How to do Fire hydrants to target your glutes [Plus Video]
by CHLOE ALEXANDER on
January 3, 2021
Everything you need to know about fire hydrants
Fire hydrants are an important exercise to know if you’re looking to build your glutes.
As you can imagine, it is called the fire hydrant because it looks as though you are a dog urinating on the classic fire hydrant! It allows you to work out on all fours and really target plenty of muscle groups at the same time.
They work your glutes (of course), hips and core all together.
Fire hydrants are a very popular workout as they really do isolate the glute muscles – you’ll definitely feel the burn!
HOW TO PERFORM FIRE HYDRANTS EXERCISE
Step 1: To begin, get into the quadruped position. Get onto the floor with your hips stacked over the knees and your wrists under your shoulders. Keep your back straight all the way from head to tail and try to keep your legs bent at 90 degrees – no more or less ideally.
Step 2: Engage your core by drawing your belly button in towards your spine. (Imagine tensing your stomach trying to pull it back into your spine). As you do this, lift your leg out to the side, stop once you reach hip height. This leg is called your working leg and this movement is called abduction.
Step 3: Return your working leg back to its original position. You have now completed one rep. Repeat this exercise with 15 repetitions on each leg, 3 times for best results.
There are different variations of the hydrant exercise which allow you to use the workout for more tailored or harder training.
Forearm Fire Hydrants: instead of using your wrists in the quadruped position, use your forearms. This is handy for beginners of the exercise because it allows more stability and control when working your legs.
Bear Crawl Fire Hydrants: lift your knees above the ground slightly and perform your usual fire hydrant. Hovering your knees forces your body to work harder to maintain balance, while attempting to stabilize your core and glute muscles.
Weighted Fire Hydrant: there are two options for a weighted fire hydrant. Option one, use a resistance band. Place this just above the knees or higher as you do the exercise. Option two, squeeze a dumbbell weight in the crease of the leg you’re working. This challenges both your stability and your strength as you perform the fire hydrant.
THE ADVANTAGES OF FIRE HYDRANTS
Apart from the advantage already covered that fire hydrants work a variety of muscles, here are a few more:
Fire hydrants mimic a crawl, this activates your core stabilizers and strengthens your base. Having a strong core helps prevent lower back ache, improves posture and makes you more flexible.
They work your glutes. Hydrants target your gluteus maximus, medius and your tensor fascia latae. Working these muscles allows your butt to be sculpted from all angles.
You can achieve better hip mobility and flexibility through the abductions you perform. This is a great advantage as it will help with mobility as you age and strengthen your hip area.
You can use fire hydrants as a main exercise or even as a warm up. Because it works on loosening up such a variety of muscles, hydrants can be used as a quick warm up to prepare for further movement (it can also be used as a recovery exercise in between strength training).
FAQs
Will fire hydrants get rid of my hip-dips?
Hip-dips are completely natural and you will never be able to eradicate them completely. But fire hydrants do help to minimise their effects as you are working your hip muscles as well as your butt muscles.
Do fire hydrants give you a bigger bum?
Yes. Fire hydrants can grow your glutes over time (in combination with other exercises and the appropriate diet), but more importantly they give your bum a nice shape. This is because they are working a multitude of your gluteus muscles, targeting all areas!
Are fire hydrants better than squats?
Fire hydrants are better in a sense of the amount of muscles they target and the ease of keeping your formation correct. Keep in mind certain exercises may always work better for some compared to others depending on their body type.
Hopefully you have learnt today the best practice for performing fire hydrants and understand why they are so beneficial.
If you have found your own, different advantages to fire hydrants please let us know in the comments!
I’m Chloe – a body confidence writer here at House of Peach! I help women to feel fabulous in the body they’re in and feel amazing in gym wear – regardless of their body shape and type. Unleash Your Peach.
Everything you need to know about fire hydrants
Fire hydrants are an important exercise to know if you’re looking to build your glutes.
As you can imagine, it is called the fire hydrant because it looks as though you are a dog urinating on the classic fire hydrant! It allows you to work out on all fours and really target plenty of muscle groups at the same time.
They work your glutes (of course), hips and core all together.
Fire hydrants are a very popular workout as they really do isolate the glute muscles – you’ll definitely feel the burn!
HOW TO PERFORM FIRE HYDRANTS EXERCISE
Step 1: To begin, get into the quadruped position. Get onto the floor with your hips stacked over the knees and your wrists under your shoulders. Keep your back straight all the way from head to tail and try to keep your legs bent at 90 degrees – no more or less ideally.
Step 2: Engage your core by drawing your belly button in towards your spine. (Imagine tensing your stomach trying to pull it back into your spine). As you do this, lift your leg out to the side, stop once you reach hip height. This leg is called your working leg and this movement is called abduction.
Step 3: Return your working leg back to its original position. You have now completed one rep. Repeat this exercise with 15 repetitions on each leg, 3 times for best results.
VARIATIONS OF THE FIRE HYDRANT
There are different variations of the hydrant exercise which allow you to use the workout for more tailored or harder training.
Forearm Fire Hydrants: instead of using your wrists in the quadruped position, use your forearms. This is handy for beginners of the exercise because it allows more stability and control when working your legs.
Bear Crawl Fire Hydrants: lift your knees above the ground slightly and perform your usual fire hydrant. Hovering your knees forces your body to work harder to maintain balance, while attempting to stabilize your core and glute muscles.
Weighted Fire Hydrant: there are two options for a weighted fire hydrant. Option one, use a resistance band. Place this just above the knees or higher as you do the exercise. Option two, squeeze a dumbbell weight in the crease of the leg you’re working. This challenges both your stability and your strength as you perform the fire hydrant.
THE ADVANTAGES OF FIRE HYDRANTS
Apart from the advantage already covered that fire hydrants work a variety of muscles, here are a few more:
FAQs
Will fire hydrants get rid of my hip-dips?
Do fire hydrants give you a bigger bum?
Are fire hydrants better than squats?
Hopefully you have learnt today the best practice for performing fire hydrants and understand why they are so beneficial.
If you have found your own, different advantages to fire hydrants please let us know in the comments!
Don’t forget your House Of Peach ® gear or your next workout! Check out our scrunch bum shorts, camo gym leggings, leopard print gym leggings or new gym jumpsuits!