29 Apr Hip Strengthening Drills for Youth Female Athletes
The bad news is this: the majority of female athletes have weak hips.
Ah, glad that’s out of the way now. Let’s move onto some better news…
Strength is something young girls can control.
My mission is to share the beauty of strength training with youth female athletes for their sport and for life. With consistency and dedication, girls can level up their performance as well as reduce injury risk. They will also learn discipline and the importance of staying healthy for a lifetime.
Stronger hips improve knee health.
Stronger hips improve balance.
Stronger hips improve explosiveness.
Stronger hips improve speed.
And if all of this strength training is down alongside a year-round speed and deceleration program, female athletes will gain a serious edge.
Here are three hip strength drills for female athletes:
1. Single Leg RDL
Primary Muscles: hamstrings, gluteus maximus
Sport Carryover: the hamstrings and glutes assist in stabilization of the knee during deceleration, and are the main muscles recruited during sprinting
2. Hip Bridge Band Abduction
Primary Muscles: gluteus maximus and medius
Sport Carryover: banded worked for the glutes is an excellent starting point to recruit these muscles and make young female athletes aware of their glutes and prepare them for tougher movements like Single Leg RDLs
3. Dumbbell Deadlift
Primary Muscles: hamstrings, gluteus maximus
Sport Carryover: the hamstrings and glutes assist in stabilization of the knee during deceleration, and are the main muscles recruited during sprinting
Please keep in mind all of these movements as well as their workout programming will depend on a female athlete’s
- Training Age
- Maturity
- Injury or injury history
- In-season or off-season
Take all of the workouts you see on social media and on the internet with a grain of salt. There are a copious of considerations that go into program design for youth female athletes, and where they should start. Some need several weeks to master the skill and only do body weight. For others, they can progress to more challenging variations with bands, dumbbells, and hex bars.
For a guide book on training the youth female athlete, get The Strong Female Athlete HERE
For detailed programming based on training age, maturity, and in-season of off-season, sign up for one of The Strong Female Athlete online training subscriptions HERE
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