If your hips feel tight when you squat and you've tried all the stretches to try and loosen them up and it's not working, then you need to watch this video. Here I'm going to show you the real reason why your hips feel tight and what you can do to improve your squat. I'm going to take you through a step-by-step process to identify the root of your hip tightness and how to fix the problem without having to stretch your hip flexors. We start with an assessment that can be done at home by simply lying on the floor. You should test your range of motion of each hip in flexion, internal rotation, and external rotation. While this is easier if you have a physical therapist to help you assess it, it's not necessary to get the information you need to proceed. Once you discover a restriction in your range of motion, you can begin to address the problem. In Jesse's case, he has tightness in the external rotation of his left hip. This is actually a fairly common problem. Internal rotation restrictions of the hip are also common, but more often when the problems are brought on by arthritic changes in the hip or acetabular impingement that would likely cause a fair amount of pain with testing. However, if you are looking for things that can be fixed more easily, you will likely find that external rotation is limited. This is especially important when you realize that it is often accompanied by a limitation in flexion. The combination of flexion and external rotation is something that is critical to properly performing a squat. The first thing you can do is make some changes skeletally to meet the demands of your body. You should rotate your legs outward (not just your feet) and adopt a slightly wider stance. This will allow your hip bones to flex without experiencing a natural anatomical lockout. If this improves your range of motion, but you are still feeling issues and tightness in your hips, you will need to move to the next level and look into your hip capsule. This is where most of the restrictions will be found. Try the hip flexion and external rotation mobilization combo shown here and assess how it feels in the squat. If you see a complete correction, then you know you need to work on this further. If you see some improvement, but not quite there, you need to move on to assess the muscles around the hips. The hip has many muscles that cross it or influence its movement. However, it's not just the flexibility of these muscles that matters. You also need to assess your strength and stability. If the hips are tight, it's likely that they're being asked to do work they're not supposed to do by a stable joint that isn't doing its job. Hip tightness is recruited as compensation for instability elsewhere, often in the lower back. Watch how this develops and how to correct it. Finally, you need to check the intrinsic strength of the hip rotators. You'll likely be surprised at how weak your hips are. With the right strengthening exercises, you'll be able to quickly address those weaknesses and get your hips feeling good again every time you perform a squat. If you found this video helpful and think you could benefit from a science-backed, step-by-step program, then visit the link below and grab one of the ATHLEAN-X training systems. Start approaching your training seriously like a professional athlete would and you will start to see the benefits of doing so. If you want more videos to help you correct other hip-related issues such as anterior pelvic tilt or tight hamstrings, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and turn on notifications so you never miss a new video when it's posted. Build Muscle in 90 Days: https://athleanx.com/espanol Subscribe to this channel here: /athleanxespañol