Rick Kaselj and Mike Westerdal teamed up to present Unlock Your Hip Flexors, a simple “flow” to open your hips. Tight hip flexors are a common issue for people who sit down a lot. In other words, everybody.
Can a program that only takes 10 minutes a day actually make a difference? We purchased the program to test it out for ourselves. This review will tell you what we think of it, and whether you should check it out for yourself.
What Are Your Hip Flexors?
According to Rick Kaselj, your hip flexors are also known as your “psoas” muscles. These muscles connect your torso to your legs, and are involved in practically every movement your body makes.
When we spend a lot of time sitting the psoas tends to stay short and tight. This leads to chronic tightness and forces the rest of your body to compensate, causing poor posture. Unfortunately, being physically active outside of school or work isn’t enough to undo the damage.
What Problems Do Tight Hip Flexors Cause?
In the program he discusses the different ways tight hip flexors can affect your life. As he says in the book, if we want to function well then our hips must also be well-functioning.
The most common problem caused by tight hip flexors is low back pain. There is even a medical term for lower back pain due to tight hip flexors: psoas syndrome.
But it turns out tight hip flexors do more than cause back pain. He explains in the program several other ways tight psoas muscles affect our lives:
- impaired fight-or-flight response – the psoas naturally gets activated during fight-or-flight, but this gets diminished if your psoas is chronically tight)
- bad posture – when hips are tight, your body compensates in unnatural ways, leading to poor posture and all its related problems
- restricted motion – if you have tight hip flexors, you simply can’t perform certain motions (like hip thrusting) correctly, which can cause many problems including in the bedroom
- workout plateaus – the program has testimontials of people who have immediately broken through weight room plateaus after unlocking their tight hips
- risk for injury – working out when you have tight hip flexors will only make problems worse and could lead to many types of injuries
- fatigue – movement creates energy, so sitting for 8+ hours each day causes you to have less energy even when you’re up and moving around
- hurts your sex life – not only do tight hip flexors make it hard to perform basic movements with your partner, they also make you tired and stressed, both of which make performance even more difficult
And this list is just a sample. A quick internet search will show you many other problems that tight hips can cause.
Want To Learn More About Rick Kaselj and Mike Westerdal’s Program? Click Here.
How Do I Know If I Have Tight Hips?
You most likely have tight hips if you sit a lot. That means most of us are at least a little tight in the hip area.
There are also ways to test if you’re tight. Here’s a simple way to assess yourself at home:
About the Unlock Your Hip Flexors Program
Unlock Your Hip Flexors provides a simple and straightforward set of movements that are designed to loosen and strengthen your hips. The movements are done in a sequence which he calls the “sequential flow”. If done correctly, this flow is supposed to help correct the tightness and imbalances caused by sitting too much.
The sequential flow method is based on current research as well as Rick Kaselj’s many years as a physical therapist. Although some of the stretches and exercises are well-known, Rick says it’s the specific sequence that’s most important.
The sequential flow is a combination of static stretching, dynamic movements, and strengthening. It takes just over 10 minutes to complete. Rick recommends doing it at least once each day, at least when you are first starting out.
Opening your hip flexors requires more than just static stretching. That’s why you’ll be mixing longer (20 second) stretches with some dynamic stretching, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching to increase range of motion, and strengthening exercises.
What Do You Get?
The program includes an ebook (the “Unlock Your Hip Flexors Manual”) which explains the anatomy of the hips and gives detailed instructions for each of the movements. You also get a video series that coaches you on how to do the flow. These videos include instructional videos as well as a follow-along video done in real time.
You also get two bonuses with the program:
- The Unlock Your Tight Hamstrings ebook and video series: another sequential flow to address tight hamstrings, which is another common problem caused by sitting too much
- The 7-Day Anti-inflammatory Diet, which outlines a diet meant to minimize the amount of inflammation caused by our food choices
How This Program Will Help You
We already told you about the problems caused by having weak, tight hip flexors. So it makes sense that using the program every day will lead to all kinds of benefits, as it has for many people already.
- Flattened belly fat. Opening up your hip flexors will make your torso more upright. This reduces the appearance of the overhanging belly fat “pooch”.
- Improved core strength. The flow sequence includes some key core strengthening moves. They’re easy to do, but you’ll certainly see an improvement if you follow the sequence on a regular basis.
- Reduces your risk for injuries. A lot of athletic injuries are due to poor mobility. The hip mobility exercises will make that less likely to happen to you.
- Improves your sexual performance. Whether you’re a man or woman, reducing tension and improving blood flow in your hip flexor region can have a positive effect in the bedroom.
- More athletic. Serious athletes and weekend warriors alike will benefit from having strong and fluid hips.
Unlock Your Hip Flexors: The Pros
- The sequential flow is designed by a highly reputable physical therapist (Rick Kaselj) and strength coach (Mike Westerdal)
- It’s easy to complete; no equipment is necessary and it just over 10 minutes to complete
- The book and videos get right to the good stuff – you won’t have to get bored listening to a bunch of useless information
- All the movements are safe as long as you follow the instructions
- The flow is relatively easy to complete. You certainly do not need to be in top physical condition to benefit from this program
- The Unlock Tight Hamstrings bonus is equally simple and straightforward, and is probably much-needed for those of us who do lots of sitting
- It has a 60-day money back guarantee, in case for some reason the program isn’t for you
Unlock Your Hip Flexors: The Cons
- Even though it’s easy to complete, you still have to make time each day to do the flow. Doing it every once-in-a-while could still be good for you, but you’ll get the most benefit if you do it regularly
- You might need to update your video player on your computer in order to watch the videos
- If you have serious hip or back injuries, you should see your doctor before trying this program
Final Thoughts
Problems caused by poor posture don’t get enough attention. We usually think about diet and exercise as the keys to good health, but bad posture can ruin your health even if you do workout and watch what you eat. If you spend a lot of time sitting you almost certainly have posture problems that you need to address. Rick Kaselj’s program can go a long way toward fixing bad posture.
The program does require some effort on your part. But considering how much time you’ve spent sitting throughout your life, setting aside 10 minutes each day to undo the damage doesn’t seem like much. The nice thing is that you can give it a try without risk because of the 60-day guarantee.
If you’re ready to reverse the damage caused by sitting, visit the program website here >>www.unlockyourhipflexors.com<< and get started risk-free.