Side-Lying Hip Abduction
Lying on your side, you lift the straight top leg toward the ceiling to train the gluteus medius and minimus, the muscles that keep the pelvis level on one leg. It needs only a mat. Choose it for home glute work, rehab or a warm-up before squats.
Updated
Primary muscles: Abductors, Glutes. Supporting muscles: Core. Equipment: Bodyweight.
Muscles worked
Equipment
How to do it
- Lie on your side with the head resting on the lower arm and the top hand on the floor in front of you.
- Stack the hips and shoulders, bend the bottom knee slightly and keep the top leg straight.
- Turn the top toes forward and keep the leg in line with the body or slightly behind it.
- Lift the top leg toward the ceiling for a count of 2, stopping before the pelvis tilts, usually at 30 to 45 degrees.
- Pause for one count at the top.
- Lower the leg for a count of 3 without resting it on the bottom one, and finish all reps before switching sides.
Watch for
- Pelvis rolling back so the lift turns into a hip flexor raise.
- Toes turning up toward the ceiling.
- Leg drifting forward of the body, or the hip hiking toward the ribs.
Breathing
Exhale as you lift, inhale as you lower.
Tip
Once 20 slow reps feel easy, add an ankle weight and log it as the weight.
Track this exercise in the SmartReps app
Log sets, reps and weight, and follow your progress with the free workout tracker for iOS and Android. AI coaching is available with SmartReps Pro.
Log this exercise in SmartReps
