February

Function:

The hip and thigh muscle group is comprised of three groups of muscles: the glutes, the quads, and the hamstrings.

The glutes extend the thigh to the rear and outwardly rotate the thigh. The quads extend the knee and flex the thigh, and the hamstrings flex the knee and extend the thigh.

Activities:

Activities that use the hip and thigh muscles include such movements as:

• starts in sprinting (glutes and hamstrings)
• maintaining a pike position when diving (quads), and
• the start of a kicking movement (glutes and hamstrings) 

Strength Exercises:

Exercises that strengthen the muscles of the hips and thigh include:

• lunges (glutes, quads, and hamstrings)
• squats (glutes and quads), and
• single leg curls with ankle weights (hamstrings)

Flexibility Exercises:

Exercises to stretch the hips and thighs might include:

• while lying on your back, pull one knee across the body and up toward the opposite shoulder (glutes)
• lie on one side, bend the top leg at the knee, and pull the foot back to the buttock (quads), and
• place one leg up on a bench, bend forward forward from the waist and touch the toes of the raised leg (hamstring). 

For more information on muscles, logon to

www.yahooligans.com

and type the word "muscle" into the search box.

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