Today we’re going to go a bit more in-depth on a move we use here all the time. This move helps people warm up for squats; it’s part of a glute activation warm-up that we got from Chris Duffin over at Kabuki labs.
Here’s what you’re going to do, you’re going to set up with one knee on the ground and the foot of the other leg off to the side at 90 degrees. I will try to keep that lead leg with the foot on the ground as passive as possible (it’s mainly there for balance).
My main goal is to use the glute and VMO on the back leg together to move my hip. To do this, I drop my hip out to the side, then squeeze my glutes and that VMO at the same time to bring myself back up. My hip should be back underneath my shoulder and in line with my knee. So that should be very obvious, as you can see in the video.
Here’s what you don’t want to do.
You don’t want to drop the hip straight back. Instead, you want the hip to move away from that leg that’s balancing. Then squeeze your way back up to your starting position.
So you can do a heavy squat that day. Give that a try.
This is a very visual movement. I strongly suggest you check out the video we attached to the page.
Still, have questions? Drop me a line at joe@massstrengthandconditioning.com; I’m always happy to help!
