An activity workout you can do every day to relax tight hips and strengthen your glutes

Everyone loves a double workout: who doesn't want to double the physical benefits in half the time? The Mermaid Lift - which involves starting in a seated 90/90 position and then pushing your knees to an upright position without using your hands - is the ultimate two-in-one exercise you've probably never heard of.

While its primary purpose is to relax tight hips, this amazingly flexible movement is also considered a great glute strengthening exercise. Think of the mermaid lift as more of a triathlon, as it also works your core (more on that later). This is what we call the Exercise Drop Blast.

You can easily dive into the Mermaid Lift at any time during the day - at home, in the office or anywhere you can get down on the floor - but for best results, do them as part of a dynamic pre-workout warm-up.

 

How to Do the Mermaid Lift

✱ Sit on the floor with one knee bent 90 degrees in front of you and the other knee bent 90 degrees behind you.

✱ Brace your core and activate your hips, lifting your hips off the floor and keeping your knees in an upright position.

✱ Focus on working your core to keep your torso upright to minimize rounding of the upper back and/or arching of the lower back.

✱ Squeeze your hips in the top position and hold for two to three seconds, then slowly lower back to the starting position.

✱ Repeat 10 to 12 times, then repeat on the other side.

 

4 Mermaid Lift Benefits

Here are a few reasons to make the Mermaid Lift a part of your daily life.

1. It Loosens Tight Hips

If you sit at a desk all day, the Mermaid Lift will make your tight hips feel like heaven. Essentially a progression of hip mobility exercises such as seated hip switches and 90-90 holds, this movement "challenges the external rotation range of motion of your front leg and the internal rotation range of motion of your back leg.

Translation: Movements that require your hip and leg to rotate will feel easier if you do this movement regularly.

The increased range of motion in the hip area has a positive downstream effect on the rest of the body. Maintaining adequate hip mobility is key to reducing the risk of strain in sensitive areas such as the lower back and knees.

2. It Strengthens Your Glutes

The mermaid lift is aptly named because it lifts and strengthens your bread. This exercise activates and recruits many of the same hip and glute muscles as your favorite glute exercises such as the glute bridge and hip thrusts.

That's because your glutes and other hip muscles are needed to lift your hips from a seated position to an upright position.

From walking and running to climbing stairs and squatting, strong booty facilitates many functional movement patterns. Strong glutes also help stabilize the entire lumbopelvic region, which is where the lower back connects to the hips.

Developing strength in this area is key to reducing the risk of lower back and knee pain and problems.

3. It activates your core

During mermaid lifts, your core must work to keep your torso upright and stable. Without a solid middle, you will sway and fall.

Think of it this way, the front and back of your body work almost like a pulley system. Activating the core in the front of the body prevents the lower back on the other side of the body from flexing or arching excessively.

4. It can be used as a great dynamic warm-up

Because mermaid lifts activate major muscles - like the hips, glutes and core - they are perfect pre-workout warm-ups to boost blood flow and raise body temperature.

Having a proper warm-up routine is important for injury prevention and the ability to work with greater strength, power and distance during a workout.

Mermaid lifts allow you to move your hips throughout the range of motion so they can work efficiently for the rest of the workout.

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