FIRE HYDRANT
Contrary to its name, this move is an excellent way to turn up the burn
YOU MIGHT chuckle at its name (think of a dog lifting its leg), but the fire hydrant is a superb glute-strengthening move. It targets the hip abductors – specifically, the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, the harderto-reach neighbours of the gluteus maximus. The position also requires you to fire up your core to keep you stable and avoid lower back rotation.
‘Done correctly, this exercise can help improve both hip mobility and lumbar stability,’ says
Emily Taylor, personal trainer at Fitness Lab. ‘It’s great for warming up the hips and activating the glutes before a workout.’ The move also requires movement in the transverse plane – personaltrainer speak for rotation. ‘Many of the exercises you do for your lower body, such as squats, occur in the sagittal plane [forwards and backwards]. Working across different planes of motion is key for joint health and agility,’ says Taylor.
Ready?
Start on all fours in a tabletop position, with your wrists under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Make sure your back is straight and your core is engaged. With your weight distributed evenly between your hands, lift your right leg out to the side, keeping your knee bent at a right angle. ‘Think about presenting the outside of your right knee to the ceiling,’ suggests Taylor. Hold for two seconds, then slowly lower your leg back to the starting position.
The key?
Make sure your body doesn’t rotate to complete the movement. ‘You should feel the muscles in the top of your hip tensing at the top of the move,’ says Taylor. ‘Go as far as your mobility allows without allowing your lower back to rotate. You might have quite a small range of motion to begin with – that’s normal,’ she adds. Keep firing up those hydrants to increase mobility. Try three sets of 15 reps on each leg.