TECHNIQUE SCHOOL
Contrary to its name, this move is an excellent way to turn up the burn
Master the fire hydrant and get those glutes burning
You might chuckle at its name (dog, lifting leg – get it?), but the fire hydrant provides a glute blast that’s no joke. It’s an excellent accessory move for leg day, as it targets the hip abductors – specifically, the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, the lesser-known (and harder-to-reach) neighbours of the gluteus maximus, your largest glute muscle. Bonus: 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 [that’s lower back, FYI] 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 – PT speak for rotation – which is often neglected in typical glute or lower body workouts. ‘Many of the exercises you do for your lower body, such as squats and deadlifts, occur in the sagittal plane [forwards and backwards]. Working across different planes of motion is key for joint health and overall agility,’ Taylor explains.
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 the knee bent at a right angle. ‘Think about presenting the outside of your right knee to the ceiling,’ Taylor suggests. Hold for two seconds, then slowly lower the leg back down 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. 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,’ Taylor says. Keep firing up those hydrants to increase mobility. Bonus.
AVOID IF: You have lower back pain. Try a banded clamshell instead: lie on your side with your legs bent at 90° and a resistance band around your thighs, then lift the top knee to open your legs.