Movement · Hips

Hip hinge

Bending forward by folding at the hips while the spine stays where it is. The pelvis rotates over the femurs, the backside travels backward as a counterweight, and the knees soften but do not do the work. Good looks like: a long neutral spine from head to tailbone, shins near vertical, weight through the mid-foot, and a strong stretch felt in the hamstrings — not the lower back. It is the single most transferable movement in the body, used every time you pick something up, and losing it is the classic pattern behind load-related lower back pain: the hips stop moving, so the lumbar spine bends instead.