Hip hinge
The foundational bending-at-the-hips pattern that underpins deadlifts, swings and picking things up.
Overview
The hip hinge is a movement pattern rather than a single exercise. It describes bending forward by pushing the hips backward while keeping the back long and the knees only slightly bent. It is the foundation of many exercises, including deadlifts and kettlebell swings, and it mirrors the everyday action of bending to pick something up.
Practising the hinge on its own — often with a light dowel or hands on the hips — helps you separate movement at the hips from movement at the lower back. Once the pattern feels natural, it transfers into loaded hinge exercises.
The movement
- 1Stand tall with feet hip-width apart and a soft bend in the knees.
- 2Push your hips straight back as your chest lowers toward the floor.
- 3Let your torso tip forward while keeping your back long.
- 4Squeeze your hips forward to return to standing.
Beginner notes
- A light stick held along the back can help you feel a long, neutral spine.
- The movement comes from the hips travelling back, not the waist folding.
- A useful pattern to groove before adding any load.
A note on training information
Where it’s used
Sports this relates to:
Weightlifting
A technical strength sport built around lifting a loaded barbell overhead with speed and control.
Functional Fitness
Varied, whole-body training built around everyday movement patterns like squatting, lifting and carrying.
Fitness
Strength and general fitness training — the foundation that supports every other sport.
Related exercises
Squat
A foundational lower-body movement where you bend at the hips and knees to lower down and stand back up.
Goblet squat
A squat variation where you hold a single weight close to your chest for balance and control.
Jump squat
An explosive squat variation where you spring off the floor at the top of the movement.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Hip hinge to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Movement patterns
- HingeA hip-dominant pattern: bend forward at the hips with a flat back, minimal knee bend, then drive the hips tall — powers pulling from the floor and jumping.
- SquatA knee-dominant pattern: bending the hips, knees and ankles to lower and rise while keeping the torso upright — the foundation of lower-body strength.
- KickA ballistic single-support leg swing that whips force from the plant foot through the hip and knee to strike or propel a ball or target with the foot, distinct from the weight-bearing steps of locomotion.
- GaitThe cyclic, alternating single-leg pattern of walking and running that carries the body across the ground — the base of most field and endurance sport.
- PushPressing a load or the body away from the torso — horizontally or overhead — by extending the shoulders and elbows, developing the chest, shoulders and triceps.
Techniques
- Bodyweight SquatA foundational lower-body exercise that lowers the hips by bending the knees and hips, then stands back up, using only body weight.
- DeadliftA strength exercise that lifts a loaded barbell from the floor to a standing position by extending the hips and knees together.
- Push-UpA bodyweight exercise that lowers and raises the body by bending and straightening the arms while holding a rigid plank line.
Movement comparisons
- Hinge vs LungeHinge vs Lunge: how these two movements differ, what they share, and how to tell them apart — from mechanics to the sports that use them.
- Hinge vs SquatHinge vs Squat: how these two movements differ, what they share, and how to tell them apart — from mechanics to the sports that use them.