TRX Hip Hinge
What Is the TRX Hip Hinge?
TRX Hip Hinge is a compound exercise that primarily targets the hamstrings and glutes and also engages the muscles along the spine. It is a beginner-level movement that teaches you to bend at the hips instead of the lower back, using suspension straps as light support for balance.
In the movement you face the anchor and hold the handles in front of your chest. You push your hips straight back while your arms reach forward and your torso tips toward horizontal. Your knees stay softly bent and your back stays flat. The straps give you something to lean on and pull against, which makes it easier to feel the hips going back and to keep your weight over your whole foot.
Because only your own body weight is moving, this is a good way to learn the hinge pattern before adding load with a Barbell Romanian Deadlift or a Kettlebell Deadlift. It also works as a warm-up for lower body days and as a low-impact hamstring and glute drill for people who are new to training or returning to it.
The harder you pull on the handles, the more the straps do for you and the less your hamstrings and glutes have to work. Keeping only light tension in the arms makes the exercise harder, while a deeper knee bend turns the hinge toward a squat and takes work away from the hamstrings. Once the pattern feels easy, move to the TRX Single-Leg Deadlift for a balance challenge or to the TRX Back Extension.
Muscles Worked
- Biceps Femoris
- Primary
- Gluteus Maximus
- Primary
- Semimembranosus
- High
- Semitendinosus
- High
- Erector Spinae
- Medium
- Rectus Abdominis
- Minimal
Instructions
- Adjust the straps to about mid-length and face the anchor point with your feet about hip-width apart.
- Hold a handle in each hand in front of your chest with your elbows bent and the straps under light tension.
- Soften your knees and brace your core so your back stays flat.
- Push your hips straight back and let your torso tip forward as your arms reach out in front of you.
- Keep the knees only slightly bent, your weight over your whole foot and the straps taut as you go down.
- Stop when your torso is about parallel to the floor, or earlier if your back would start to round.
- Drive your hips forward and squeeze your glutes to stand back up while your hands return to your chest.
- Stand tall without leaning back, then repeat.
Common Mistakes
Rounding the back
Curling the spine to reach lower shifts the work from the hips to the lower back, so hinge only as far as your back stays flat.
Squatting instead of hinging
Bending the knees a lot and dropping the hips down turns the movement into a squat and takes work away from the hamstrings and glutes.
Hanging on the straps
Pulling hard on the handles lets the straps do the work, so keep light tension in the arms and let your hips do the moving.
Slack straps
Letting the straps go loose removes the support you are balancing against and often means your weight has drifted onto your toes.
Leading with the chest
Tipping the torso forward before the hips move back shifts your weight onto the toes, so push the hips back first and let the chest follow.
Locking the knees straight
Fully straight legs overload the hamstrings and lower back, so keep a soft, steady bend in the knees throughout.
Injuries
TRX Hip Hinge is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. It uses only your body weight and the straps support part of the load, so the demands on the spine and hamstrings are modest.
The usual strain points are the lower back and the back of the thigh. Rounding the spine to reach lower puts the work on the back instead of the hips, and dropping into a deep hinge with straight legs can overstretch tight hamstrings. Keep your back flat, keep a soft bend in your knees, and stop the hinge where your torso is about parallel to the floor or where your back would start to round, whichever comes first. The movement should feel like a stretch and effort in the back of your thighs and glutes, not a pinch or ache in your lower back.
If the hinge is hard to control, hinge a shorter distance and hold the handles more firmly so the straps take more of your weight. As it gets easier, ease off the straps and go deeper, then try the TRX Single-Leg Deadlift. Stop if you feel sharp or lingering pain in your lower back or the back of your thigh, or tingling down the leg.
- Primary Focus
- Hamstrings and glutes
- Equipment
- Suspension trainer and body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What is the difference between a hip hinge and a squat?
In a hinge the hips travel back and the knees bend only a little, while in a squat the hips drop down and the knees bend much more. A Bodyweight Squat loads the front of the thighs more, while the hinge loads the glutes and hamstrings.
- Q: Why do I feel the TRX Hip Hinge in my lower back?
Usually the hips are not traveling back far enough, so the spine rounds or the torso leans forward to make up the depth. Hinge a shorter distance, push the hips back first and keep your back flat.
- Q: How low should I go?
Go as far as your back stays flat, which for most people is a torso close to parallel with the floor. Tight hamstrings may stop you earlier, and that is fine.
- Q: How do I make it easier or harder?
Hold the handles more firmly or hinge a shorter distance for more help from the straps. Ease off the straps and hinge deeper to make it harder, then progress to the TRX Single-Leg Deadlift.
- Q: Where do I move on after this?
Once the pattern is steady, add load with a Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift or a Barbell Good Morning.