{"schemaVersion":1,"id":"en-movement-hip-hinge","type":"movement","pillar":"movement","locale":"en","translationGroupId":"movement-hip-hinge","slugPath":"movements/hip-hinge","title":"Hip hinge","shortTitle":"Hinge","summary":"The hip hinge concentrates the movement at the hip: the pelvis tilts over the femoral heads, the torso leans forward, and the knees stay only slightly bent. This page describes its phases, its joints, its muscles and the confusions that surround it.","level":"intermediate","estimatedMinutes":8,"synonyms":["hip hinge","hinge pattern","hip flexion","deadlift","hip extension"],"blocks":[{"id":"b1","type":"heading","level":2,"text":"What is the hip hinge used for?","anchor":"what-is-the-hip-hinge-used-for"},{"id":"b2","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"The hip hinge lets the torso lean forward and straighten as the hips travel backwards, with only limited knee flexion. The pelvis tilts over the femoral heads while the spine stays relatively stable. Lifting a bag from the floor or straightening up after leaning over a worktop both use this movement pattern."}]},{"id":"b3","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"What defines it is not the exercise used but how the movement is shared out. In a squat, the descent is divided between the hip, the knee and the ankle. In a hinge, most of the range is produced at the hip, while the lumbar spine and the knees keep a relatively constant position (neumann2016, schoenfeld2010squat)."}]},{"id":"b4","type":"definition","term":"Neutral spine","definition":"A zone of vertebral position lying between the ends of the available range, in which the spine is neither strongly flexed nor strongly extended. It is not a single posture measurable to the degree, but an interval specific to each person.","alsoKnownAs":["neutral spinal position","neutral zone"]},{"id":"b5","type":"heading","level":2,"text":"What are the phases of a hip hinge?","anchor":"what-are-the-phases-of-a-hip-hinge"},{"id":"b6","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"The phases serve to locate where the mechanical demand sits. They describe here a hinge performed at a controlled speed, with a load held in front of the body."}]},{"id":"b7","type":"timeline","title":"The hip hinge, phase by phase","steps":[{"id":"p1","label":"Bracing","timing":"before the descent","description":"The trunk muscles contract together to stiffen the spine, the shoulder blades settle, and the weight is spread across the whole foot."},{"id":"p2","label":"Eccentric phase","timing":"torso leaning","description":"The pelvis tilts forward over the femoral heads and the hips travel backwards. The hip extensors lengthen while producing force: they slow the descent."},{"id":"p3","label":"Transition","timing":"torso at its lowest","description":"The movement reverses at the point where the horizontal distance between the load and the hip is greatest, and therefore where the demand on the hip extensors is highest."},{"id":"p4","label":"Concentric phase","timing":"standing back up","description":"The hip extensors shorten and the pelvis returns underneath the trunk. The forward lean of the torso decreases as the hip extends."},{"id":"p5","label":"End of extension","timing":"standing position","description":"The hip completes its extension without the lumbar spine continuing the movement through additional extension."}]},{"id":"b8","type":"heading","level":2,"text":"Joints and planes of movement","anchor":"joints-and-planes-of-movement"},{"id":"b9","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"The movement takes place essentially in the "},{"kind":"strong","value":"sagittal plane"},{"kind":"text","value":", the one that separates the body into a right half and a left half."}]},{"id":"b10","type":"list","ordered":false,"items":[[{"kind":"strong","value":"Hip"},{"kind":"text","value":": this is the driving joint. The femoral head turns in the acetabulum while the pelvis"}]]},{"id":"b11","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"tilts around it. The available range of hip flexion determines how far the torso can lean before the pelvis takes the lumbar spine with it (standring2020)."}]},{"id":"b12","type":"list","ordered":false,"items":[[{"kind":"strong","value":"Lumbar and thoracic spine"},{"kind":"text","value":": they do not produce the movement, they support it. Their role is"}]]},{"id":"b13","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"to transmit the load of the upper body down to the pelvis."}]},{"id":"b14","type":"list","ordered":false,"items":[[{"kind":"strong","value":"Knee"},{"kind":"text","value":": it stays in a slight and roughly constant flexion. It is not locked in full extension,"}]]},{"id":"b15","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"but neither does it supply the main range."}]},{"id":"b16","type":"list","ordered":false,"items":[[{"kind":"strong","value":"Shoulder girdle"},{"kind":"text","value":": when the load is held at arm's length, the shoulder blades and the"}]]},{"id":"b17","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"latissimus dorsi take part in bracing the whole system, the latissimus dorsi attaching to the thoracolumbar fascia (standring2020)."}]},{"id":"b18","type":"heading","level":2,"text":"Which muscles work in a hip hinge?","anchor":"which-muscles-work-in-a-hip-hinge"},{"id":"b19","type":"comparison","title":"Muscle roles in the hip hinge","columns":["Role","Main structures","What they do"],"rows":[{"label":"Prime movers","cells":["Gluteus maximus, hamstrings, adductor magnus","Extend the hip on the way up and slow its flexion on the way down."]},{"label":"Synergists","cells":["Erector spinae, latissimus dorsi, gluteus medius","Maintain the alignment of the trunk and the pelvis while the hip moves."]},{"label":"Stabilisers","cells":["Abdominal wall, quadratus lumborum, deep hip rotators","Stiffen the trunk and control unwanted rotation in the other planes."]}]},{"id":"b20","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"The difference from the squat comes down to how the hamstrings behave. Because they cross both the hip and the knee, their length varies little in a squat, where the two joints move at the same time. In a hinge, the knee stays almost fixed while the hip flexes: the hamstrings genuinely lengthen and become prime movers in their own right (neumann2016)."}]},{"id":"b21","type":"evidence","level":"established","statement":"The demand on the hip extensors increases with the horizontal distance separating the load from the hip joint.","detail":"This is a direct consequence of lever mechanics: the moment produced by an external force is that force multiplied by the length of the lever arm. When the torso leans, the load moves horizontally away from the hip and the moment to overcome increases, even though the mass being lifted has not changed. Work on trunk training describes, alongside this, a co-contraction strategy that increases trunk stiffness during this kind of effort; the optimal levels of stiffness remain debated and vary with the task and the person.","referenceIds":["neumann2016","mcgill2010"]},{"id":"b22","type":"heading","level":2,"text":"Morphological and technical variations","anchor":"morphological-and-technical-variations"},{"id":"b23","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"The range of hip flexion available before the pelvis takes the spine with it depends on the depth and orientation of the acetabulum, on the angle of the femoral neck and on the extensibility of the posterior thigh muscles (standring2020). These parameters vary from one person to another, which explains why the achievable torso lean is not the same for everyone."}]},{"id":"b24","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"Technical variations shift the demand without changing the logic of the movement. Bending the knees a little more brings the hinge closer to a squat and increases the share taken by the quadriceps. Widening the stance changes the orientation of the hips. Holding the load closer to the body reduces the external lever arm, and therefore the moment at the hip, for the same mass (neumann2016)."}]},{"id":"b25","type":"heading","level":2,"text":"Common misunderstandings","anchor":"common-misunderstandings"},{"id":"b26","type":"callout","tone":"caution","title":"Three misconceptions about the hip hinge","content":[[{"kind":"strong","value":"“It is a squat with straight legs.”"},{"kind":"text","value":" No: the knee is not locked, it stays slightly bent and, above all, roughly motionless. What distinguishes the two families is how the range is shared between hip and knee, not the rigidity of the leg."}],[{"kind":"strong","value":"“You have to feel your glutes for the movement to be correct.”"},{"kind":"text","value":" Muscular sensation reports on the attention paid to an area, not on the force it produces. An absence of sensation does not prove that a muscle is not working."}],[{"kind":"strong","value":"“The hip hinge is a back exercise.”"},{"kind":"text","value":" The erector spinae work there mainly in a holding role, while the extension comes from the hip. Describing this movement as a back movement blurs that division of labour."}]]},{"id":"b27","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"One last confusion concerns the link between posture and pain. Flexion of the spine during effort is often presented as the direct cause of an injury. What work on trunk training describes is more cautious: it looks at the control and stiffness of the trunk during effort, without establishing any simple, universal relationship between an observed posture and the appearance of pain (mcgill2010)."}]},{"id":"b28","type":"scene3d","sceneId":"fessiers-charniere","title":"Glutes and the hip hinge","intro":"The model shows the pelvis tilting over the femoral heads and the lengthening of the posterior thigh muscles while the torso leans. The text stays complete without the scene, which illustrates a general organisation and not the morphology of a real person.","accessibility":{"textAlternative":"A three-dimensional diagram of the lower half of the body seen from behind, standing with the legs straight. The pelvis, both femurs, both tibias and a simplified lumbar spine — five vertebral bodies with their spinous processes — are shown in bone tones, while the feet and a reference trunk stay in a neutral paper shade. In terracotta, gluteus maximus caps the back of the pelvis, the hamstrings run down behind each thigh in two bundles — biceps femoris outside, semitendinosus inside — and two columns of erector spinae flank the spine up to the mid back. A three-second animation tips the pelvis forwards around the hips: the buttocks travel back, the trunk leans over, the knees bend only slightly and the hamstrings lengthen, before the movement returns to standing. The volumes are stylised: this is a teaching diagram, not an exact anatomical reconstruction.","structures":[{"label":"Gluteus maximus","description":"The bulkiest muscle in the body, arising from the back of the iliac wing, the sacrum and the sacrotuberous ligament, and inserting on the gluteal tuberosity of the femur and the iliotibial tract. It extends the hip powerfully, above all at the end of the lockout.","href":"/en/body/muscles/glutes"},{"label":"Hamstrings","description":"Biceps femoris on the outside, semitendinosus and semimembranosus on the inside, all arising from the ischial tuberosity and inserting on the fibula and tibia. They extend the hip and flex the knee: in the hinge they lengthen while braking the descent.","href":"/en/body/muscles/hamstrings"},{"label":"Erector spinae","description":"Muscular columns — iliocostalis, longissimus and spinalis — running from the sacrum and iliac crest to the ribs and vertebrae. In the hinge they do not produce the movement: they keep the lumbar spine from rounding while the hip flexes.","href":"/en/body/muscles/erector-spinae"},{"label":"Lumbar spine","description":"Five vertebrae stacked between the sacrum and the ribs, shown here as their bodies and spinous processes. A sound hinge rotates the pelvis on the hips while these five levels stay almost still relative to one another.","href":"/en/movements/hip-hinge"},{"label":"The hip joint","description":"The femoral head turns inside the acetabulum of the pelvis: this is the only pivot of the movement. The whole point of the hinge is to rotate the pelvis around this axis rather than to bend the back.","href":"/en/movements/hip-hinge"}],"steps":[{"id":"un-seul-pivot","title":"A single pivot","body":"The hip hinge plays out between three parts: the pelvis, the lumbar spine resting on it, and the femur articulating beneath. The only useful pivot is the hip, where the femoral head turns in the acetabulum. The lumbar spine is not built to supply the range."},{"id":"grand-fessier","title":"Gluteus maximus","body":"It arises behind the iliac wing, from the sacrum and the sacrotuberous ligament, and reaches the femur and the iliotibial tract. Its bulk and lever arm make it the main hip extensor, especially through the last part of standing back up."},{"id":"ischio-jambiers","title":"The hamstrings","body":"All three set off from the ischial tuberosity and run down behind the thigh to the tibia and fibula. Because they cross both hip and knee, they lengthen further the more the pelvis tips forward with the knees nearly straight."},{"id":"bascule","title":"Tipping the pelvis","body":"The pelvis rotates forwards around the hips, the buttocks travel backwards, and the knees bend only slightly. The hamstrings lengthen while braking the descent, then the glutes bring the pelvis back upright. The trunk follows the pelvis without the back changing shape."},{"id":"erecteurs","title":"What the erectors hold","body":"Throughout the tip, the erector spinae work without shortening: they stop the spine from rounding. That is how a hinge is judged — the range comes from the hip, the spine keeps its shape, and force travels from the legs to the trunk without leaking."}],"license":"Z-Anatomy et BodyParts3D — CC-BY-SA 4.0"}},{"id":"b29","type":"heading","level":2,"text":"Related movements and structures","anchor":"related-movements-and-structures"},{"id":"b30","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"The hip hinge is best understood as the mirror image of the "},{"kind":"link","value":"squat","href":"/en/movements/squat","external":false},{"kind":"text","value":": the same family of lower-limb extension, with a different distribution between hip and knee. It also serves as the basis for the "},{"kind":"link","value":"horizontal pull","href":"/en/movements/horizontal-pull","external":false},{"kind":"text","value":" when that is performed with the torso leaning forward."}]},{"id":"b31","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"The pages devoted to the "},{"kind":"link","value":"glutes","href":"/en/body/muscles/glutes","external":false},{"kind":"text","value":", the "},{"kind":"link","value":"hamstrings","href":"/en/body/muscles/hamstrings","external":false},{"kind":"text","value":" and the "},{"kind":"link","value":"erector spinae","href":"/en/body/muscles/erector-spinae","external":false},{"kind":"text","value":" detail the structures cited here."}]},{"id":"b32","type":"sourceList","title":"Key sources","referenceIds":["neumann2016","standring2020","mcgill2010","schoenfeld2010squat"]},{"id":"b33","type":"shapierAction","actionId":"exercise-souleve-de-terre-roumain","label":"Train the hinge with the Romanian deadlift","description":"Find in Shapier the Romanian deadlift page, the exercise that most directly applies the hinge distribution, to place it within a session.","webTarget":"https://shapier.app/en/exercises/souleve-de-terre-roumain","appTarget":"shapier://exercises/souleve-de-terre-roumain"},{"id":"b34","type":"quiz","title":"Check my understanding","questions":[{"id":"q1","prompt":"What fundamentally distinguishes a hip hinge from a squat?","choices":[{"id":"q1c1","label":"How the range is shared out: most of the movement is produced at the hip, while the knee and the lumbar spine keep a relatively constant position.","correct":true,"explanation":"This is the definition given on the page: in a squat the descent is divided between hip, knee and ankle; in a hinge it is concentrated at the hip."},{"id":"q1c2","label":"Knee lockout: in a hinge the legs are straight and the knees locked.","correct":false,"explanation":"A misconception the page corrects: the knee is not locked, it stays slightly bent and, above all, roughly motionless."},{"id":"q1c3","label":"The exercise chosen: some exercises are hinges by nature, however they are performed.","correct":false,"explanation":"The page states that what defines the hinge is not the exercise used but how the movement is shared out."}]},{"id":"q2","prompt":"Why do the hamstrings become prime movers in their own right in a hinge?","choices":[{"id":"q2c1","label":"Because the knee stays almost fixed while the hip flexes: crossing both joints, they genuinely lengthen.","correct":true,"explanation":"The page explains that in a squat the two joints move at the same time and their length varies little; in a hinge, the nearly fixed knee makes them genuinely lengthen."},{"id":"q2c2","label":"Because their length varies little, which lets them produce more force.","correct":false,"explanation":"It is the opposite: a nearly constant length describes the squat, where hip and knee move together; in the hinge, the hamstrings genuinely lengthen."},{"id":"q2c3","label":"Because they stiffen the trunk during the effort.","correct":false,"explanation":"No: trunk stiffness falls to the stabilisers such as the abdominal wall and the quadratus lumborum; the hamstrings are hip extensors."}]},{"id":"q3","prompt":"For the same mass, what increases the demand on the hip extensors?","choices":[{"id":"q3c1","label":"The horizontal distance between the load and the hip.","correct":true,"explanation":"The page derives this from lever mechanics: the moment to overcome is the force multiplied by the lever arm, which grows as the torso leans."},{"id":"q3c2","label":"Holding the load closer to the body.","correct":false,"explanation":"It is the opposite: holding the load closer to the body reduces the external lever arm, and therefore the moment at the hip, for the same mass."},{"id":"q3c3","label":"Bending the knees a little more.","correct":false,"explanation":"Bending the knees more brings the hinge closer to a squat and increases the share taken by the quadriceps; the lever factor the page describes is the horizontal distance between the load and the hip."}]}]},{"id":"b35","type":"relatedContent","title":"Read next","targetIds":["en-movement-squat","en-anatomy-glutes","en-anatomy-hamstrings","en-mechanism-tension-fatigue-volume"]}],"relations":[{"type":"uses-structure","targetId":"en-anatomy-glutes"},{"type":"uses-structure","targetId":"en-anatomy-hamstrings"},{"type":"uses-structure","targetId":"en-anatomy-erector-spinae"},{"type":"uses-structure","targetId":"en-anatomy-abdominal-wall"},{"type":"next-step","targetId":"en-movement-squat"}],"authors":["equipe-editoriale-shapier"],"reviewers":["Thanh Chau"],"references":[{"id":"neumann2016","authors":"Neumann DA","year":2016,"title":"Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System: Foundations for Rehabilitation, 3rd edition","source":"Elsevier","kind":"book","url":"https://shop.elsevier.com/books/kinesiology-of-the-musculoskeletal-system/neumann/978-0-323-28753-1"},{"id":"standring2020","authors":"Standring S","year":2020,"title":"Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice, 42nd edition","source":"Elsevier","kind":"book","url":"https://shop.elsevier.com/books/grays-anatomy/standring/978-0-7020-7705-0"},{"id":"mcgill2010","authors":"McGill SM","year":2010,"title":"Core training: evidence translating to better performance and injury prevention","source":"Strength and Conditioning Journal","kind":"review","doi":"10.1519/ssc.0b013e3181df4521"},{"id":"schoenfeld2010squat","authors":"Schoenfeld BJ","year":2010,"title":"Squatting kinematics and kinetics and their application to exercise performance","source":"Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research","kind":"review","doi":"10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181bac2d7"}],"review":{"publishedAt":"2026-08-02","reviewedAt":"2026-08-02","reviewDueAt":"2027-08-02","evidenceLevel":"established"},"limitations":["The pattern described is a symmetrical hinge with the load held in front of the body; a load carried on one side only, or support on a single leg, changes how the loading is distributed in the frontal and transverse planes.","Segment lengths, the available range of hip flexion and the shape of the pelvis vary from one person to another: the 3D model illustrates a general organisation, not an individual morphology.","This page describes a movement, it judges no execution: persistent low back pain, pain that radiates, or pain accompanied by sensory disturbance is a matter for a healthcare professional."],"seo":{"title":"Hip hinge: movement, muscles and phases","description":"How does a hip hinge work? Learn how the pelvis tilts, which hip extensors act, how the phases unfold and how it differs from a squat.","canonicalPath":"/en/movements/hip-hinge","image":"/og/en/movement-hip-hinge.png"},"app":{"offlineEligible":true},"version":1}