Follow along to these exercises to get your hips and entire lower body warmed up!

HOW: Get set up in a side plank position with your forearm on the ground, elbow underneath your shoulder, and your legs together with your knees bent. Loop a band around your legs just above the knees. Push into the ground with your bottom knee, causing your hips to lift off of the ground. As your hips come up, push the band out with your top knee performing a clam. Perform each rep all in one, fluid motion. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your glute and hip muscles working the most. You should also feel your core and shoulder muscles working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Make sure you lift your hip off of the ground and push the band up all in one motion.

HOW: Stand next to a wall and place your hand up against the wall just below shoulder height. Begin the exercise by balancing on the leg that is closest to the wall. Slowly lower yourself on the leg you’re standing on by letting your hip and knee bend and reaching your elevated foot back and away from the wall, then explode up driving the elevated knee towards the ceiling. Lean into the wall for the entirety of this exercise.

 

FEEL: You will feel the calves, quadriceps, and glutes on the leg you are balancing on working the whole time.

 

COMPENSATION: On the leg you’re standing on, you should be in triple extension at the top of the movement – heel lifted off the ground, knee straight, hip in extension. Do not compensate away from this form

HOW: Pick up one foot and balance on the leg that is in contact with the ground. Hinge forward through your hips while holding onto a kettlebell. Once the balance is maintained in this position, slowly shift the kettlebell from one hand to the other and repeat in this position. It is ok for your knee to remain slightly bent.

 

FEEL:  You should feel like your balance is being challenged. You will also feel your foot muscles, hamstrings, and low back being challenged here.

 

COMPENSATION:  Try not to losing your posture and excessively leaning forward/backward or side to side. If you lose your balance it is ok, take a step and get back to starting position. Do not allow yourself to fall or take the risk of injuring yourself.

HOW: Anchor a band roughly knee height, and place the band around the back of the desired lower leg. Elevate one leg and stay balanced on the leg with the band. You will then perform a single leg squat while leaning into the band and keeping your trunk straight.

 

FEEL: You will feel the muscles on the front of your thigh working with this exercise.

 

COMPENSATION: Avoid leaning your trunk forward. The more you lean into the band the easier it will be to keep your trunk upright.

HOW: Get set-up balancing on one foot on an elevated surface. Begin the exercise by reaching forward with the foot that is in the air and letting your hip and knee bend with your knee moving forward over your foot. Just tap the ground if you can, then return to starting position, then reach backwards with the same foot in the air by letting your hip bend and torso lean forward. Just tap the ground if you can, return to starting position and repeat.

 

FEEL: On the working leg, you will feel your quads and calfs working when you reach forward vs. your glutes more when you reach backwards. However, your entire leg will be getting a workout.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not put all of your weight down on the ground with the leg you’re reaching with, just think of tapping an eggshell. Focus on good torso and knee position the entire time, do not let your knee cave in/out, keep your pelvis level to the ground, maintain good balance.

HOW: Get set up in a standing position with your hands on a wall in front of you for support. Begin the exercise by bouncing from one foot to the other on the balls of your feet and repeating as if you were jump roping/hopping in place.

 

FEEL: You should focus on maintaining a rigid/stiff foot/ankle as well as your legs, think of this exercise like you’re bouncing on a pogo stick. You want to keep your legs stiff so that you ‘bounce’ like you’re bouncing on a stiff spring.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not let your knees excessively bend or your heels touch the ground, stay stiff and bounce on the balls of your feet.

HOW:  Start in a half-kneeling position. The goal of this exercise is to work the kneeling leg. Keep your toes pointing into the ground. Keeping as much weight as you can on your back leg, drive your toes into the ground and try and lift your back knee about a ½ inch off the ground. Hold for the prescribed amount of time.

 

FEEL:  You should feel the quadriceps muscle of your down knee holding your body up.

 

COMPENSATION:  Do not lean forward and shift the weight to your front leg. Try to use your back leg as much as possible to achieve the lift-off.

HOW: Start in the bear crawl position on your hands and feet, with your knees about a half inch off the ground. In this position, your shoulders should be engaged and driving into the ground. Slowly crawl forward by moving on hand and the opposite leg at the same time, then switch sides. After a few steps forward, then push backwards.

 

FEEL: You should feel your core, hips, and shoulders working.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not let your hips/back move. Pretend you have a cup of water balancing on your low back. Don’t let it spill!