The fire hydrant exercise is proven to be a great workout technique to strengthen and activate your glutes. This exercise also helps with back and lower back pain and lowers the risk of injury. Many people include it in their daily stretching routine as it is a great technique to loosen up your muscles.
If you want to add it to your workout routine, here is everything you need to know.
Fire hydrant exercise: The how and the what
To execute this exercise, one must go down on his or her hands and knees. The hands should be directly aligned with the shoulders and the same for the hips and the knees. When in that position, make sure to engage your core and maintain your balance. To execute the fire hydrant exercise, lift your knees to the side at 90 degrees. Take turns in lifting your knees. To easily visualize this exercise, imagine a dog peeing on a fire hydrant.
The fire hydrant exercise is primarily a glute activation and strengthening workout. However, it has variations that can target other muscles. The fire hydrant is great to improving your hip extension, hip external rotation, and hip abduction. This is also a great exercise for people who sit for long hours a day and are experiencing pain or soreness in their lower body. The fire hydrant exercise releases tension in your lower body which promotes better blood flow and flexibility.
The fire hydrant is also a low-impact resistance workout meaning it has a low risk of injury and it is an exercise you can do wherever you are with ease. However, it is important to execute this exercise properly using the right form. Doing it differently or with the wrong form increases the risk of injury.
Variations of the fire hydrant exercise
There are a couple of fire hydrant variation exercises to enhance this technique.
Fire hydrant with resistance band
One of the most common ones is the addition of a resistance band. With a resistance band, the fire hydrant is much harder to execute but offers better results. Adding resistance band can help you improve your form making it easier for you to execute the exercise.
Fire hydrant with ankle weights
Adding ankle weights makes it harder to lift your knees. However, this variation can add tension in the feet. That way, you’re targeting more muscles in your lower body compared to the usual fire hydrant exercise.
Fire hydrant with a kick
This variation adds more tension to the legs. To execute this, add a kick for every knee lift. So when the knee is lifted at a 90-degree, extend your leg straight out as it to kicking sideways. It is important to slow down with this variation because the kick if done wrong or without care can result in a pulled muscle in the legs.
If you want to start doing fire hydrant exercises, you can do so as soon as you wake up. Establish a stretching workout plan to do every morning to relieve your muscles and joints for better performance throughout the day.
