How To Hip Hinge To Maximize Glute Activation (& reduce low back involvement), by Conor Harris on YouTube. 3 min.
- Video length
- 3 min
- Time to do it
- 10 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes forward, knees soft. Stack your ribs over your pelvis and let your arms hang.
Hold a dowel against your back so it touches your head, upper back and tailbone. Keep all three contact points as you move.
Stand about one hand-width from a wall, facing away, so your hips can tap it behind you.
Push your hips straight back toward the wall, not down. Think of closing a car door with your butt.
Let your knees bend slightly and keep your shins close to vertical. Your weight stays over the middle of your foot.
Lower until your torso is about 45 degrees or you feel a stretch in the hamstrings. Stop before your low back rounds.
Stand up by squeezing your glutes and driving your hips forward. Do not pull with your low back.
Do 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 slow reps, pausing one second at the bottom of each.
Tips and common mistakes
If the dowel lifts off your low back, you have gone too low, so shorten the range.
Feeling it in your hamstrings is normal. Sharp low back pain means stop and reset your position.
Practise the hip tap on a wall first, then repeat the same motion without it.
Keep the movement slow. Speed hides the moment your back starts to round.
Questions
How far should I bend over?
Only as far as you can go while keeping a flat back and the dowel touching your tailbone. For most people that is around 45 degrees, not all the way to the floor.
Why do I feel this in my low back instead of my glutes?
You are probably bending through your spine rather than your hips. Shorten the range, push the hips further back and finish each rep with a firm glute squeeze.
How often should I practise?
Three or four short sessions a week works well. Once the wall tap feels easy, add a light dumbbell or kettlebell to load the pattern.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
