Hip Flexion with Lumbar Extension Fix

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Let’s take a look at a movement dysfunction that can commonly be found in someone’s deadlift or squatting pattern. Usually when we think about squatting and deadlifting we are so focused on having the person’s low back not round that we miss it when their low back goes excessively in the other direction, which is extension.

Being able to disassociate movement between joints is extremely important. In a deadlift or squat, we want the movement occurring around the hip joint, not in the lumbar spine. You need to be able to differentiate when the movement is happening at one vs the other.

For some athlete’s, during the initial phase of hip flexion, they quickly arch their low back in to extension, thereby having hip flexion + lumbar extension. This is undesirable. We want hip flexion with a static lumbar spine.  They are stabilizing their spine by taking it into extension rather than using the core as a canister with 360 degree support. This is a skill that will have to be developed separately from strength and metabolic conditioning training. This is movement training.

If you don’t look for this, you won’t know it is there. If you think you aren’t seeing it, look harder, because it’s there.

– Ryan