Movement
Five Ways To Make The Same Hip Movement
From the FASTER syllabus: this article is taught in full in Field Based Biomechanics, where the five ways are taught →
In short: A joint feeling is the change in pressure at a joint when its two bones change their relationship, and hip flexion is the front of the hip closing. FASTER's Field Based Biomechanics course names five ways to make that same feeling: the femur moves while the pelvis stays still; the pelvis moves while the femur stays still; both bones move towards each other; both move the same way with the femur faster; both move the same way with the pelvis faster. A standing knee lift, a deadlift and a sprinter's drive phase all flex the hip, yet they are different movements for the brain to organise.
A lunge looks like one movement. A deadlift looks like another. A sprinter driving out of the blocks looks like a third. At the hip, all three are doing the same thing: the front of the hip closes.
Field Based Biomechanics calls that a joint feeling, and the useful part is that the feeling does not care which bone did the moving.
Same hip angle, five different jobs
The course defines a joint feeling as "the change in pressure at a joint when its two bones change their relationship." Hip flexion is the front of the hip closing. At the hip, the two bones are the femur (the distal bone) and the pelvis (the proximal bone).
FASTER's Bones, Joints and Sequences method names five ways to get that same feeling:
- The femur moves while the pelvis stays still.
- The pelvis moves while the femur stays still.
- Both bones move towards each other.
- Both move in the same direction, with the femur moving faster.
- Both move in the same direction, with the pelvis moving faster.
A standing knee lift looks like the first one. Folding forward over a fixed leg looks like the second. A deep lunge tends to look like the third. The course's own examples are a standing knee lift, a deadlift and a sprinter's drive phase, and the point it makes is that they are different movements for the brain to organise.
Why that matters to you as a trainer
The same joint angle can arrive with a very different sequence through the rest of the body, different balance demands, different muscle loading and different sports transfer. Two clients can both reach the same hip angle in a session and have done very different things to get there.
Once you can see which of the five is happening, you stop describing a movement by its name and start describing it by what the bones are doing. It also gives you five options when you build an exercise, instead of one, which is what makes a programme look like the person it is for.
This follows the course's wider habit of watching the hip as a thin slice. The hip sits between the trunk and the leg and shows from most camera angles, so a quick look at the pelvis and the femur tells a lot about the whole movement.
It works at every joint
The five ways are not a hip trick. Field Based Biomechanics teaches the same pattern at the foot and ankle, the spine, the shoulder and the knee, with the bone definitions, the joint kinematics and the big-eight movements for each. Learn the pattern once and it travels. If you want the shorter introduction to the idea first, Five Ways To Get Movement At One Joint covers it.
The course is Field Based Biomechanics. It is built on the way FASTER teaches everything: see it, then do it. The lessons are visual and interactive, and you can read, listen, write your answers or dictate them.
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FAQ
What are the five ways to create hip flexion? The femur moves and the pelvis stays still; the pelvis moves and the femur stays still; the two bones move towards each other; both move the same way with the femur faster; both move the same way with the pelvis faster.
Why does it matter which way is used? The five ways give the same joint angle with different whole-body sequences, balance demands, muscle loading and sports transfer.
Does it work at other joints? Yes. The course teaches the same five ways at the foot and ankle, spine, shoulder and knee.
Is this part of Level 2 and 3? No. It is a FASTER specialist course. The Level 2 and 3 anatomy unit gives the movement names, and this course adds the way of seeing how each is produced.
You just read one answer. The course is all of them.
Field Based Biomechanics, where the five ways are taught: every answer marked by a real tutor, with free return access for life. The price is on the page, payment plans at checkout, no sales calls.
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Frequently asked
What are the five ways to create hip flexion?
The femur moves and the pelvis stays still; the pelvis moves and the femur stays still; the two bones move towards each other; both move the same way with the femur faster; both move the same way with the pelvis faster.
Why does it matter which way is used?
The five ways give the same joint angle with different whole-body sequences, balance demands, muscle loading and sports transfer.
Does it work at other joints?
Yes. The course teaches the same five ways at the foot and ankle, spine, shoulder and knee.
Is this part of Level 2 and 3?
No. It is a FASTER specialist course. The Level 2 and 3 anatomy unit gives the movement names, and this course adds the way of seeing how each is produced.
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