Hip mobility is important for Volleyball players. The ability to get low is imperative in many skills. My philosophy is, if you want to get lower, then get low more often. Basically, if you want to be able to get low, then you simply need to do exercises in which you are getting low. Simply squatting deep all day is pretty boring, and there are a few other exercises which target some of the muscles that are often limiting factors in why you can’t get full range.

I’m going to go through the exercises in Sarah’s program that are specifically for her hip mobility. There are other exercises in the program for her general conditioning, but we will focus on those designed to get her lower.

The bulk of her program is actually a really long warm-up, focusing on getting her limber through the joints that are limiting. By the main program, she is warm and mobile and is able to get more range through the harder exercises.

Warm Up

Body Weight Squats- A very specific warm up exercise. Doesn’t need to be done to full range, to 90 degrees is good enough.

Active ITB Stretch- A lot of people have tight ITB and TFL’s. These muscle run up the side of your leg and attach to the hip, getting them moving early is a good idea. Do it dynamically and move side to side quickly.

Glute Lifts- Activating your glute early means your hip flexors can relax. Its an antagonistic relationship. If your glute can activate properly, your hip flexor will relax.

Active Hip Flexor Stretch- Elbow to knee. This opens up your hip flexors, groins, butt, everything. It’s a good stretch and even better if done active in the warm-up.

Side Lunge Windmills- Tight groins are often a problem, and were the case for Sarah. This stimulates the groins, and gets them through a good range of motion early.

Arabesque on Wobble Board- Holding this position really gets your glute working. Same principle as above, its important to activate the glute early, it’s a muscle you want to work.

Piriformis Stretch- One of the small and most painful muscles in your bottom. Doing this stretch also gets your hip flexor and generally opens you up.

Calf Walking- Calves are often tight in people. If you have tight calves, your heels want to come off the ground when you get down into a squat.

Main Program

OH (Overhead) Squats

The Ultimate exercise. It gives you balance, flexibility, strength and posture. You can start light; a broomstick or light bar is fine. Lock your elbows out; bring your chest up by bringing your shoulder blades together and squat. For the purpose of this program I am getting Sarah to go as deep as possible. Having the weight overhead really opens your whole body up. Over your muscles you have a layer of fascia. This is often tight and is restricting your range of motion. Bringing your arms up overhead stretches out your fascia and gives it a workout.

OH Lunges, Front and Back


Very similar principle to the overhead squat. Hold a plate over your head (in this video I have a medicine ball, also fine, simply have no plates at home). Lunging activates your quads and butt, and gives your hip flexors a big stretch through a large range of motion. By putting in the reverse aspect, you have to activate your butt initially to get your leg behind you. This is great as it turns your hip flexor off. It also stretches the hip flexors out a little more as your push your leg back. The front and back component also allows you to get a little bit of balance training in there.