My 4 Favourite Locomotive Movements For Building Compression Strength
PSA: Leg lifts are not the only way to build compression strength!
I actually spent a long time thinking that seated leg lifts were the only effective way to improve my compression strength. While they certainly have their place and are beneficial when trained correctly, they’re not the be all and end all for building compression strength.
There are so many ways to get creative with this movement. And how you train compression strength is dependant on your goals. If you’re an aerialist and want compression for inverts, then hanging compression drills will be super important as part of your training. If you’re a hand balancer trying to achieve a press handstand, focusing on floor compression drills and compression in a pancake needs to be prioritised.
Whether you have funky training goals that require compression strength or not, it’s still valuable to train as it helps with our ability to walk, take strides, and stay mobile in our hips as we age. So there are a lot of benefits both short term and long term.
During my exploration of compression strength over the years, I took a look at how I could utilise locomotion for training and improving it. I love locomotion for building strength, mobility and control, and especially love that different locomotive movements can be adjusted to focus on specific elements or to help with bigger skills. For example, the bear walk can be trained in a way that helps our overhead strength and mobility for handstands.
So why is it sometimes more useful to train your compression strength as part of a whole body movement vs in isolation? The benefit to training it as part of a whole body movement is that you learn how to utilise that strength alongside moving the rest of your body, making it more useful for those bigger skills that you’re working towards. Plus it's more playful and gives your brain a rest from isolated movement!
I want to share my 4 favourite locomotive movements that specifically target compression strength. Give them a try and see how they help!
⭐ Leg Thread Bear With Leg Lift
Start in your A-frame
Step opposite hand and foot to travel forwards
Drop your hips and turn to face the foot that has just stepped forwards
Thread the straight leg underneath the bent leg and straighten it out in front of you
Lift the straight leg as close to your body as you can
Thread it back underneath the bent leg and then turn your hips to face the floor as you lift back up into your A-frame
⭐ Frogger Toe Pull
Start in your squat
Reach your hands forwards on the floor
Lean your weight into your arms and push hard into the ground, coming into your floating table top
Slide your feet along the floor without lifting them until they reach your hands
Make sure you focus on squeezing your hip flexors to engage compression
Relax back into your squat
⭐ Compression Bear
Start in your A-frame
Step opposite hand and foot to travel forwards
Each time you step your leg forwards, pull your knee into your body to compress at the hip
Keeping that compression try to straighten the leg and place the foot on the floor close to your hands
Bend the leg again and step the foot back releasing the compression engagement
⭐ Sumo Frogger Toe Pull
Start in your sumo squat
Reach your hands forwards on the floor
Lean your weight into your arms and push hard into the ground, coming into your floating table top
Slide your feet along the floor until they reach your hands
Make sure you focus on squeezing your hip flexors to engage compression
Make sure to keep your squat wide throughout the sliding of the feet
Relax back into your sumo squat
Remember with all of these movements, go at a pace that suits you! It can take time to build up strength and body control, so it’s fine to just train them within where you are right now. Enjoy the fun challenge of these unusual movements!
