing, you’ll optimize your mechanical advantage while reducing the stress on your spine, allowing you to lift heavy loads more safely and powerfully.
How to Do the Hip Hinge
- Stand up with your feet just further than shoulder-width apart (this might vary a bit given the specific exercise you're doing and your own anatomy and mobility, but it's a place to start).
- Before initiating the movement, squeeze your glutes and abs to create full-body tension.
- Push your butt back slightly, then lower your torso down. Depending on the exercise, you can have a slight bend at the knee. Just remember, the hip hinge is not a squat. Your butt shouldn't descend any further; your hips should also stay lower than your shoulders.
- Squeeze your glutes to raise back up and return to the top standing position. Keep your core engaged, and you head in a neutral position looking straight ahead.
If you’ve ever closed a door with your butt while carrying groceries or luggage, you’ve already practiced the movement necessary to execute the hip hinge properly, so keep that in mind whenever it comes up in your workouts, which is likely any time you target your legs.
Some exercises, like the squat and deadlift, will have you bending your knees farther than others (such as the Romanian deadlift), but you’ll know that you’re performing the exercise correctly if you feel pressure in your heel and mid-foot as you descend. If you feel pressure in the balls of your feet, you’re not hinging effectively. Not only will that slow your results, but it will also increase your risk of injury—so reset and start again.
When to Use the Hip Hinge
The hip hinge is an essential part of nearly all lower-body bilateral exercises, including the deadlift, back squat, good morning, and any other move that requires you to keep both feet planted firmly on the ground. It’s also critical in many unilateral (single limb) exercises such as the single-leg deadlift and Bulgarian split squat, and in dynamic total-body moves such as the kettlebell swing.
But what many guys don’t realize is that the hip hinge is a crucial part of the set up for several upper body moves as well, including the barbell row and triceps kickback.
Bottom line: The quicker you master the hip hinge, the better your lifting performance will be and the faster you’ll reach your goals. Check out legendary strength coach Dan John's top drill to discover the secret to performing it perfectly.
Trevor Thieme is a Los Angeles-based writer and strength coach, and a former fitness editor at Men’s Health. When not helping others get in shape, he splits his time between surfing, skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and trying to keep up with his seven year-old daughter.
