Thread: Hip Flexor v. Extensor in lower body explosivness/jumping

I would think a jump is basically triple extension: hips, knees, and ankles. So, your glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves would seem to be the most important muscles. Maybe they said that because the rectus femoris, which is one of the heads of the quads, is also a hip flexor? I dunno, but I don't really see how the hip flexors aid in increasing your vertical leaping power...

Thanks alot cowpimp. That makes alot of sense and fits well with everything I have heard.

The countermovement portion of a jump is performed by the hip flexors. The faster you get down, the faster you get back up and the more energy you store with the SSC. Here is a good article from Elite. Honestly, I wouldn't put too much isolation work in if you are trying to get better at jumping. If you have a muscular imbalance, fix it, but don't go hog wild with isolation exercises.

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/hip_flexors.htm

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

The countermovement portion of a jump is performed by the hip flexors. The faster you get down, the faster you get back up and the more energy you store with the SSC. Here is a good article from Elite. Honestly, I wouldn't put too much isolation work in if you are trying to get better at jumping. If you have a muscular imbalance, fix it, but don't go hog wild with isolation exercises.

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/hip_flexors.htm

Ah, I see.

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

The countermovement portion of a jump is performed by the hip flexors. The faster you get down, the faster you get back up and the more energy you store with the SSC. Here is a good article from Elite. Honestly, I wouldn't put too much isolation work in if you are trying to get better at jumping. If you have a muscular imbalance, fix it, but don't go hog wild with isolation exercises.

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/hip_flexors.htm

The hip flexors play a major role but I do not believe it is an exclusive one.

What do you mean?

I wasn't saying they only were used in the countermovement jump, but that is the bulk of what they do. Of course they stabilize during a jump, and they are very important in the recovery phase of sprinting which one is typically doing right before jumping unless being tested.