Buy generic aldactone coupon no prescription

Add this accessible bodyweight exercise to your next routine for an intense glute workout. 

Our glutes are the biggest muscles in our body. They’re responsible for keeping us upright while we walk, run and even sit at our desks. So, no matter what activity we’re doing, it’s important we treat them well and make sure they’re at their optimum strength.

If fact, research shows that having firm glutes is extremely important for our daily living. It can increase the stability of many of the main joints in our body, protect us from injuries in our lower back, hips and knees and improve our posture and alignment.

You may also like

Glute workout: build stronger glutes with muscle activation

It’s no wonder that glute exercises fill our feeds. If you’re looking for an exercise that will target your glutes with gusto, is also extremely accessible, requires little equipment and can be done at home, then look no further than Fire Hydrants.

There’s a reason this bodyweight move is loved by personal trainers. As well as working the gluteus maximus, it also targets some of the lesser-known hip abductors, including the more inaccessible gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, making it a glute workout staple.

“The fire hydrant offers a wide range of variations and presents an ideal choice for those who are looking to scale their workouts as they become more accustomed to some of the basics,” Chris Allsobrook, a personal trainer at OriGym, tells Stylist.

“It is a great exercise on its own or used as part of a warmup to activate your glutes,” adds Caj Jackson, a trainer at F45 Mill Hill. “The added bonus of the stabilisation work makes a great exercise for runners.”

As well as the glutes, it also tones the core and abdominals as well as the thighs or quadriceps. “Its effectiveness for sculpting key areas of focus, coupled with its simplicity, ensures that it’s a mainstay in many people’s fitness routines, not least those who are seeking to add definition to their glutes,” explains Allsobrook. “A fire hydrant exercise is a fundamental part of fitness that you can tweak and adjust to find what works for you, and what you enjoy including in your routine.”

How to do the fire hydrant exercise

The exercise requires coming into an all-fours position on a mat or cushioned surface to take some pressure off your hands and knees.

1. Come into an all-fours position and place your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.
2. Take a deep breath in, then keeping your core engaged and a neutral spine, lift one leg directly out to the side at a 45-degree angle. Take this initial movement slowly and perform it in a clean, smooth motion. The more you prolong the movement the more of an impact those key muscles in the exercise will have.
3. Breathe out as you elevate the leg and focus on utilising your glutes to lift your leg. Make sure you don’t tilt your hips to compensate for the elevated leg.
4. Pause at the top of the movement and then slowly lower your leg with control, breathing in as you do this. Doing this too quickly will knock you off balance.
5. Repeat for 10-20 reps on each side.

Variations for the fire hydrant exercise

To avoid injury and make sure you’re doing the exercise efficiently it’s important to get the technique right, so personal trainer Stef Williams, who performs a banded fire hydrant exercise on her app WeGlow, recommends that beginners just use their body weight to begin with and work on perfecting their technique.

For those with limited mobility or joint pain, there is also a standing variation of the exercise. “This still offers some considerable toning potential for the glutes,” explains Allsobrook. “It involves that same, gentle movement of the leg to a 45-degree angle and back again, but doesn’t require you to be on your hands and knees, making it ideal for those who have joint problems.”

For those who want to progress the movement, Williams recommends adding a resistance band above the knees or an ankle weight to increase the difficulty and intensity of the movement.

Jackson also suggests placing a dumbbell in the back of your knee or adding in a pulse or half rep into the exercise will increase the demand of the exercise. He also suggests performing it with an arm lift if you want to increase the demand on your core.

If you’re looking for an additional challenge, Allsobrook recommends adding a kick to the exercise by fully extending the leg as you lift, which has a greater impact on the core and quads. 

Training notes for the fire hydrant exercise

To get the most out of the exercise it’s crucial that your form is perfect. So try and avoid these common mistakes.

Keep your hips level

“It’s important to keep your hips level and your weight distributed evenly,” explains Williams. “Make sure to engage your core to keep your spine neutral and only go so far as your strength and mobility allow. For example, if you’re performing the movement on your left leg, don’t let that hip tilt and stack over your right hip.”

Avoid lifting your head

“Lifting the head too high will cause a curve in your spine,” says Jackson. “You are looking to keep your spine neutral so focus on looking between your fingertips.”

Don’t rush

“One of the things we see most commonly as personal trainers is people rushing through the movements, or trying to get it over with as soon as possible,” says Allsobrook. “You only do yourself a disservice by doing so, losing out on the impact a slower, more controlled movement can have. Take it slowly, making the most of each rep, and keep those movements under your control.”

Aim for a 45-degree angle

“You should aim for that 45 degree angle with your leg,” adds Allsobrook. “Not everyone can do that, and that’s perfectly fine, but it should remain your target, as you’ll get closer and closer each time you do this exercise. I’ve seen clients be overkeen with this, and take it too far, which risks a loss of balance, as well as a strain or overstretch.”

You may also like

Quad dominance: “Why do I only feel my quads but never my glutes when I squat?”

Try these tips for getting the exercise just right:

Pay attention to your core

“Brace your core,” says Jackon. Keeping your core active during the exercise “will help keep your back flat and hips stable”.

Experiment slowly

Taking time to try out a few different variations out will help you discover what’s right for your workouts and your fitness level. “You’ll get more out of the exercise, and ultimately that’ll be reflected in the results,” says Allsobrook. 

For more workouts, nutrition advice and exercise trends visit Strong Women. 

Images: Getty 

Source: Read Full Article