A New Approach To Developing Your Hips

A picture of a woman with the world's largest hips in a red dress on a beach.

I’ll be honest, I regularly use various Back Extensions, Good Mornings, and RDLs interchangeably.

All 3 exercises strengthen the hamstrings, glutes, and low back to varying degrees, so it made a lot of sense to me.

However, that all changed recently when I read a paper that was just published.

And let me tell you- it will forever change how I program hip extension exercises.

The Paper- Are All Hip Extension Exercises Created Equal?

Without going into detail, the authors do some biomechanical calculations to determine where the most tension is on the hips for the following exercises:

1. A Good Morning.

2. A 45-degree Back Extension.

3. A Horizontal Back Extension.

Essentially what they demonstrated is that the torque on the hip is greatest in different positions for each exercise.

The torque is highest on the hips at the bottom of the Good Morning.

And it makes sense when you look at it, right?

The most difficult part of the Good Morning is at the bottom. Once you get the bar moving, you’re usually good to go.

The torque is highest on the hips during the middle portion of the 45-degree Back Extension. The “middle portion” for the sake of this paper was measured as 135-degrees.

According to the picture in the paper it’s essentially when your chest is parallel to the ground.

And when you think about it, it makes sense. This position is more difficult to hold than the top or the bottom, right?

Finally, the torque is highest on the hips at the top of the Horizontal Back Extension. Again, think about where it’s most difficult to hold. The top, when you’re parallel to the ground, right?

Alright, I know what you’re thinking- cool Dickie, I know how to feel the burn better with these exercises. But how can I use this info to make me a better wrestler?

Personalizing Your Plan

Here are some scenarios. If you’re getting stuck under an opponent after a shot and end up in an extended position like one of these two situations:

A picture of Dickie White bent over so his chest is parallel to the ground grabbing a single leg on a member at his gym.

A picture of Dickie White on the same single leg as above but this time he's on his knees and the gym member is sprawling on him which is extending his arms.

Then you should consider an increased usage of the Good Morning. According to the paper, the Good Morning will better mimic the torque at your hips in the two scenarios above.

A picture of Dickie White performing Good Morning. The picture is taken at the bottom of the lift where his torso is parallel to the ground.

If you’re having trouble in body lock situations or breaking an opponent down when riding legs, consider the 45-degree Back Extension.

A picture of Dickie White with a body lock on a gym member at Ironworks Gym.

A picture of Dickie White riding legs on a member of his gym. The member is on all fours and supporting Dickie on his back.

A picture of Dickie White holding a position with his torso parallel to the ground while using a 45 Degree Back Extension.

And finally, if you’re not able to maintain a good sprawl and as a result keep getting scored on after you stop your opponent’s shot, then give the Horizontal Back Extension a try.

A picture of Dickie White sprawling on a member of his gym while the member is holding on his right leg.

A picture of Dickie White holding the top portion of a Horizontal Back Extension where his body is in a straight line and is parallel to the ground.

**Special thanks to Ryan Beckhorn for stepping in for these photos. Ryan, who grew up down the road from me, was a NYS Finalist back in the day. He was also the long-time high school drill partner of the great Troy Nickerson.

If you’re really looking to improve the force you produce with your sprawl, based on the information presented in the article, I think it’s safe to assume that Reverse Hypers may be another good option.

Here’s a video of me performing a Band Reverse Hyper:

If you don’t have a Reverse Hyper at your disposal, here are two alternatives that may work for you.

First, you can use a Glute Ham Raise, which is more common in gyms than a Reverse Hyper.

The second is to use a bench. If you use a bench, the best way to provide resistance is through Manual Resistance. To do this, simply have a partner provide resistance on the way up as your raise your legs. Additionally, have your partner press your legs back down as you resist them. It creates constant tension and is a great way to really tax a muscle.

Here’s a video of me providing Manual Resistance to my wife Laura, while she wears some pretty snazzy pants!

Although the range of motion is limited, the torque on the hips is still maximal at the top. This makes it a great option to improve hip strength for sprawling.

Implementation

Listen, I don’t think this should be a call to over-examine the various aspects of wrestling and try to specialize your program in every way possible.

It’s simply meant to bring to your attention that while it may seem like these exercises can be used interchangeably, there’s a better way to add them in your program.

So, with that, here’s my challenge to you- think about specific areas you may be struggling with in wrestling and decide which of the 3 exercises above may help you.

Then make the necessary adjustments to whatever program you may be using and see how your performance improves.

As far as sets and reps go, I’d stick with about 4 sets for 6-8 reps. Rather than looking to increase your volume, look to push the weight up. This is especially helpful since high levels of strength are what’s needed to score in the position(s).

Additionally, because you’re looking to train your hips to produce more force in a specific area, consider adding a 2-second hold to the most difficult part of the exercise. For example- a 2-second hold with your chest parallel to the ground when using a 45-degree back extension.

Paper Referenced

Contreras, B., J. Cronin, B. Schoenfeld, R. Nates, G. Sonmez. Are all hip extension exercises created equal? Strength and Conditioning Journal. 0(0), 1-6. 2013.

Related Posts:

Increase Your Shot Speed And Power- Original Research

Research On Predicting Lunge Speed AND Shot Speed/Power Testing

Using Band To Increase Shot Power

A picture of Kyle Dake and Dickie White.
Hi, I’m Dickie (the author of this blog). Here I am with my good buddy, Kyle Dake. While he doesn't have a nice coat like me, he is pretty good at wrestling. Here's what he said about my training system:

Before I began lifting using Dickie's system my wrestling skills were getting slightly better. I've now been lifting under his guidance for more than 5 months and I have begun to dominating ALL of my competition. At first I had little faith in Dickie and his program, but now I would run into a wall if he told me I would get stronger! I know it sounds insane, but I would. The bottom line is Dickie is an expert and knows what he is talking about. If you want to defeat those kids whom you've always lost to and reach a level you never thought possible, I suggest you start lifting using Dickie's system immediately.

-Kyle Dake, 4X NCAA Division 1 National Champion
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Want to see what other wrestlers are saying about my training system? Check out my Success Stories page.

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Want to learn more about Dickie? Check out my About page.

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Want to get started on a program today? Read this post and download your free program- 12 Week Training Program For Wrestlers.

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4 Comments. Leave new

  • What’s a good goal with goodmornings? Like your body weight? double your bodyweight? Etc I started 4 weeks ago with half my bodyweight. I got 155 for 10 and 160 (my bw) for 10( the first 7 were great form the last 3 I rounded my back a little) today. That was my goal at first my bw for 5 reps. What do you think I should shoot for?

    Reply
    • I think that’s a great goal to start with, and as you get stronger you can always work towards a new goal. I think the biggest thing to think about is how you feel it’s impacting your wrestling. If you feel that as your good morning strength increases, your takedowns are getting better, and/or you feel stronger when wrestling, then it’s a good indication that this is a pretty important lift for your performance. As such, it may be worth investing more time into improving. However, if you see a big increase in strength over the next few months, but don’t necessarily feel that it’s strongly correlated to an improved performance, then it may not be worth prioritizing as much. I definitely think it’s a great exercise to include regardless, and based on how you feel it carries over to your performance, you be the judge on how much you want to prioritize it.

      Does that make sense? How’s everything else with your training going, Nick?

      Reply
      • Yeah I gotcha. I’ll do that! I’ll see how its improved next time I wrestle. But great great, I finally figure out why I was sucking at squatting but not hip thrusts or dead lifts. I was squatting wrong stupidest thing ever but I didn’t know my knees were aloud to go in front of my ankles so I was bent over too much. (I can’t believe I didn’t think of that… But now I can squat deep with easy and I got 225 for 3 my first time doing them last week this week I got 225 for 3 sets of 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyFGv4sWG9Y That’s last week but yeah I wanna get a 1000lb total within 6 months at 160. So I have a good strength base then I’ll really start focusing on rate of force development and explosiveness. Every things been going up pretty consistently. Do you have an email I can talk to you on? It’s hard to remember to keep coming back this page and my email notifies me on my phone.

        Reply
        • Nice squat man, and that gym you train at looks pretty awesome too. Yeah, you can respond to the email you’ll get notifying you that I responded to this comment, or you can just shoot me an email to dickie@wrestler-power.com which will forward to my gmail account.

          Reply

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