Fire Hydrants
Quadruped hip abduction that lifts a bent knee out to the side without rotating the pelvis.
How to do it
- Start on all fours with the hands under the shoulders and the knees under the hips.
- Brace the trunk so the back stays flat and the pelvis stays level.
- Keep one knee bent at about 90 degrees and lift that knee out to the side.
- Stop before the hips rotate or the supporting knee slides inward.
- Pause at the top, then lower the knee back under the hip.
- Finish the set on one side before switching legs.
Key technique cue
Lift the knee only until the pelvis starts to turn — no higher.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Twisting the pelvis so the lower back, not the hip, creates the height.
- ✕ Kicking the thigh backward instead of abducting it out to the side.
- ✕ Letting the supporting elbow or knee collapse as the working hip opens.
- ✕ Chasing a high range that dumps the trunk toward the floor.
Benefits
- ✓ Targets hip abduction from a stable quadruped base.
- ✓ Needs no equipment, so it fits warm-ups and floor-based glute blocks.
- ✓ Trains the pelvis to stay quiet while one hip moves, a useful coaching cue.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 You are here - Fire Hydrants
- Banded Clamshell
- Bodyweight Hip Abduction
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Step 2
About the exercise
Fire hydrants start on all fours and lift one bent knee out to the side. They are a bodyweight glute drill that combines hip abduction, extension, and external rotation, with the pelvis staying still. The same quadruped lift cues a long spine and a braced trunk so the hip, not the lower back, does the work.
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