Lower back and hips · 30–60 seconds of slow repetitions
The hip hinge, the pattern under everything
Bending from the hips instead of the lower back is a skill, and it is trainable.
Every time you pick something up, load a dishwasher or lean over a sink, you either hinge at the hips or bend through the lower back. The hinge sends the work to the hips and hamstrings and leaves the spine stacked. It is the single most useful movement pattern to own, and it is worth practising without a load before you ever need it with one.
How to do it
- 1
Stand with feet about hip-width apart, knees softly unlocked
Not locked straight, not squatting. A small amount of give at the knee is all this needs.
- 2
Send your hips backwards, not your chest down
Imagine reaching your backside toward a wall behind you. Your chest lowers as a consequence of the hips travelling back — that order matters.
- 3
Go as far as you can keep a long spine, then return
Stop the moment your lower back starts to round. Drive back to standing by pushing your hips forward.
Make it easier
Hold a stick or broom along your back, touching the back of your head, your mid-back and your tailbone. If all three stay in contact through the movement, your spine stayed long. It turns an abstract cue into something you can feel.
Make it harder
Slow the lowering phase down to a count of four, or take the movement to one leg with the other extended behind you for balance.
The mistake that undoes it
Turning it into a squat by dropping the hips straight down, or rounding the lower back at the bottom to reach further. Depth is not the goal — the pattern is.
When this one tends to help
Anyone who lifts, gardens, or bends repeatedly through a day, and backs that complain the morning after a session of it.
If bending forward reproduces pain travelling down a leg, leave this one and get the back assessed first.
Also part of sessions for
Each of those explains what the condition is, what the published guidance recommends, and where this movement fits.
Common questions
What is a hip hinge?
Bending from the hips instead of the lower back. The hips travel backwards, the chest lowers as a result and the spine stays long. It is the pattern under picking things up, loading a dishwasher or leaning over a sink.
How do I know I am hinging and not squatting?
In a hinge the hips travel back. In a squat they drop straight down. Hold a broom along your back touching your head, mid-back and tailbone: if all three stay in contact, your spine stayed long.
How far should I go down?
As far as you can keep a long spine. Stop the moment the lower back starts to round, then drive back to standing by pushing your hips forward. Depth is not the goal, the pattern is.
How do I make the hip hinge harder?
Slow the lowering phase to a count of four, or take the movement to one leg with the other extended behind you for balance.
When should I skip it?
If bending forward reproduces pain travelling down a leg. Leave this one and get the back assessed first.
Also called hip hinge, romanian deadlift, hinge pattern. Drawn from the clinically authored Vinys exercise library. Read how the method works. General movement guidance, not medical advice.