Hip Flexor Training for Athletes

Edited by: Danielle Abel

Hip flexors are one of the most overlooked yet critical muscle groups in athletic performance. Whether you’re an athlete looking to improve sprint speed, power, and endurance or a coach designing effective training programs, understanding how to properly strengthen the hip flexors is key.

Strong hip flexors play a role in sprinting, jumping, change of direction, and overall movement efficiency. However, many popular exercises fail to train them through their full range of motion—which can limit results.

In this article, we’ll break down four common hip flexor exercises, ranking them from worst to best, and provide programming insights to help you integrate effective hip flexor training into your workouts.

What Are the Hip Flexors & Why Do They Matter?

The hip flexors are a group of muscles responsible for lifting the thigh toward the torso (hip flexion) and controlling hip extension (lowering the leg behind the body). They are crucial for running, sprinting, and explosive power, yet are often neglected in training programs.

Key Hip Flexor Muscles:

• Iliopsoas (psoas major & iliacus): The primary and most powerful hip flexor. The psoas major directly connects the lumbar spine to the femur, playing a huge role in both hip flexion and core stability.
• Rectus Femoris: A quadriceps muscle that crosses the hip joint, assisting in hip flexion and knee extension.
• Sartorius, Tensor Fasciae Latae (TFL), and Pectineus: These smaller muscles assist with hip flexion, abduction, and stability.

The Hip Flexors’ Role in Hip Extension

Many people don’t realize that hip flexors also play a crucial role in hip extension—not by actively extending the hip (that’s the job of the glutes and hamstrings), but by controlling and stabilizing the movement eccentrically.

✅ Eccentric Control of Hip Extension: As the leg moves behind the body, the hip flexors lengthen under tension, helping control and decelerate the movement.
✅ Stored Elastic Energy for Sprinting: The stretch created in hip extension preloads the hip flexors, allowing for a powerful, rapid flexion in the next step.
✅ Pelvic & Lumbar Spine Stability: The psoas major connects directly to the spine, preventing excessive lumbar extension and ensuring efficient movement mechanics.

When training the hip flexors, it's essential to strengthen them in both their lengthened and shortened positions to improve performance and reduce injury risk.

Ranking Hip Flexor Exercises: Worst to Best

🚫 The Least Effective Hip Flexor Exercises

1️⃣ Single-Leg Seated End-Range Lift-Offs ⬇️

🔴 Why It’s Not Ideal:

• Only trains the hip flexors in a very short range of motion (concentric only)
• Fails to challenge the muscles in their lengthened position (no eccentric loading)
• Not functional for athletes who need full hip extension before driving into flexion (e.g., sprinting)

💡 A Better Alternative: We need exercises that train the entire range of motion, including full hip extension

2️⃣ Single-Leg Standing Banded Hip Flexor March ⬇️

🟠 Why It’s Slightly Better:

• Allows for a larger range of motion than the seated variation
• Band tension is inconsistent—it only challenges the hip flexors at the top but leaves the lengthened position untrained
• Limited resistance adjustments—too heavy, and you lose range of motion; too light, and it’s ineffective

💡 How to Improve It: Anchor the band behind the body so the hip flexors are lengthened before initiating the movement

✅ The Most Effective Hip Flexor Exercises

3️⃣ Single-Leg Reclined Hip Flexor March from a Box ⬇️

🟢 Why It’s One of the Best:

• Trains the hip flexors in both the lengthened (eccentric) and shortened (concentric) positions
• Reclined position allows the leg to extend behind the body, improving range of motion
• Loading the foot instead of the knee increases the challenge and improves strength carryover to sports

💡 Pro Tip: Use a taller box for a deeper stretch and increase the load progressively

4️⃣ Single-Leg Reciprocal Hip Flexor Hanging Knee Raises ⬇️

🏆 Why It’s the Best:

• Mimics sprinting mechanics with reciprocal movement patterns (one leg flexing, the other extending)
• Strengthens hip flexors on one side while engaging glutes/hamstrings on the other
• Builds real-world athletic strength, improving sprint speed and movement efficiency

💡 How to Set It Up:

• Use an incline bench to support the non-working leg
• Load the working foot with weight (e.g., a kettlebell or Monkey Foot attachment)
• Perform controlled knee drives, allowing the hip to extend fully before flexing
• Start with 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps, twice per week

How to Program Hip Flexor Training

If you're an athlete or a coach, here’s how you can integrate hip flexor training effectively:

✅ Sprint-Specific Athletes (Sprinters, Field Sport Athletes, Runners)

• Perform 2x per week as part of speed development
• Use reciprocal knee raises or loaded reclined marches for strength carryover

✅ Strength Athletes (Powerlifters, Weightlifters, CrossFitters)

• Incorporate hip flexor drills in warm-ups to improve mobility and stability
• Use 2-3x per week to improve force production

✅ General Population & Injury Prevention

• Focus on full-range hip mobility and core integration
• Progress load as tolerated
• Program 1-3x per week, based on the goals of the individual 

Training Programs Available

Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned athlete, our Hybrid Athlete Team program adapts to your fitness level. Progressive training ensures constant growth, and complimentary expert guidance and coaching from us guarantee you're on the right track to hitting your running and lifting goals. Click here to check out our Hybrid Athlete Team program, which incorporates movements designed to strengthen your hip flexors effectively, on Train Heroic today.