This hip flexion exercise is one of the exercises I personally use to keep myself injury free. What you need is Thera-Band® Tubing or a hip loop band. We’re going to use a hip loop band and place it around both ankles, see below.
Stand nice and tall, keeping the knee of the leg that you are going to be moving locked. Bring one leg forwards as high as you can, without breaking form, and lower it back down, slow and controlled.
This exercise is not about getting the foot as high as you can. It is about strengthening the hip flexors in the range of motion your hips have. If you have to use momentum to get your leg up higher, you are lifting the leg up too high. The other thing is, you stand up nice and tall, as it activates the core and works on your balance.
The most common mistake I see when doing this exercise, people do not stand tall and they try to get their leg up high. This leads to them tucking their bum underneath and rounding their low back.
So just remember:
stand nice and tall
keep the knee of the moving leg ‘locked’ straight
no swinging of the leg up or down
Happy watching!