Fire Hydrant
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds drills like this into your personalized off-ice program, week by week. Your first week is free.
How to Do It
Start on all fours — hands under shoulders, knees under hips. Spine neutral. Keeping the knee bent at 90°, lift the right leg OUT to the side — like a dog at a fire hydrant. Lift until the thigh is parallel to the floor. Do NOT rotate the pelvis. Hold at the top 2 seconds — squeeze the glute. Lower slowly (2-3 seconds). Complete all reps before switching sides. Add a mini-band above the knees for significantly more challenge.
Why It Works
The fire hydrant activates the gluteus medius and minimus through hip abduction and external rotation — the exact combination needed to stabilize the pelvis during single-leg skating strides. Weak hip abductors are directly linked to IT band syndrome, knee pain, and groin injuries in skaters. This exercise is a staple in every NHL prehab program for a reason.
Hockey Transfer
Hip abductor strength that stabilizes the knee during skating push-off. Useful pre-skate or pre-lift. Five minutes of glute activation buys you 90 minutes of clean mechanics.
Coaching Cues
- "All fours"
- "Lift knee out to side keeping 90° bend"
- "Squeeze glute at top"
Common Mistakes
Rotating the hip and pelvis to get more height — the pelvis must stay square. No pause at the top — the hold is where the glute fires hardest. Going through the motion without feeling the glute — if you don't feel it, slow down and focus. Only doing bodyweight — a mini-band makes this dramatically more effective.
Progression / Regression
Fire hydrant with leg extension at the top — adds hip abductor and hip flexor endurance.
Side-lying hip abduction — same muscles without the all-fours balance component.
Primary Muscles
Energy System
N/A (mobility/recovery)
Put it to work
on the ice.
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds exercises like this into a personalized off-ice program — created by a sport scientist and former national-team coach. Your first week is free.
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