Myrtl Routine: Hip Mobility Exercises For Runners

You blamed the roads. Then the heat, your shoes, maybe your age. Anything but the couple of minutes of hip work you kept skipping before every run.

The myrtl routine is a roughly 10-minute, no-equipment set of hip mobility exercises for runners, built by coach Jay Johnson to wake up cranky hips and smooth out that stiff first mile.

Below you get the full 10-move sequence with real form steps, when and how often to do it, and an honest look at whether it actually cuts injury risk.

The 10-Move Myrtl Routine at a Glance

#	Exercise	Reps
1	Clamshells	8 to 10 per side
2	Lateral Leg Raises (3 foot positions)	5 each position, per side
3	Donkey Kicks	8 per side
4	Donkey Whips	5 per side
5	Fire Hydrant	8 per side
6	Knee Circles (forward and backward)	5 each direction, per side
7	Hurdle Trail Legs (forward and backward)	5 each direction, per side
8	Lateral Leg Swings	10 per side
9	Linear Leg Swings	10 per side
10	Bent-Knee Linear Leg Swings	10 per side

What Is the Myrtl Routine?

Myrtl rhymes with “hip girdle.” That odd spelling is the whole joke.

Jay Johnson picked the name as a cheesy reminder that the routine targets the hip girdle region, the muscles that stabilize a runner’s stride. He has said he did not even realize at the time that “Myrtle” was the standard spelling.

The routine was born while Johnson was the middle-distance coach at the University of Colorado. He built it after making a training DVD with coach Mike Smith, then at Kansas State, whose program leaned heavily on partner-assisted hip exercises.

Many of those drills needed two people, so Johnson adapted about ten of them into a routine one runner could do alone. Nike later filmed its own version, which pushed Myrtl into the mainstream.

Today it is a distance-running staple. Cross-country teams run it several days a week, and it slots neatly alongside broader hip exercises for anyone chasing stronger, looser hips.

1. Clamshells

Wake the side glutes up first, and every move after this feels easier.

• Lie on your side with your knees bent to about 45 degrees and your hips stacked.
• Keeping your feet together, lift your top knee toward 60 degrees, like a clam opening.
• Hold your hips squared and still, then lower with control.
• Do 8 to 10 reps, then switch sides.

This one targets the gluteus medius, the outer-hip muscle that keeps your stride from collapsing inward.

The mistake to avoid is rocking your hips backward to fake a bigger opening. You should feel it in the side of your glute, not your lower back.

Rep counts float between 5 and 15 across coaches, so 8 to 10 is a safe default. Start every session here to prime the hips for the harder work ahead.

2. Lateral Leg Raises (Three Foot Positions)

Most Myrtl moves feel almost too easy. This is the one that bites.

• Lie on your side with your bottom leg bent and your top leg straight.
• Lift the straight leg to about 45 degrees, then lower slowly.
• Do 5 reps with a neutral foot, 5 with the toe pointed down, and 5 with the toe pointed up.
• Switch sides and repeat.

Rotating the foot shifts the work across different fibers of the outer hip and glute, so you cover more of the muscle in one move.

Think slow, not high. Keep the toe neutral to slightly down so the outer hip does the work instead of the hip flexor at the front.

Best for feeling the outer hip switch on. Skip the toe-up version if it pinches the front of your hip.

3. Donkey Kicks

Even the athlete in Johnson’s Nike shoot did this one wrong.

She arched her lower back to kick higher, so Johnson’s updated cue is to drive the leg straight back rather than chase height.

• Start on all fours in a tabletop position, hands under shoulders and knees under hips.
• Pull one knee toward your chest, then drive the foot back and up.
• Keep your back flat and your core braced the whole time.
• Do 8 reps, then switch sides.

This move fires the gluteus maximus, your biggest glute.

The common mistake is arching the lumbar spine to lift the leg higher. That is your spine cheating for the glute. Picture a plate balanced on your low back that must not slide off.

The verdict: height does not matter here. A flat back and a hard glute squeeze do.

4. Donkey Whips

Even people who teach this routine admit they do not have the range they expected.

That is normal, so do not be surprised if this one humbles you.

• Stay in the tabletop position from the last move.
• Extend one leg straight behind you without locking the knee.
• Sweep, or “whip,” that leg out to the side and back to center.
• Do 5 reps, then switch sides.

This targets the glutes and the deep external rotators that control how your hip turns.

Keep your hips square to the floor. If your whole torso twists to get the leg over, you are moving too fast. Slow down and imagine that plate on your low back again.

Go small and controlled. The range comes with weeks of consistency, not with force.

5. Fire Hydrant

Named for the exact pose you are picturing: a dog at a hydrant.

• Return to the tabletop position, hands and knees planted.
• Keeping your knee bent at 90 degrees, lift the whole leg out to the side.
• Raise it toward the height of your back, then lower with control.
• Do 8 reps, then switch sides.

This hits the gluteus medius and the external rotators that stabilize your pelvis with every foot strike.

Stability beats height here. Keep your hands planted and your core tight, and do not let your torso tip away to steal a few extra inches. For a deeper walkthrough of this movement, see our full fire hydrant exercise guide.

Best for lateral hip control. Skip the extra height if your torso starts to rotate.

6. Knee Circles (Forward and Backward)

One move, two directions, and one of them will feel noticeably tighter.

• Stay in the tabletop position with one knee bent at about 45 degrees.
• Draw slow, controlled circles with that knee, moving from the hip.
• Do 5 circles forward, then 5 backward.
• Switch sides and repeat.

This works the hip joint capsule, glutes, and flexors through a full rotation, something running alone never asks of them.

Most people have less range going backward than forward, so expect the reverse direction to feel stiffer. Do not force it.

If a circle feels jerky or catches, that is useful feedback. Shrink the size until it smooths out.

Quick comparison: forward circles loosen the hip flexors, while backward circles expose the tighter posterior range most runners neglect.

7. Hurdle Trail Legs (Forward and Backward)

This is where the routine stands up and starts to look like running.

• Place one hand on a wall or chair for balance.
• Skim your foot forward over an imaginary hip-height hurdle, 5 reps per side.
• Then drive the knee up and trail the leg behind you, 5 reps per side.
• Add reps as your strength and range improve.

This drives the hip flexors, glutes, and rotators through motion in more than one plane, which is exactly what varied footing demands.

That multi-plane quality makes it especially useful before a trail run, where the ground rarely cooperates. Expect your range to grow over a few weeks of practice.

Use this as your transition from lying-down activation into standing, dynamic work. Everything from here is done on your feet.

8. Lateral Leg Swings

The inner and outer thigh muscles runners ignore get their turn here.

• Face a wall and rest both hands on it for balance.
• Swing one straight leg side to side, across your body, at hip height.
• Keep the chest tall and let the leg pendulum from the hip.
• Do 10 reps, then switch sides.

This works the adductors and abductors, the muscles that manage side-to-side hip control.

The mistake to watch is swinging from the lower back instead of the hip. Stay controlled and do not yank the leg at the end of the range.

Pair it with a dynamic opener like the groiners stretch if your hips feel especially locked up.

Quick comparison: lateral swings open the side-to-side plane, while the next two open you front to back.

9. Linear Leg Swings

This is the swing that most closely rehearses your actual stride.

• Stand side-on to a wall with one hand resting on it.
• Swing the near leg straight forward and back, keeping it long.
• Hold your torso tall so the motion comes from the hip.
• Do 10 reps, then switch sides.

This loosens the hip flexors, hamstrings, and glutes in the same front-to-back pattern you use every stride.

Swing from the hip, not the lower back. If your chest caves forward, the spine starts stealing the movement and the stretch never reaches the hamstring.

Direct recommendation: if you only have time for a couple of standing drills before you run, make this one of them.

10. Bent-Knee Linear Leg Swings

Same swing as the last move, but bending the knee unlocks a deeper part of the hip.

• Stand side-on to the wall, hand resting for balance.
• Swing the near leg forward and back, but bend the knee to about 90 degrees as it drives forward.
• Keep the torso tall and the motion coming from the hip.
• Do 10 reps, then switch sides.

Bending the knee shortens the lever, which lets the hip flex deeper and reach range the straight-leg swing cannot. It works the hip flexors through their deepest range, the part most of us lose from sitting all day.

The verdict: this caps the routine by opening the deep hip flexion that desk life quietly steals.

That is the full 10-move sequence, flowing top to bottom from floor activation into standing swings.

When to Do Myrtl and How Often: Before or After Your Run

After your easy runs is the safe default. That is how coach Jay Johnson, the creator of Myrtl, uses it himself: in his eight-week plan, the routine comes right after the run on easy days.

Post-run also happens to be the easiest way to learn it. Your hips are already warm, and you are not eating into your running time while you memorize the moves.

Once every move feels natural, you can flip it. Plenty of runners do Myrtl before the run instead, as a dynamic warm-up on cold mornings or before harder sessions.

There is a middle path too. Do the standing drills (knee circles, hurdle trail legs, and the swings) before you head out, then save the floor work (clamshells, leg raises, donkey kicks) for after.

How often? Start with one or two sessions a week and build toward three or four. Cross-country teams often run it three days a week.

And because it leaves no next-day soreness, doing it almost daily is fine. Budget 7 to 8 minutes once you know the sequence by heart, and up to 15 if you take it slow.

How to Make Myrtl Harder

Every runner who sticks with Myrtl eventually hits the same thought: wait, is this it?

You are on the floor doing clamshells, barely breaking a sweat, wondering if it does anything. The fix is to progress it, not ditch it.

Here is the upgrade playbook coaches use once Myrtl feels too easy:

• Loop a mini resistance band around your knees for clamshells and fire hydrants.
• Run two full circuits instead of one.
• Add ankle weights for extra load.
• Add pulses or 2-second holds at the top of each rep.
• Swap in harder variations like single-leg glute bridges, monster walks, or lateral band steps.

Keep the smooth, full-range tempo even as you add difficulty. If you are brand new, scale the other way: fewer reps, smaller range, then build up.

When Myrtl stops challenging you for good, Johnson built a successor called Strength and Mobility (SAM), short for Strength And Mobility.

	Myrtl	SAM (Strength And Mobility)
Purpose	Hip activation and mobility	Dynamic flexibility, core, light plyometrics
Structure	One static routine	Phased progression
Best for	Beginners and daily maintenance	Runners who have outgrown Myrtl

One honest caveat: Progress within Myrtl first, add real lifting like squats and hip thrusts alongside it, and graduate to SAM when you are ready.

Does the Myrtl Routine Actually Prevent Running Injuries?

The honest answer: it probably helps, but no 10-minute routine can promise an injury-free season.

Here is the short version of a 25-year scientific back-and-forth, in plain English.

What early research found

In the early 2000s, studies kept noticing the same thing: runners with knee pain or Iliotibial (IT) band trouble often had weaker hips than healthy runners.

The theory wrote itself. Strengthen the hips, protect the knees. Routines like Myrtl rode that wave into every training plan.

Why doubts crept in

Later studies could not repeat the finding. A study found no hip-strength difference at all between injured and healthy runners, and a huge trial with over 1,000 military recruits found strength exercises did not prevent injuries either.

For years, the fair summary was simply “maybe.”

The newest and strongest evidence

The tide turned in 2024. A trial that followed 325 new runners (245 female, 80 male)gave one group a hip and core program, and that group picked up 39% fewer overuse injuries than runners who only stretched.

The gap was even bigger for substantial injuries, the kind that force you to cut training back: 52% fewer.

That is genuinely encouraging. Still, it is one study of beginners, and it tested a supervised program rather than Myrtl itself.

What it means for you

Think of Myrtl as cheap insurance. A few easy minutes that may improve how your hips and knees handle the miles, not a force field.

And if something already hurts, do not push through it. Learn the common running injuries and how to treat them, and see a professional for pain that lingers.

Myrtl Routine FAQs

How often should you do the Myrtl routine?

Aim for 2 to 3 times a week for most runners. It causes almost no next-day soreness, so you can do it nearly daily. If you are just starting out, do it once or twice a week and build from there.

Why is it called the Myrtl routine?

It is not a real acronym. Coach Jay Johnson named it Myrtl because it rhymes with “girdle,” as in the hip girdle region the routine targets. He also did not realize at the time that “Myrtle” is the usual spelling.

Should you do Myrtl before or after running?

Either works. After easy runs is the creator’s own default, and it is the best starting point for beginners. Once the moves feel natural, many runners shift Myrtl before their run and use it as part of a dynamic warm-up instead.

Is the Myrtl routine good for beginners?

Yes. It is bodyweight only, needs no equipment, and scales to your level. Start with fewer reps and a smaller range of motion, then build up as the moves feel easier. It is the routine coaches hand new runners first.

Does Myrtl help the IT band?

It might. By improving hip and glute control, Myrtl can reduce some stress that reaches your knee and IT band. It is not a guaranteed fix, though, since that pain often comes from mileage or footwear, and persistent pain needs a professional.

Bottom Line

Myrtl is a free, no-equipment, low-fatigue way to wake up your hips and keep them moving well. Think of it as a foundation and a habit, not a strength program or an injury cure.

Treat it as a reset button that switches hips back on once fatigue makes them go quiet mid-run.

The smart play is consistency. Do it 2 to 3 times a week, after easy runs to start, and progress it once it feels too easy.

Pair it with real strength work and sensible mileage, because no single routine matters more than showing up week after week.