Sandbag Lunge · Hip Lockout at Extension

Why this matters

The HYROX standard requires both the hips and the knees to fully extend between steps. This measurement covers the hip half — the knee lockout covers the rest. An athlete can lock the knees while keeping the hips slightly flexed (staying in a low, forward-leaning posture to rush the next step); that incomplete hip extension is still a no-rep.

Finishing the hip means a glute squeeze at the top of every step — which also gives the posterior chain a brief reset before the next rep.

What good looks like

• Hip reaching ~180° (torso stacked over the hips) at the top.
• A visible glute squeeze finishing each step.
• Standing genuinely tall, not just straightening the knees.

Common faults

Hips Flexed (< 160°)

The hips stay flexed to keep the body low and move faster. A no-rep, even if the knees locked.

Causes: rushing, forward-leaning fatigue posture, weak glute drive.

Effect: no-rep penalty, no posterior-chain reset.

Partial (160–172°)

Nearly extended — finish the hip to secure the rep.

Coaching cues

• "Squeeze the glute, stand tall" — drives full hip extension.
• "Hips through, not just knees" — distinguishes this from a knees-only lockout.

How to draw

1. Pause at the standing-tall apex (same frame as the Knee Lockout).
2. First line: acromion → greater trochanter (trunk).
3. Second line: greater trochanter → lateral femoral condyle (thigh).
4. Interior angle at the hip is the reading.

Don't confuse a forward trunk lean with incomplete hip extension — measure the hip joint itself, not the trunk's angle to the floor.

Related measurements

• Knee Lockout at Extension — the other half of the top-of-step standard.
• Trunk Rise (Stripper Lunge) — whether the brace held on the way up to this position.