Bodyweight Activation Exercises 

Try these awesome bodyweight activation and stability drills to wrap up your stretch sessions or use them as part of your warm ups!

Activation Drill Suggestions

*Perform reps slow and with control. Squeeze target muscle at top of each rep with minimal amount of movement elsewhere

*1-2 sets for 10-20 reps

*Perform immediately after any stretching or mobility drills and before your first main strength or workout exercise of the day

Have a mini band? Click below to see the full list of banded activation exercises!

 

Bear Hold Shoulder Taps

Prone Overhead Pulldowns

 
 


rockback Glute liftoffs

Pigeon Pose Lift Offs

 
 

Bird Dogs

*Coordinate and activate the entire backside: glutes, upper back and core muscles

*Narrow your base to make it a very challenging balance and stability drill

*Remember to keep back flat and reach for length, not height!

90/90 Trail Leg LIftoff

*Use this move to improve hip internal rotation by activating the deep rotators of the hip

*hold for 5-10s and work up to a max strength contraction

*works best after static stretching and mobility drills have been performed

 
 

90/90 Lead Leg Lift off

*Use this move to improve hip external rotation and utilize a reflex to relax the glute muscles by activating the groin muscles

*Keep spine tall and imagine pulling your knee to chest

*hold for 5-10s and gradually work up to a max strength contraction

Side-lying Clamshells

*Make sure hips and shoulders stay stacked and don’t rock backwards, using a wall helps to keep lined up

*Imagine lifting knee to sky by squeezing muscles on outside of hip

*Lift knee as high as possible and hold for one second at the top

 
 

Baby Get ups

*Keep elbow directly under shoulder and bend knees

*Lift hips off ground and lift top knee to sky up at the same time

*Should feel burn in both bottom and top hips used to strengthen glute minimus and medius

Side plank hold

*Great for activating obliques, QL and core musculature

*Keep elbow directly underneath shoulder and keep whole body tensed

*Imagine squeezing the downside hip and ribcage together

 
 

Reach, Roll, LIft

Prone I’s, Y’s, W’s

*Used to activated and strengthen posterior delts and trap muscles.*Helpful for improving/correcting posture and avoiding the forward slump we tend to have while spending time on computers!

 
 

Quadruped Hip Cirlces

*Useful for prepping hips for any lower body exercise

*Utilizes 360 degrees of motion with maximal hip movement in all planes of motion

Fire Hydrants

*A regression of the hip circle activation exercise

*Fire hydrants are focused more on hip abduction and trying to lift leg out to side in one plane rather than any rotation

 
 

Dead Bug

*One of the best warm up, coordination and core activation drills you can do!

*Brace stomach and core as firm as possible to keep low back secure to the ground

*While maintaining this brace, coordinate opposite arm and leg to reach to floor without back coming up, repeat other side

*Work on moving in coordinated fashion and avoid moving same side arm/leg at the same time

Cook Bridge

*Hug knee close to chest while other leg performs single leg bridge

*Note how high and how easily hips are able to get off ground

*Targets glute muscles to reveal weakness in glutes and/or tightness in hip flexors

 
 

Glute Bridge

*Foundational movement to warm up hips and glutes

*Squeeze glutes together firmly at top of motion and hold for brief pause

*Keep chin tucked and abs braced firmly so that you do not compromise form

Supine Hip Flexor Isometric Hold

*Hug knee as close to chest as possible while keeping opposite knee mostly straight

*Prior to letting go of knee with arms, pull knee closer to chest as best as possible with the muscles of your core and leg

*Imagine theres a tomato between your thigh and stomach that you’re trying to squish!

*Hold for 5-10s

 
Previous
Previous

Massage Gun Routines

Next
Next

Banded Activation Exercises