Run it daily. If time is short, Spanish squat and
hip airplanes are doing the most direct work on your
goals.
5 sets × 10 sec per side
Place one foot flat on a bench or chair. Drive your knee forward
over your toes while keeping the heel planted.
Track the knee over the outside of the foot — don't
let it cave inward. Feel it deep in the lower calf. If it's mild,
hold a 30–40 lb weight on top of the knee or pull your chest into
your thigh.
2 sets × 8 circles each direction per side
On all fours, lift one knee slightly off the ground and draw slow,
controlled circles — big as you can make them without losing trunk
position. Wakes up the hip capsule and preps the knee.
Especially useful for the popliteus — rotation
without load.
3 sets × 20 seconds
Hold a light weight at chest height, feet shoulder-width. Squat as
deep as possible while keeping the
entire foot planted — no floating toes. At depth,
push your knees out with your elbows. If ankles aren't letting you
sit upright, elevate heels on plates.
2 rounds × 3 reps each side
From a low lunge, plant the hand opposite your front leg.
Back leg straight, squeeze that glute, push the
front knee out. Drop your inside elbow toward the floor. Then rotate
the other way, reaching your arm toward the ceiling for the thoracic
piece. Back leg stays straight the whole time.
1 round per side · 3 pulls × 3 breaths each
Half-kneeling lunge, one hand by your shoulder. Use the other hand
to pull your torso into rotation. Hit end range,
3 deep breaths, pull further, 3 more breaths, one
last pull and hold. The breathing is the point — it's what buys the
new range.
2 sets × 6 rotations per side
Standing on one leg, hinge forward with the back leg extended
straight behind you (T-position). Rotate the pelvis — open the hip
toward the ceiling, then close it toward the floor.
Slow and controlled. Demands the exact stability
and rotational control your glute med needs to own.
3 sets × 45 second hold @ 60°
Loop a heavy band around a rack at knee height, step in so it sits
across the front of your shins. Walk back into tension, feet
shoulder-width. Sit straight down to roughly 60° of knee bend —
the band pulls your shins back so your knees stay
vertical, loading quads and glute med while sparing the posterior knee.
Chest tall.
10 reps × 3 sec hold
Stand a foot from a wall, elbows up in a W. Slide arms up into a
full Y overhead, lock elbows, then
peel your hands off the wall without arching your low
back. Short hold at the top. Too easy? Do it face-down on the floor —
gravity changes everything.