Intermediate

Walking Figure-4

Use this early in a lower-body warm-up to prime the glutes, deep hip rotators, and single-leg balance before squats, lunges, or running. Cradling the shin into a figure-4 and hinging slightly loads the standing glute while stretching the crossed leg. It suits any trainee who feels tight through the hips or sits for long stretches of the day.

Equipment
Body Weight
Body part
Glutes, Hamstring
Type
Functional, Stretching
Muscles worked
Target
Gluteus Maximus, Gluteus Medius
Secondary
Sartorius, Biceps Femoris
Tertiary
Erector Spinae, Rectus Femoris

How to do it

  1. 1

    Stand tall with feet hip-width and a slight bend in both knees.

  2. 2

    Lift one leg and cross that ankle over the opposite thigh just above the knee to form a figure-4.

  3. 3

    Hold the shin with both hands and sit the hips back into a shallow hinge until you feel a stretch in the crossed glute.

  4. 4

    Stand back up, step forward, and release the leg to the ground.

  5. 5

    Repeat on the other side and continue alternating as you travel a set distance.

  6. 6

    Keep breathing steadily and avoid holding your breath during each hinge.

Tips

  • Push the crossed knee gently open rather than pulling the shin toward you.
  • Keep the standing knee tracking over the mid-foot, not caving inward.
  • Stay tall through the spine and hinge from the hips instead of rounding the low back.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • The hips drop straight down into a shallow squat rather than traveling back into a hinge, so the standing quad does the work and the crossed glute feels nothing.
  • Each rep gets about a second at the bottom because you are traveling, when two or three seconds in the hinge is what gives the hip time to let go.
  • The step forward happens while you are still balanced on one leg, so the foot lands wherever it can and the next rep starts from a scramble; stand tall first, then step.
  • Both hands leave the shin to help with balance, and the crossed leg drops away from the hip as soon as they do; if you need the arms, travel alongside a wall instead.
  • Covering ground becomes the aim and the hinge turns into a bob, so the hips never get behind the heel; travel less distance and sit back further on each rep.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the walking figure-4 should you do when you are new to the exercise?
Five or six per leg across ten to fifteen yards, once through, as an early piece of a lower-body warm-up. Hold each hinge for two slow seconds rather than touching and moving on. If balance is the limiting factor, do the first pass alongside a wall and the second without it. There is little point adding sets: once the hips feel loose after one pass, move on to the next drill rather than repeating this one.
How do you make the walking figure-4 easier or harder?
Easier: keep a hand on a wall or rack, hinge only a few inches, and do it standing in place instead of traveling. Harder: sit the hips back toward a single-leg squat depth, pause three seconds in the hinge, or release the shin and hold the figure-4 with the hands at the chest so the hip has to hold the leg up by itself. Stop short of anything that pinches in the front of the crossed hip.
What is the walking figure-4 good for, and when is it the wrong drill?
It wakes up the glutes and deep hip rotators while asking the standing leg for balance, which makes it an efficient primer before squats, lunges, or running, and it is dynamic enough that it does not leave you feeling loose. It is the wrong drill if the crossed knee objects to the position, since that joint sits in a twist, and a poor choice when you want a real glute stretch with no balance demand; the supine figure-four holds longer and lets the back relax. Pain running down the leg is a reason to get assessed, not to stretch harder.

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