Fire Hydrant
A glute exercise on all fours that lifts one bent leg out to the side.
This page is a working draft. A coach has not reviewed it, so read it as a starting point, not as checked instruction.
- Pattern
- Hip isolation
- Modality
- Calisthenics
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Mechanic
- Unknown
- Force
- Unknown
- Laterality
- Unilateral
- Impact
- Low
- Trains where
- Gym, Home
- At home
- Yes
How to do it
Set up
- Kneel on all fours with the hands under the shoulders and the knees under the hips.
- Keep the knee of the working leg bent at about 90 degrees.
Do the rep
- Lift the working knee out to the side, as high as you can without tilting the body.
- Hold for a moment at the top.
- Lower the knee back under the hip under control.
What counts as a rep
A rep counts when the knee lifts out to the side without the body tilting and returns under the hip.
One rep starts on all fours, lifts one bent leg out to the side to about hip height, and lowers the knee back under the hip; count each side.
Breathing
Exhale as you lift; inhale as you lower.
Cues
- Keep the weight even on both hands.
- Lift the knee, not the foot.
- Pause longer at the top when the reps get easy.
Common mistakes
Tilting the body
What you seeThe body leans onto the support side as the knee lifts.
FixLift less high and keep the shoulders level.
A level body keeps the work in the side of the hip.
Swinging the leg
What you seeThe leg moves fast and drops back down.
FixLift and lower at a steady speed.
Control keeps the tension on the glute.
Stop the set if
- Stop if you feel sharp pain.
- Stop if you feel pain in the hip or the knees.
- End the set when you cannot lift the knee without tilting.
General educational content, not individual coaching or medical advice.
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