
External video — Banded Hip Distraction by The Active Life.
How to do it
- Setup
- Loop a heavy band around a low, sturdy anchor (a rack post works well). Step into the band so it sits high in the hip crease of the working leg, facing the anchor, then walk backward away from it until there is strong, obvious tension pulling that hip straight back toward the anchor.
- Execution
- Sink into a shallow squat or split-stance lunge on the banded side, letting the band's pull gently distract — open a small gap in — the hip joint. Rock or shift gently through a few positions for the prescribed time, breathing normally throughout.
- Common error
- Standing too close to the anchor so there is little or no real band tension — the whole point is the joint distraction, not just standing near a band. If you can't feel a clear backward pull on the hip, step further away.
- Feel
- A gentle "opening" sensation deep in the hip joint, not a muscular stretch — this is a joint-capsule mobilization, different from the muscle stretches elsewhere in the primer. No sharp pinch; if the right hip sharpens, step closer to the anchor to reduce the pull rather than stopping outright.
Thick band anchored low, looped high on the hip crease, pulling you back — sink into a light squat/lunge, let the band distract the joint open. Dull ache fine; if the right hip sharpens, step closer to the anchor.
Used in
- Week 1 · Mon — Legs · Reconnection
- Week 1 · Thu — Back · Reconnection
- Week 2 · Mon — Legs · Groove
- Week 2 · Thu — Back · Groove
- Week 3 · Mon — Legs · Load
- Week 3 · Thu — Back · Load
- Week 4 · Mon — Legs · Deload
- Week 4 · Thu — Back · Deload
- Week 5 · Mon — Legs · Rebuild+
- Week 5 · Thu — Back · Rebuild+
- Week 6 · Mon — Legs · Push
- Week 6 · Thu — Back · Push
- Week 7 · Mon — Legs · Peak
- Week 7 · Thu — Back · Peak
- Week 8 · Mon — Legs · Deload / Test
- Week 8 · Thu — Back · Deload / Test