Hip hinge

A hip hinge bends at the hips and pushes them back while keeping the spine neutral.^{1International Sports Sciences Association, Strength and Conditioning, p. 302.},^{2International Sports Sciences Association, Corrective Exercise, 1st ed., p. 201.} It uses the posterior chain, the muscles along the back of the body, to drive hip flexion and extension as weight shifts backward.^{1International Sports Sciences Association, Strength and Conditioning, p. 302.} ISSA describes the hinge as a foundation for lifts such as the deadlift, with its study guide recommending that clients learn it early in a program.^{1International Sports Sciences Association, Strength and Conditioning, p. 302.},^{3International Sports Sciences Association, Exercise Selection, Technique, and Training Instruction: Fast Track Study Guide, p. 4.}

The hamstrings and glutes are involved, along with the erector spinae, the rhomboids to help hold a neutral spine, and the core muscles to brace the upper body.^{1International Sports Sciences Association, Strength and Conditioning, p. 302.}

In practice

ISSA teaches the hinge with a bar or dowel held at shoulder width.^{1International Sports Sciences Association, Strength and Conditioning, p. 302.} The client braces, pushes the glutes back with a slight knee bend, keeps the shins as vertical as possible, and lowers until the hamstrings stretch.^{1International Sports Sciences Association, Strength and Conditioning, p. 302.} Squeezing the glutes returns the client to standing without pushing the hips too far forward.^{1International Sports Sciences Association, Strength and Conditioning, p. 302.}

Its corrective exercise text offers another cue: push the hips back and slide the hands down the thighs, with minimal forward knee movement and no flexion or extension of the lumbar spine.^{2International Sports Sciences Association, Corrective Exercise, 1st ed., p. 201.} ISSA says a correct hinge places minimal stress on the spine and knees; discomfort calls for a modification, such as squeezing a ball between the elbows.^{2International Sports Sciences Association, Corrective Exercise, 1st ed., p. 201.}

The NSCA lists squatting instead of hinging as a common error in the kettlebell swing, and begins the Romanian deadlift with a hip hinge.^{4Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 389.},^{5Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 377.}