Exercise of the Week: Crab Hip Lifts

by Carrie Lane, Director of Sport Performance 

Remember those crab walk races you had when you were kids?  Our Crab Position Hip Lift exercise is bringing that back-- but without the awkward racing you had to do.  As we get older, we often neglect the backside, but these muscles are crucial for movement, posture, and muscular balance.   This exercise is another good one to add to your general strength (bodyweight) circuits.
Focus on lifting and lowering the hips and chest at the same rate.  Activate your glutes and muscles around your shoulders to achieve this hip/chest lift, while keeping the low back muscles relaxed.  Here we show the more challenging, single leg version.  Click below the video to see a simpler modification. 

If you can't quite achieve proper hip and chest height using just one leg, drop the second leg down and use both glutes to drive upwards.  

The Crab position hip lifts are an efficient exercise because they hit your entire backside in just one exercise.  

Pro tip: Concentrate on keeping the hamstrings and low back "quiet."  Meaning, don't use those muscles to lift the hips.  Hone in on the glutes and the shoulder blades to do the lifting.
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Looking for a strength training plan this winter that will target a good spring performance?  Check out the World Class Strength, Speed, and Mobility Standard Training Plan