One of the earliest posts I made on the “All Star Performance” Instagram page was a progression that I have used for quite a while with the “Seated Hip Rotation Flow”.

This flow goes back to when I was in Graduate School at Salisbury University (circa 2013-2014). I was watching random YouTube videos and came across one with MMA fighters and how they would warm-up prior to training. A lot of it looked very different than what I was used to in a “traditional” weightroom setting, but I was instantly intrigued. They were rolling, crawling, and overall just “flowing”, moving very freely through various ranges of motion. One of the exercises I saw was what I now call the “Seated Hip Rotation Flow”.

Ultimately, the flow is what you see in this YouTube video above. For some, you may be able to start by trying this as soon as you are done reading this article. For others, you may look at that and say “I’ve got no chance”. And everyone else probably falls somewhere in the middle.

Although I believe strongly in the value of trying new exercises, I also believe that if you want something to “stick” you need to progress appropriately. It may not be the most appealing to check the boxes, but take time to own each position and progress as needed. Some people may need one session to progress to the next move while others may need months. Again, the key is to own the positions and use this for “training” and not “displaying”.

With that being said, there is an easy progression to follow below:

1) Hand Supported Seated Hip Rotation

This is the most basic block in the progression. Most may deem this remedial (and if it is that’s totally fine and you can skip to the next progression). However, you’d be surprised how many people need the hand support to get into and out of these positions.

2) Seated Hip Rotation

This is where a lot of people will begin this progression. Typically, I will start most athletes here. You can spend A LOT of time using this move and continuing to improve. You can speed up or slow down the tempo, or you can just hold the positions until they start to feel comfortable. Either way this is a good move to master (especially as there are variations that are not part of this flow that can be added onto this in other sessions – see below).

3) Seated Hip Rotation to Hip Extension

We are starting to challenge coordination a bit with this one while also putting extra emphasis on the glutes. Again, this one can take some time to progress for some, or can be breezed through by others. Holding the squeeze at the top is a good way to continue to own this position.

4) Seated Hip Rotation to Lunge

This variation tends to be the trickiest for people and may take some time to master. A major point of emphasis here is to follow the same path backwards that you took forwards. Focus on the eccentric portion (primarily in the spot where you return your knee back to your heel on the ground after the lunge) to really hammer home this progression point.

5) Seated Hip Rotation to Squat

Putting it all together this is what you get for the final piece of the flow. Once you own this position, you can use this whole flow as a quick warm-up when in a time crunch, or as part of a bigger “Movement Emphasis” training day. I typically shoot for 1-3 sets of 3-5 reps of this final piece of the progression (or I just hit 5 Seated Hip Rotations, 4 with the Hip Extension, 3 with the Lunge, and 2 with the Squat as a big-time warm-up for the hips).

Give this “Seated Hip Rotation Flow” a try, or use the progressions here to build yourself up to it! Again, you can start at any point in the progression and spend as little or as much time as needed at each – the key is to feel comfortable and truly own each position before challenging the next step of the progression!