Exercise – Side Monkey
The Side Monkey is a great lateral quadrupedal movement used to develop pressing strength and/or hip mobility. Keep your hands flat as you extend your arms straight. Lean forward over the hands before slightly lifting your hips and jumping with your feet to the side.
If you’d like a challenge, try pressing more through the arms to lift the hips and feet in the air longer when you shift/jump. You can also try deepening your squat or moving further laterally to build greater mobility. This exercise can be done practically anywhere in open space. Don’t forget to practice both directions – going left and right!
There are many more progressions to make the side monkey even more challenging. Try one of the following:
- Going for distance
- Using only one arm
- Keeping feet together
- Keeping the hips and legs in a piked position