If you want to see some amazing hip and thigh development, you need not look any further than the athletes participating in this years c Winter Olympic games.

Whether it’s speed skating, ice hockey, or even bobsled, these guys and gals have the hip and thigh development that would make a lot of your average gym-goers jealous.

How do they do it?

While I’ve only worked with a handful of elite athletes from the above-mentioned sports, I can tell you there are a few common threads:

Hard work.

Regardless of their sport, discpline, or the exercises they choose, they all worked their asses off.  If you don’t do this, don’t bother reading any further.

Big, compound lifts.

Whether it’s squats, deadlifts, RDL’s, or any variations of the sort, virtually all of these athletes realize that big, compound lifts are where it’s at with regards to improving their strength and size.

Single-leg lifts used as supplemental or accessory exercises.

With many of these sports and events being played on one-leg, single-leg lifts are also incorporated into the programming as a supplement to the compound lifts.

I hope you can see the irony here, especially as I work on a single-leg training DVD and manual!  But when you dig into the research and anecdotal evidence, it’s pretty clear that single-leg training is more effective for improving stabilizer function and mobility than it is for developing prime mover strength.

The hips and thighs are the functional centerpiece of your body.  Take the time to build balanced levels of mobility, motor control and strength, and you’ll be quite pleased with the results you can achieve.

Good luck and train hard!

MR