Episode 450: Henry Abbott: The Hip Stability Secret for Aging Well + Why ACL Tears Are 8x More Common in Women

Summary

**Podcast Summary: Habits and Hustle
Episode: 450: Henry Abbott: The Hip Stability Secret for Aging Well + Why ACL Tears Are 8x More Common in Women
Release Date: May 16, 2025
Hosts: Jennifer Cohen and Henry Abbott
Guests: Henry Abbott, Award-Winning Journalist and Founder of True Hoop

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Introduction

In Episode 450 of Habits and Hustle, hosts Jennifer Cohen and Henry Abbott delve deep into the critical role of hip stability and mobility in maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle as we age. The episode also explores the alarming prevalence of ACL tears in women, shedding light on the underlying causes and potential prevention strategies.

Understanding Hip Stability and Mobility

The conversation kicks off with a discussion about the common hip issues everyone faces, emphasizing that nearly everyone has some form of hip discomfort or instability.

Jennifer Cohen (00:02):
"We all have weird stuff with our hips, like every single person."

Henry Abbott (00:02):
"Oh, terrible. Me, that's where my biggest issue is."

The hosts explain the importance of both hip stability and mobility, illustrating how these factors contribute to overall physical health and injury prevention. Using analogies like comparing the hips to a "free-falling egg" supported by the glutes, they highlight the necessity of having a balance between flexibility and strength.

Henry Abbott (03:00):
"The nerves are going to control all your 600 muscles in the body and they're controlled by the brain basically. And it's going to like teach them to like get it snappier, get it better."

Identifying Hip Issues: Mobility vs. Stability

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to helping listeners identify whether their hips are more mobile or unstable. The hosts provide practical tests to determine one's hip status:

1. Standing Figure 4 Test/Pigeon Pose (03:22):

   • Jennifer Cohen:
     "If you can sink in, then we're going to say your hips are very likely mobile enough."

2. Side Plank Test (05:41):

   • Henry Abbott:
     "It's so hard. This is like 5% of people are going to pass this test, I think."

The hosts emphasize that understanding whether one has mobile or unstable hips is crucial for tailoring workout routines effectively.

Hip Stability and Aging Well

Jennifer Cohen underscores the importance of maintaining both hip stability and mobility to age gracefully. The hosts argue that neglecting either aspect can lead to increased risk of injuries and decreased physical functionality.

Jennifer Cohen (05:09):
"This is how we're going to age well."

They advocate for a balanced approach to fitness, suggesting that those with mobile hips focus more on strength training, while those with unstable hips incorporate more mobility exercises like yoga.

Gender Differences in Hip Mobility and ACL Injuries

A pivotal segment of the episode addresses the startling statistic that ACL tears are eight times more common in women than in men. The discussion delves into various theories behind this disparity:

• Hormonal Factors: Differences in hormone levels affecting ligament strength.
• Anatomical Differences: Wider hips in women leading to increased knee valgus (knees collapsing inward).
• Muscle Strength: Variations in lower leg and hip musculature contributing to injury risk.

Henry Abbott (09:04):
"Just enough stability, just enough mobility. Or else if you're too mobile you can also injure yourself."

Henry shares insights from his research, pointing out that traditional theories may not fully explain the high incidence of ACL injuries in women. He highlights that landing biomechanics, such as landing on the outside of the foot causing the shin to twist inward, are primary culprits that need further study.

Preventing ACL Injuries: Strengthening the Lower Body

The hosts discuss effective training methods to prevent ACL injuries, focusing on strengthening key muscle groups:

1. Lower Leg Strength:

   • Enhances control during movements to prevent awkward landings.

2. Hip Musculature:

   • Strengthening the hips helps maintain proper alignment and prevents excessive femoral rotation.

3. Plyometric Exercises:

   • Incorporating movements like jump rope and lateral drills to build explosive strength and agility.

Henry Abbott (16:34):
"The one that you won't like is that they. We're going to come soon to a point where there'll be some way to, like, assess your own biomechanics."

He emphasizes the need for personalized workout routines tailored to individual biomechanical profiles to effectively reduce injury risks.

Practical Tips for Everyday People

Recognizing that not everyone has access to elite training facilities like P3, Henry Abbott offers actionable advice for the average person to enhance hip stability and mobility:

1. Customized Warm-Ups:

   • Incorporate dynamic stretches and movements that prepare the body for exercise, such as heel walks, toe slaps, lunges, and rotational exercises.

2. Balanced Workouts:

   • Combine strength training with flexibility exercises to ensure both mobility and stability are addressed.

3. Consistency and Progression:

   • Regularly practicing the recommended exercises and gradually increasing intensity to build resilience.

Jennifer Cohen (19:09):
"But writing about it is a little bit tricky because you need to really see what you're supposed to do."

Henry acknowledges the challenges in conveying complex biomechanical concepts but emphasizes the importance of visual aids and consistent practice.

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with a reinforcement of the key takeaway: maintaining both hip mobility and stability is essential for aging well and preventing common injuries like ACL tears, especially among women. Henry Abbott encourages listeners to assess their own hip health and adjust their fitness routines accordingly to achieve long-term physical well-being.

Henry Abbott (19:10):
"What we do with normies? Yeah, I'm a normie, and so are you."

Notable Quotes

• Jennifer Cohen (05:09):
  "This is how we're going to age well."

• Henry Abbott (09:04):
  "Just enough stability, just enough mobility. Or else if you're too mobile you can also injure yourself."

• Henry Abbott (16:34):
  "The one that you won't like is that they. We're going to come soon to a point where there'll be some way to, like, assess your own biomechanics."

• Henry Abbott (19:10):
  "What we do with normies? Yeah, I'm a normie, and so are you."

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This episode of Habits and Hustle offers invaluable insights into the interplay between hip stability and mobility, the gender disparities in ACL injuries, and practical strategies for maintaining physical health as we age. Whether you're a fitness enthusiast or someone looking to improve their daily movement patterns, Jennifer Cohen and Henry Abbott provide actionable advice backed by scientific research and real-world experience.

Transcript

[A]

Hi guys, it's Tony Robbins. You're listening to Habits and Hustle. Crush it.

[B]

Today on Habits and Hustle Fitness Friday, I'm joined by Henry Abbott. He's an award winning journalist and founder of True Hoop. Henry spent years at ESPN before launching True Hoop, where he built a powerful platform that dives deep into the NBA business and the hidden forces shaping pro sports. But in today's episode, we talk all about Misogi, a practice where you take on a challenge so intense you've only got a 50% chance of finishing. We talk wild examples like underwater 5Ks with rocks and paddleboarding through shark infested waters. All designed to push the limits of what you think you're capable of. We also talk about science backed insights from Harvard's fatigue lab. Plus his own story of overcoming chronic pain through movement. Proving that sometimes the boldest path leads to real transformation. Before we dive into today's episode, I want to thank our sponsor, Momentous. When your goal is healthspan living better and longer, there are very few non negotiables. One of them quality. And when it comes to supplements designed for high performers, nobody does it better than Momentous. Momentous goes all in on NSF certification, which means every single batch is tested for heavy metals, harmful additives and label accuracy. And that's why they're trusted by all 32 NFL teams and top collegiate sports dietitians across the country. Here's the thing. They don't sell every supplement under the sun because they believe in nailing the basics with rock solid consistency. And those basics are protein and creatine. Momentous sources. Creapure, the purest form of creatine monohydrate available. An absolute must for both men and women who want peak physical and cognitive performance. So if you're serious about leveling up, go to livemomentous.com and use code Jen for 20% off. Just act now. Start today. Jen for 20% off livemomentous.com.

[A]

We all have weird stuff with our hips, like every single person.

[B]

Oh, terrible. Me, that's where my biggest issue is.

[A]

Yeah. And so it, it, it plays in that space too.

[B]

It does.

[A]

Yeah. Because so if you think about the egg again. Right. And so now you're this free falling egg. And ideally you're going to be bouncy because of like a rubber band of your glutes.

[B]

Right, Right.

[A]

This is practicing kind of getting the force there, if that makes sense.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

It's this, you know, again, the nerves are going to control all your 600 muscles in the body and they're controlled by the brain basically. And it's going to like teach them to like get it snappier, get it better.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So every single person in the assess at P3 has had hip issues, basically. And they're. But they fit in one or the other category. This is probably the most important thing I will tell you today.

[B]

You can like. Okay. Yeah.

[A]

Okay. So everybody's hips are either unstable or immobile. And you should know which group you're in and I can tell you how to find out. So actually I, I asked Marcus at one point. I'm like, well, how do I know if my hips are immobile? And he's like, I think, you know, that's hilarious. But just in case you don't like the way you check that one would be to get into like a pigeon or, you know, pigeon from yoga or do you know standing figure four? I don't really want to demonstrate it, but like.

[B]

Okay, so standing figure 4, so you.

[A]

Stand up and then I would take like my right ankle and cross it over my left knee and then sit down.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Right. While you're still bouncing on one leg and you know, butt back, chest up and you want to kind of bounce if you can really sink into that position or sink into a pigeon. I think we all know if you're not sunk in.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

If you can sink in, then we're going to say your hips are very likely mobile enough.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Right. And then for stability, this one's a little hard if you do a side plank, but the kind of side plank where your body's a complete X. So your leg is elevated, your arm is elevated, and then this is different than any other side plank. I know all ten toes pointing forward. So your body's a big X. If you can lock that out and hold it, then we're going to say that your hips are stable enough. And what we find, we, I think we. What they find is that basically everyone who lifts weights should do yoga and everyone who does yoga should lift weights. Because basically people with mobile hips make them more mobile with yoga. Right. And people with stable hips make them more mobile with weightlifting. But they should switch. Right. Cuz the people with stable hips need to work on mobility. Right. And people with mobile hips need to work on stability. Either one could get you needing a hip replacement. Right. You want to have a little bit of both.

[B]

So that's interesting. So, and you need to be both. Right?

[A]

You need both. We all need both.

[B]

You need stability and mobility.

[A]

Yeah. This is how we're going to age well. Yeah.

[B]

And that's so important for aging. So let me just repeat that because I think that's really important. So to age well, for your body to age well, we need to have hips that are stable and mobile to totally. Right. And the way to check that is to either go into a standing figure 4 to see if you can sit down. Right. Or the pigeon. Right. And you'll know if you're mobile or not and if. Whatever. And the side plank with your hand out, fingers open.

[A]

And leg up.

[B]

And leg up. That in itself is very hard.

[A]

It's so hard.

[B]

Yeah, that's really hard.

[A]

This is like 5% of people are going to pass this test, I think.

[B]

Right. So then let's just say 5% of people pass. Then what is the other 9? 55% of people do.

[A]

So I think if you. So you need work on hip stability, and it's very knowable. Right. I, you know, I guarantee that within a mile of here are 10 trainers who know how to help you with that. If that's what you're working on right now. You have a target. Right, Right. You can do it on YouTube, probably, but you want someone to.

[B]

But let me just finish that, because whatever. If you, if, if you cannot do that. Right. If you're, if you're unable to sink into the figure eight or, sorry, the, the, the pigeon, that means you're immobile and that means you should be doing less weights, more yoga. And if you are able to do that, but your lips. Not lips, your hips are unstable. You know that by doing the plank.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. Right.

[B]

Because what happens? You just can't lift your leg or what happens.

[A]

Oh, what happens to me is I just feel weak.

[B]

Right. You just can't get up. You can't do it. Right.

[A]

I mean, I can. Like, I can.

[B]

And then what, do you need more weights then? Or do you need more.

[A]

So you're tweaking your routine a little bit. Right. I think you, you know, whatever, whatever you're doing to work out, I think a lot of us, you know, when you're 25, you can do it all wrong and it's fine. Right, right.

[B]

No, but what I mean is if you're in that side plane.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

How do you know if you're stable or mobile or whatever, you're going to.

[A]

Be shaking or collapsing or quitting, you know?

[B]

So if you're unstable, then you go to do the yoga or the weights.

[A]

Then if you're, Then you go do the weights.

[B]

Yeah, the weights. You need to be more strong.

[A]

Yeah, you're going to be squatting. And, you know, I. I've. I've always had immobile hips. Like, everyone in my f. No, not my wife's family, but everyone. Like my blood relatives. We are the immobile hip crowd.

[B]

Right. That's very common for guys, though.

[A]

Oh, totally. We're cool like that.

[B]

Right. But I think mostly women maybe have more mobility in their hips and men have less.

[A]

Yeah, that's. I mean, there's. There are women who have immobile hips, for sure, and there are men who have mobile hips. But, like, yeah, you're right. That's definitely. Mobility is more likely in women, for sure. And so I always thought of very mobile hips as just like, way better. Right. Like the yoga teacher, I'd be like, oh, man. Like, she's gonna have live forever with this.

[B]

Right, Right.

[A]

But only from this product that I learned, like. No, like, a lot of super mobile people need hip replacements because they just don't have the musculature to keep it together. Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Think about how we're talking about. Oh, oh, here's the thing I learned that blew my mind. In my assessment when they assessed me, I mentioned, you're standing on a box and you step off and land on the force plate. Well, when I stepped off, my hips, like, dipped. Right. The foot that's out over the space, that hip just fell and they stopped the video and they're like, why are you doing that? I'm like, I don't know. I thought that was what we do, you know?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

That's not what we do. Like, you're supposed to keep your hips level. Right. It's supposed to be like, when you do most exercises, like the glute on the standing leg should be engaged, and it's supposed to hold that stuff together. Right. And then the other one can be mobile and bouncy. Right. But.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But you're supposed to control your hips. I was walking around without good control of my hips, and I feel like that's what happens to a lot of these elite yoga athletes is that they're, you know, if they were running down that mountain path or whatever their hips.

[B]

Are going to be, they're too flexible.

[A]

Flopping around.

[B]

Well, I think it's because you could be too mobile. It's like. It's like the Goldilocks thing, Right. With anything. Right. You could be too much. It's like you have to be just. Just enough.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Just enough stability, just enough mobility. Or else if you're too mobile you become. You can also injure yourself.

[A]

This is what I've learned recently. Yep.

[B]

Is it just weights or yoga? Like, it's because I find, like, you know, people who do weights are much more stiff. Right. Versus people who do more malleable stuff like yoga. What. So getting back to my first question then. What is the top injury for women and what is the top injury for men?

[A]

I don't honestly know the answer to that. I know that this ACL thing is ridiculous rates in female athletes. Right. It's 8x men. And so I just, I'm a little bit of a women's soccer fan. And I don't know if, you know, Emma Hayes is the new coach of the U.S. national team. There are 11 players on the team, and she's getting a crew of 50 ready for the World cup because you can't count on. Wow, there's just so many. And since she got the job just recently at one, their star defender is out for a year with ACL tear. They're, you know, there are several out now. I think there are three players out right now. In the last women's World cup or in the Olympics, every single team had a player out because of ACL tear. It's just like, rampant for women.

[B]

For women, and not. I mean, Hobie Bryant got that. I mean, like, for men, like, there's a lot of them for men, too, right. But just for women, it's just way more. Is it because they're more. Again, is it because women, not just hips are more mobile, but maybe their ankles are more mobile, so there's more chance of that injury, you know?

[A]

Yeah, I mean, this is. These are very active questions in science right now. And there's a bunch of theories. You know, there's could be hormonal explanations. Could be women have wider hips which permits their knees. There's like this thought that if your knees go in together as you bend your knees, that is an elevated risk of ACL tear. There was so many. The. There's. Women have narrower ACLs. There's all these theories. But I'm a little bit struck by so at. In this granular movement data that my book is about. They did a massive study of, like, every single thing that goes into NBA players who had ACL tears over years, basically. So if someone has an ACL tear, then they go back and look at that person's assessment and say, how do they move? And by this analysis, it's none of those things I just described. Like, ACL tears are caused by landing on the outside of your foot and having the weight roll to the inside like your shin bone, like a big windshield wiper. Right. That's number cause number one. Is that more common in women? We haven't studied that yet. Right. But I think that would be tip top thing to study. Right?

[B]

Yeah, you would think.

[A]

And then the second biggest cause is femoral rotation. So this is where thinking, oh, this is gross. But you go with my analogy. You know when you have the Thanksgiving turkey and you like twist the leg off.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, I'm using my arm, I guess the upper half of your leg. Some people when they squat down, your upper leg bone twists inside your leg. And you can imagine that would be extremely stressful like on, on. On your ligaments in your knee. Right. So the first problem is managed by stronger muscles in the lower leg like we've been talking about. Right. The second problem is managed by stronger muscles in your hip. Like your hip has that, that bone in your upper leg has little knobs on it and there are muscles that like grab it and hold it in place and keep it from rotating. And you can just strengthen those muscles and make it stronger. And you do that with all sorts of difficult work like side planks. But this is why yoga teachers have more. Have some are more important to some of these problems. Right. Is because they're very flexible and you kind of want to be rigid in that particular way. So I think this is the, like this would be the first place to start for me if I were talking about like leading injuries for women. Right. Is these two things have been studied in men and they have not been studied in women. They're kind of.

[B]

That's so weird.

[A]

Yeah. So the way men like P3 is an expensive place for professional athletes to go and mostly like Adidas pays for them to go or their agency or.

[B]

How much is it?

[A]

I don't honestly know. It depends what you know. Like. Like right now there's NBA players going there before the draft for seven weeks. So that's going to be a lot. I went for three days. Right. That's going to be a four figure number. Right. But they just started having just in the last year or two, the time I was writing the book, Aaliyah Boston was the number one WNBA overall draft pick and Haley Jones was like, I think the sixth pick. They were there. They're the first time that the shoe company paid for women basketball players to go. Right.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

And so there have been a bunch of women through there, but it's only 15% of the thousands of athletes they've had. So, you know, the industry didn't fund that before. Right. But it's starting to. And so I think they're trying to find ways that they could just assess like a thousand soccer players at once just to get a big data set to start answering these questions. I think that's what the future will look like. But I think it's important that a lot, you know, without this data set, we're looking at all these things like ligament width, and it's not likely the cause, I don't think.

[B]

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[A]

So one of the answers you won't like and one of them you Will, I think.

[B]

Okay, I like that.

[A]

The one that you won't like is that they. We're going to come soon to a point where there'll be some way to, like, assess your own biomechanics. Right. Like. Like, you want to do a workout that's designed for you. Like when they put the exercise on the board and everybody does the same workout.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's. It's like you want someone with expertise looking at your body. Right. And not saying, oh, and like, what happens now is you get hurt first, and then you go to physical therapy, and then it's customized for you 100%.

[B]

Like, I always have this problem with trainers, right. They're like, okay, grab the heaviest weight and squat deep down. And like, I'm like, my body mechanics doesn't allow for me to do that move. They're like, yeah, that's impossible. I'm like, no, it's not impossible. I will hurt myself. And people should. People know their bodies better than, like, a stranger does. And so when they do these generic workouts and think everybody's body can move a certain way, that's just not accurate, right? Right.

[A]

Yes, 100%. And, you know, and it's. It's a little sad to me. Like, I was doing PT for a while, this place where they had like a. Like a track and all these. All the sports equipment. Because I think the idea was they'd have these, like, elite athletes being explosive in there. Yeah, Everybody in there is so broken. They never use the track. Right.

[B]

Of course. That's right. It's exactly it. Like, you're starting at, like, 100. You know what I mean? Like, from. And so that's what I want to talk about. I want to talk about for the average person, you know, someone who's more intermediate or beginner or, you know, whatever in that realm. Not, like, not a professional athlete. Right. Because not all of us are going to have the chance to go to P3 and, like, get these crazy, you know, assessments and then, like, work that way. But from all of the experience you've had, I want you to be able to tell me and my audience what we can do to strengthen our bodies in the ways that are the most beneficial, in the ways that we get hurt the most in the acl. Another one is glutes don't fire. Really? You know, that's a big one. Hip, you know, hip issues, knee issues. Give me some stuff that everyday people can do daily.

[A]

Yeah. So there are 25 illustrations in the book of, like. Because I. I was like, they're obsessed with lead athletes there. Right. And. And they will tell you. They're like, Henry was so annoying with asking me so many questions about, like, the rest of us.

[B]

I know. And they're not interested.

[A]

Right. Like, okay, they. He. I mean, they won't say this, they won't admit this, but, like, they call us normies.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What do we do with normies?

[B]

Yeah, I'm a normie, and so are you. So. Yes.

[A]

So I tried to capture as many of the things as I could. And writing about it is a little bit tricky because you need to really see what you're supposed to do.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Like, for instance, their warmup is amazing. There are days where I got up and felt like the Tin man, and, you know, I'm 50, and I would go downstairs and be like, oh, my gosh, I think I broke something. But I would just do the warmup. It's 13 steps. I have them memorized. You can do it in, I don't know, 10 minutes. And it's a little bouncy and it's got a little bit of stuff that you don't normally have. And now I've noticed actually a different, you know, races, whatever. I'm like, oh, that person's doing the P3 warmup. Like, there's a little cult that we're.

[B]

Really, okay, what's the warmup? I want to know.

[A]

So there's a picture. Every single step is illustrated in there. But, you know, you. It. It's walking. You go back and forth at the gym a bunch of times, and first you're walking on your heels, then you're slapping your toes down, and then you're doing two different. No, three different kinds of lunges. There's. Is that standing figure four thing. There's. You've probably done the thing a bunch of times where you put your hand on the wall and swing your leg, like, and a hamstring stretch. Then you're on the floor for a bit, rotating your spine various ways. There's a lot of rotation, tons of rotation in all of their recommendations.

[B]

Why?

[A]

Because that's another neurological training. You know, there's. This is a mind blowing thing. There's nobody in Major League Baseball who didn't grow up playing baseball. Basketball's full of players who didn't know basketball, but because baseball is hitting and throwing, which are both rotating things. And if you didn't grow up practicing, like, you're not as good as people who did. Like, just. And so a lot of us, I. I didn't grow up with any. I didn't play any baseball.

[B]

You're 100% right about that. Go on.

[A]

But I. Anyway, you want to rotate you. You want. This is going to be part of aging well, right? You want to do things that roll.