Duck Walk

The Duck Walk is a dynamic bodyweight mobility exercise that challenges your stability by having you walk while maintaining a deep squat position. It targets the quadriceps, glutes, and hip flexors while significantly improving ankle and hip flexibility.

Exercise movement reviewed by:Marie Braga, PT, DPT, CSCS
How Iridium Helps

The app tracks your recovery metrics and previous knee health feedback to ensure this high-demand mobility drill is safe for you today. If your HRV is low or you've reported recent knee agitation, the AI will automatically regress this to a static hold or lateral walk to preserve your joints. By analyzing your duration and RPE trends, it optimizes the time under tension to build endurance without compromising form.

Form Cues

Do
  • Keep your chest lifted and spine tall
  • Stay as low as possible with hips below knees
  • Maintain weight evenly distributed through your feet
  • Take small, controlled steps forward
  • Engage your core to prevent leaning forward
Don't
  • Don't let your hips rise up between steps
  • Don't allow your knees to collapse inward
  • Don't round your upper back or slouch
  • Don't rush the steps or bounce excessively
  • Don't lift your heels excessively high if mobility allows flatness

Common Mistakes

  • Rising out of the squat
  • Rounding the thoracic spine
  • Knee valgus (caving inward)
  • Leaning too far forward
  • Taking steps that are too large

Muscles Worked

This exercise primarily torches the quadriceps and glutes by maintaining constant tension in a deep squat position without a rest phase. It also heavily recruits the hip flexors to lift the legs for each step, while the core stabilizers work overtime to keep your torso upright against gravity.

Primary

QuadricepsGlutesHip Flexors

Secondary

General Core

Get Personalized Coaching for Duck Walk

Don't guess your way through weights or workouts. Download Iridium for automatic, AI-powered coaching that adapts to your recovery and goals.

Coming SoonLearn More