am i suppose to pull my knee straight up?
i.e, the knee comes up to the chest
or should the knee come out as it comes up?

I’d appreciate the “final position” pic if you have the time.

TIA

Wow, thanks for the very informative response, Keith.

I have absolutely no idea what I did to that joint but it has been out of whack for quite a while now, as long as I can remember. It doesn’t give any pain at all but visually it has a slightly different protrusion shape to the other hip and it’s at a slightly different height as well. I’m not sure whether it’s due to a tight QL or whether I have a structural leg length discrepancy or what but it has always been out of whack with the other hip.

Do you have any further tips for getting my hips ‘right’? So far this is my plan of action:
1) Doing hip mobility drills from Magnificent Mobility
2) Hammering the posterior chain hard in the gym with RDLs, good morning, pull-throughs, deadlifts, single leg work etc
3) Stretching out and foam rolling tight areas like the hip flexors, quads, adductors, IT band, TFL

I’m going to start adding in the stuff you described in your post above (awesome article btw), but is there anything else you can recommend for someone who has actual joint issues like I do?

Thanks so much for your help Keith and keep up the amazing work!

Yudi

I have a slight issue with the external rotators stretch when I try and perform it on my right side. My right groin/adductor area – right at the inside of the top of the leg – hurts when I do the stretch. I’ve had this problem for a while now whenever I try and pull that leg into a piriformis stretch like the one you described. If I do it in a 90/90 style with one leg crossed over the other or my leg bent in front of me – no pain in the groin. Pull it with my hands – pain in the groin. Any idea what could be causing this? I only have it on the right side, not the left.”

Actually I have seen this very thing a lot more times than you might think. It sounds like you have some actual joint issues going on. That means deep inside of your hip joint proper. Nothing to get alarmed about, but I would avoid the exercise I gave you and stick to the technique that you have done if you can do it without pain. What is going on is that you are stressing the actual joint (capsule, ligaments, etc..) which would normally be OK and not cause an issue. FOr whatever reason (think back real hard and try to remember anything you did to that hip) you have some issues. As you get your hips “right” that will probably get better.

I have a slight issue with the external rotators stretch when I try and perform it on my right side. My right groin/adductor area – right at the inside of the top of the leg – hurts when I do the stretch. I’ve had this problem for a while now whenever I try and pull that leg into a piriformis stretch like the one you described. If I do it in a 90/90 style with one leg crossed over the other or my leg bent in front of me – no pain in the groin. Pull it with my hands – pain in the groin. Any idea what could be causing this? I only have it on the right side, not the left.