How to Do the Fire Hydrant

The fire hydrant lifts your knee out to the side on hands and knees, working the outer hip muscles that stabilize your pelvis. It is a low-impact exercise that suits beginners, warm-ups and glute activation.

Abductors BodyweightBeginner

Log every set of your Fire Hydrant in Superlift

Muscles worked

Primary

Abductors

Secondary

Glutes

How to do the Fire Hydrant

1
Start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
2
Brace your core and keep your back flat.
3
Keep your knee bent at 90 degrees and lift one leg out to the side.
4
Raise until your thigh is about parallel to the floor.
5
Pause briefly at the top.
6
Lower to the start slowly.
7
Finish all reps, then switch legs.

Form cues to remember

Core braced, hips level
Lift your knee, not your hip
Pause at the top
Slow lowering

Common mistakes

Tilting or rotating the torso

Keep your hips and shoulders level.

Shifting your weight

Stay centered over your supporting knee.

Going too fast

Take two seconds up and two down.

Lifting too high

Stop at about thigh-parallel to avoid twisting the back.

Sets and reps

Muscle growth	3 sets of 12–20 reps per leg, 45–60 sec rest
Endurance	2–3 sets of 20–30 reps per leg, 30–45 sec rest

Keep the movement small and controlled to protect your lower back. Pad your knees if the floor is hard.

Superlift for iPhone

Track your Fire Hydrant and watch it go up

Superlift shows what you lifted last time, times your rest, and charts your strength week by week, so you always know what to beat. Every exercise in this library is built in, with the same demos and tutorials.