Shin Box External Rotation

Instructions

1. Sit on the floor in a shin box position with one leg bent in front of you and the other leg bent behind you.

2. Keep your chest lifted, your core lightly engaged, and your hands on the floor for support if needed.

3. Make sure the front leg stays in its shin box position while the back leg remains bent behind you.

4. Keeping the back leg bent, lift the back knee off the floor.

5. Let the lift come from the hip, moving into external rotation while keeping the rest of your body as still as possible.

6. Pause briefly at the top.

7. Slowly lower the back knee back down with control.

8. Repeat for the prescribed number of reps, then switch sides if needed.

Common Compensations

• Do not lean your torso excessively to help lift the back knee.

• Do not let the front leg shift out of position.

• Do not rotate your pelvis too much during the lift.

• Do not lift the back knee using momentum.

• Do not let your chest collapse forward.

• Do not force the range if you lose control of the position.

Extra Info

• You should feel this mostly in the hip muscles of the back leg, especially the rotators and glutes.

• You may also feel the core and front hip working to help stabilize the shin box position.

• The movement is often small, and that is okay.

• The goal is controlled hip rotation, not lifting the knee as high as possible.

• You should not feel sharp pain in the hip, knee, or low back.