Hip CARs
Stand on one leg and take the other slowly through everything your hip can do: knee up in front, out to the side, back into extension and round to the front again. One rep takes a long time — that's the point.
In hip CARs you deliberately take your hip joint through angles that barely come up in everyday life. You travel the range under your own power instead of having it done for you — and you feel for yourself where your range actually ends right now.
On the working side your hip flexors, glutes, external and internal rotators and adductors take turns; each one owns a section of the circle. On the standing side, your hip stabilisers, foot and trunk keep you upright.
Range of motion responds to repetition. When you go to your limit actively and regularly, what changes most is how that limit feels.
All you need is space. You progress by taking the circle wider and the tempo slower.
Starting position
Stand tall and shift your weight onto one leg. Your standing foot stays quiet on the floor and your trunk stays firm.
Lift your free knee up in front, as high as you can. From there, take it slowly out to the side until the hip has opened out. Then take the leg behind you into extension, and from there round to the front again.
All of it slow and under your own power — every bit of it comes from you. Your upper body can give a little as the leg goes behind you, but your pelvis stays under control.
At the end of the circle you're standing on both feet again. Then switch sides.
The three cues
- Slow through the whole range
- Standing foot stays quiet
- Only as far as you can control it
- No momentum
Common faults
| Fault | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| The circle runs on momentum | Slow down. You should be able to stop at any point on the way round. |
| Your pelvis tips with the leg | Make the circle smaller until your pelvis stays quiet, then open it back up from there. |
| Your standing foot slides and keeps re-adjusting | Fix your eyes on a point in front of you and let your toes grip the floor lightly. |
| Your upper body collapses sideways | Keep your trunk firm. It can give a little as the leg goes behind you, but stays tall side to side. |
| The range shrinks as the reps go on | Full range on fewer reps is the goal — stop once the circle starts getting smaller. |
Variations
| Variation | When to use it |
|---|---|
| With a hand on the wall | One hand on the wall so balance isn't what limits the circle. Move on when the range holds up rep after rep and your pelvis stays quiet. |
| No support | No support — your standing leg holds you on its own. The circle runs slowly and in one continuous movement. |
| Slower and wider | Take the tempo down further and the circle wider, without your pelvis shifting to get there. |
Reps and load
Andreas uses hip CARs in the warm-up before the hip has to work under load, and as a standalone session on rest days. The tempo is deliberately slow — one rep takes far longer than it would in a strength exercise.
The size of the circle sets the difficulty, not the number of reps. Once the range starts shrinking, the set is done.
Which muscles do the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Hip flexors M. iliopsoas, M. rectus femoris | Prime mover | Lift your knee up in front and hold it there |
| Gluteus medius and minimus M. gluteus medius, M. gluteus minimus | Prime mover | Take your leg out to the side and keep your pelvis level on the standing side |
| Gluteus maximus M. gluteus maximus | Prime mover | Takes your leg behind you into extension |
| Deep external rotators M. piriformis, Mm. gemelli, M. obturatorius | Synergist | Turn your thigh outwards and keep the head of the femur centred in its socket |
| Adductors M. adductor longus, M. adductor magnus | Synergist | Slow your leg at the widest point and bring it back in |
| Trunk muscles M. rectus abdominis, M. obliquus, M. erector spinae | Stabiliser | Keeps your upper body quiet while the leg travels round |
| Foot and calf muscles Mm. plantares, M. soleus | Stabiliser | Hold your standing foot and control the sway |
The circle is driven section by section: your hip flexors lift, your glutes and external rotators take the leg out and behind you, your adductors slow it and bring it in. On the standing side, your hip stabilisers, foot and trunk work all the way through.
Explained in full
Andreas explains the principle behind controlled joint rotation and what standing on one leg adds to it. · 0:39
Seeing it done right is not the same as doing it right
Video, cues and variations take you a long way. What they cannot give you is an outside eye at the moment the movement isn't quite there yet. That is what training with me is for — in the studio or in a workshop.
See the workshopsNew exercise pages are added all the time — the newsletter keeps you posted.
Sources
Head PL, Adkins SP, Brantley R, Modrall M. (2026). Comparison of Controlled Articular Rotations and Static Stretching on Hip Internal Rotation Range of Motion. Int J Exerc Sci 19(3):3005. DOI: 10.70252/IJES2026305 — The only controlled study on controlled articular rotations there is: 28 young adults with limited hip internal rotation, measured before, straight after and 15 minutes after one session. Range of motion increased, with no difference from static stretching. That is why the page presents CARs as an active way of moving the joint rather than as a superior method. Young sample, acute effects only, and a single direction of movement. (Evidence type: RCT)
Afonso J, Ramirez-Campillo R, Moscão J, et al. (2021). Strength Training versus Stretching for Improving Range of Motion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Healthcare (Basel) 9(4):427. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare9040427 — Eleven controlled studies with 452 people across different joints. Active, contractile training produced the same gain in range of motion over several weeks as stretching did. The basis for describing active work at the end of range as a route to more mobility. Mixed populations, short interventions, and no CAR protocol among them. (Evidence type: Meta-analysis)
Ingram LA, Tomkinson GR, d'Unienville NMA, et al. (2025). Mechanisms Underlying Range of Motion Improvements Following Acute and Chronic Static Stretching: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis and Multivariate Meta-regression. Sports Med 55(6):1449–1466. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-025-02204-7 — 65 studies with 1,542 adults. The gain in range of motion over weeks comes mostly from a change in how much stretch is tolerated, rather than from tissue getting longer. The basis for the line that what changes most is how the limit feels. The data come from static stretching rather than active end-range work, and Andreas' wording about the brain learning that an angle is safe goes beyond them. (Evidence type: Meta-analysis)
Weppler CH, Magnusson SP. (2010). Increasing muscle extensibility: a matter of increasing length or modifying sensation? Phys Ther 90(3):438–449. DOI: 10.2522/ptj.20090012 — A theoretical paper weighing the two explanations against each other: longer tissue or changed sensation. The authors see changed sensation as the better-supported of the two. It explains why the page talks about feel and limits rather than about lengthened tissue. No sample of its own. (Evidence type: Übersichtsarbeit)
Macadam P, Cronin J, Contreras B. (2015). An examination of the gluteal muscle activity associated with dynamic hip abduction and hip external rotation exercise: a systematic review. Int J Sports Phys Ther 10(5):573–591. — 23 EMG studies on hip abduction and external rotation, including standing variants. The basis for listing gluteus medius and minimus as prime movers when the leg goes out to the side. There is no EMG work at all on hip CARs or active circumduction in standing — which muscle drives which section of the circle is anatomy, not measurement. PMID 26491608, published without a DOI. (Evidence type: Übersichtsarbeit)
Adams M, Gordt-Oesterwind K, Bongartz M, et al. (2023). Effects of Physical Activity Interventions on Strength, Balance and Falls in Middle-Aged Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med Open 9(1):61. DOI: 10.1186/s40798-023-00606-3 — 66 studies with 3,387 people, in exactly the 40-to-60 age range. Structured training improved both strength and balance, most clearly when strength and endurance were combined. The only entry here that matches the Academy's target group. Standing on one leg as one element inside a mobility exercise was not examined, and the methodological quality of the individual studies is mixed. (Evidence type: Meta-analysis)
Lauersen JB, Bertelsen DM, Andersen LB. (2014). The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Br J Sports Med 48(11):871–877. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-092538 — 25 controlled studies with 26,610 people and 3,464 injuries. Stretching programmes did not reduce injury rates, while strength training and proprioceptive training clearly did. There are no data at all on active end-range work and injuries. That is why Andreas' statement in the explainer video — that reaching a position under control protects you when you land there by accident — does not appear on the page. Sports cohorts rather than everyday injuries in people aged 40 to 60. (Evidence type: Meta-analysis)
A note on context: EMG studies show which muscles an exercise recruits — that is a good reason to pick it, but it does not replace adjusting things to the person in front of you. See a doctor for persistent or severe pain.