Your hip, buttock or the back of your thigh has started aching, and squats, lunges or deadlifts now come with a twinge. When lower body training is part of your routine, skipping it altogether can feel like losing ground. Most recent pain in these areas settles well with a few changes to your exercises and load.

Why lifting can affect your hip, glutes and hamstrings

Your hips, glutes and hamstrings drive most lower body lifts. Deep squats and lunges load the front and side of the hip. Hip thrusts work the glutes hard. Romanian deadlifts and good mornings stretch the hamstrings under load, especially near the sitting bone where they attach.

A jump in weight, more volume, a new programme or going deeper than usual can all raise the load faster than these areas can adapt. In most cases, the tissue is irritated rather than damaged.

Adapting squats and lunges

Some ideas:

• Squat to a box or bench, so you control the depth.
• Use a slightly wider stance if the front of your hip feels pinched at the bottom.
• Swap forward lunges for reverse lunges, and keep the range shorter.
• Lower the weight and slow the lowering part to around three seconds.

Adapting hip thrusts and bridges

Hip thrusts and bridges are often comfortable, but if your buttock or the side of your hip is sore:

• Lower the weight and use more reps.
• Shorten the range, stopping before full lockout if that bothers you.
• Try holds at the top for 20 to 30 seconds rather than repeated reps.

Adapting hamstring work

Hamstring pain, especially near the sitting bone, often flares with deep stretching under load. Some ideas:

• Romanian deadlifts. Lighten the load and stop higher, before you feel a strong stretch.
• Good mornings. Leave these out for now.
• Hamstring curls. Use lighter weights and a shorter range.
• Try holds, like a bridge hold with your feet further away, which work the hamstrings without much stretch.

What you can keep

Upper body work, core training and most machine-based exercises can carry on as usual. Leg press with a shorter range, step-ups to a low box and calf raises are often comfortable too.

If you would like to follow along, VIDA has short videos of bridges, sit to stands and heel raises you can use at your own pace.

Reading how you respond

A simple traffic-light check can guide your training:

• Green. No pain, or a mild ache that settles within an hour. Carry on.
• Amber. An ache that lingers into the evening but has settled by the next morning. Keep training at the same level rather than adding more.
• Red. The area is sorer or stiffer the next morning. Ease back next session.

Warming up

A thorough warm-up helps your hips and hamstrings feel ready. Something to try:

• Cycle or walk for five minutes.
• Leg swings forwards and backwards, and across your body.
• Bodyweight squats to a box and gentle bridges.
• Light warm-up sets of your first exercise.

If your classes include sprints or jumps, leaving these out or swapping for marching or step-ups can help for now.

Outside the gym

Long spells of sitting can make pain near the sitting bone worse. Getting up every 30 minutes or so, or sitting on a cushion, can help. VIDA’s Pomodoro stretches, in the top right corner, can remind you to pause during focused work.

When to get it checked

You should get it checked by a GP or physiotherapist if you felt a sudden pop or sharp pain followed by bruising on the back of your thigh, if your hip locks or catches, or if pain spreads down your leg with numbness or tingling.

Building back up

When things have been in the green for a week or so, you can start bringing back depth, weight and the exercises you swapped, one at a time. Your VIDA pain check-in is a good way to keep track of how you respond.

What to take away

• Most recent hip, glute or hamstring pain means adapting, not stopping.
• Squat to a box and swap forward lunges for reverse lunges.
• Keep Romanian deadlifts lighter and shorter in range for now.
• Use holds and the traffic-light check to guide each session.
• Get a sudden pop with bruising, locking or leg numbness checked.

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