Exercise Profile
- Target Muscle Group
- Exercise TypeWarmup
- Equipment RequiredBodyweight
- MechanicsCompound
- Force TypeDynamic Stretching
- Experience LevelBeginner
- Secondary Muscles
Glutes
Target Muscle Group
Hip Flexors
Fire Hydrant Circles Overview
The fire hydrant circle drill is a form of dynamic stretching often used to warm up the muscles of the hip flexors prior to heavy leg training.
The hip flexors can become quite tight throughout the day, especially if you work a desk job. Increasing mobility of the joint and its surrounding muscles is critical for injury preventions. This couldn’t be truer for heavily loaded exercises such as the barbell back squat.
The drill gets its name due to its resemblance of how dogs stereotypically react to seeing a fire hydrant.
Fire Hydrant Circles Instructions
- In a quadruped position, ensure the hands are underneath the shoulders, the knees are underneath the hips, and the toes are tucked.
- While keeping the knee bent, lift one leg slightly off the floor and rotate the hip in progressively larger circles while keeping the knee and ankle joint locked in place.
- Rotate for the assigned number of repetitions and then repeat on the opposite side.
Fire Hydrant Circles Tips
- Focus on keeping all of the movement relegated to the hip, don’t allow the spine to move to compensate a lack of hip mobility.
- Push into the floor with your hands and focus on keeping the head neutral.
4 Comments
How many reps/sets for this exercise?
10 reps per leg for 3-4 sets is a good starting point.
Can I turn this into an exercise by putting ankle weights on?
Yes, Andrea. That will work.