Foundations of Lower Body Strength & Mobility
Lower Body Strength & Mobility
Strength: the capacity to exert force or to overcome resistance.
Mobility: the ability to move or be moved freely and easily.
Welcome to Foundations of Lower Body Strength & Mobility. In this course you’ll find a quality guide to training for better function of your body, specifically the legs and the hips. The lower body is the horse you ride on your whole life, and if you don’t take care of it, it will slowly weaken and die. For those of us in athletic competition (yes I consider pistol shooting athletic) superior conditioning of the lower body is required for superior performance, beyond what’s needed simply to keep your legs and hips working.
Strength is easy enough to understand, it can simply be put in terms of how much force some thing like a muscle can produce. Mobility on the other hand is a little more complex. As the above definition states, it is the ability to move easily or well. This encompasses many aspects of physical fitness including but not limited to flexibility, strength, and agility. This course will be centered around some fundamental methods of training strength and mobility, specifically in the lower body since that is most practical for competitive shooting, as well as most physically demanding sports.
The squat is likely the most essential and foundational movement for improving and maintaining the function of the lower body, as well as total body function.
How to do a good squat:
- Start by pushing your hips back, like you’re sitting into a chair
- Bend your knees, keeping them in line with your toes
- Lower your body until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor (or as low as your mobility allows).
- Heels should stay flat on the ground
- Knees should not cave inward—keep them tracking over your toes
5. Rise Back Up
- Push through your heels to stand back up
- Extend your legs and hips using both the leg and glute muscles intentionally
- Return to the starting position
How to Do a Bodyweight Lunge
1. Start in a Standing Position
- Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart
- Hands can be on your hips or held in front of you for balance
- Engage your core and keep your chest lifted
2. Step Forward
- Take a big step forward with your right foot
- Keep your torso upright and your hips square
3. Lower Your Body
- Bend both knees to about 90 degrees
- Your back knee should hover just above the ground
- Your front knee should be directly above your ankle (not pushed forward past your toes)
4. Maintain Balance and Posture
- Keep your weight evenly distributed between both legs
- Don’t lean forward—your upper body should remain straight and tall
5. Push Back to Starting Position
- Press through the heel of your front foot to return to the starting position
- Bring your right foot back in line with your left
How to Do a Hip Hinge
1. Stand Tall
- Feet hip-width apart
- Knees slightly bent (soft, not locked)
- Arms relaxed by your sides
2. Brace Your Core
- Engage your abdominal muscles
- Keep your chest lifted and spine in a neutral (straight) position
3. Initiate the Movement from the Hips
- Begin the movement by pushing your hips straight back
- Imagine trying to close a car door with your butt
- Your torso will naturally tip forward as your hips move back
4. Keep a Neutral Spine
- Do not round your back—maintain a flat back throughout the movement
- Head and neck should follow the line of your spine (look at the ground a few feet in front of you)
5. Hinge to Your Range of Motion
- Continue hinging until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings or your torso is about parallel to the ground (depending on mobility)
- Your knees should remain bent only slightly
6. Return to Standing
- Drive your hips forward, not up
- Squeeze your glutes as you return to a standing position
- Avoid leaning back at the top—stand tall
When adding resistance, the technique of these three movements will remain the same. What changes is the importance of good form. Any time you’re doing extra weight bearing the risk of injury goes up. Maintaining the form previously discussed is key, as well as adding additional engagement of the core muscles.
Core engagement during resistance training is essential for maintaining proper form, enhancing stability, and preventing injury. Activating the core muscles—such as the abdominals, obliques, and lower back—creates a strong foundation that supports the spine and allows for more efficient force transfer during exercises. Whether performing squats, deadlifts, or kettlebell swings, keeping the core engaged helps stabilize the torso, improves balance, and maximizes power output. Consistent core engagement also promotes better posture and can lead to improved overall performance in both strength training and daily activities.
The kettlebell swing is a great functional training exercise that builds strength, power, and endurance while improving movement patterns used in everyday life. By engaging the hips, core, and posterior chain, the swing trains explosive hip extension and benefits full-body performance. It also promotes cardiovascular conditioning, making it a hybrid strength and cardio workout. In functional training, the kettlebell swing is king in developing coordination, posture, and the ability to hinge and extend the hips, helping you move better in any scenario, shooting or non.
The kettlebell swing is also a gateway exercise to an incredible library of functional training movements built around, not just strength, but speed, power, coordination, and mobility. Master the kettlebell swing to open the door to the advanced realm of functional training.
When it comes to programming what volume, intensity, resistance, and frequency you’ll do, this will fall on you. Everything will depend on your starting point. Step one ids always to master the movements and become confident performing them correctly. Second is to dial all of the above factors to make it appropriately challenging for you. A good general rule is if it feels easy you can make it harder, and if it’s so challenging that the form/quality begins to fail, make it easier.
If you have no idea where to start, start with three sets of ten reps of each movement, 2-3 times per week.