Side Lying Hip Abduction

Also known as: Side-Lying Leg Raise, Side-Lying Leg Lift, Lying Hip Abduction

StrengthMobilityRehabilitation

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Body Part: Gluteal

Description

Lie on your side, propped up on your bottom arm, and raise your straight top leg to about 45 degrees to strengthen the side of your hip. The work lands on the gluteus medius, the muscle on the upper outer buttock that holds your pelvis level when you stand on one leg. You need no equipment, so it suits beginners, home sessions and warm-ups before leg day. Compared with a clamshell, the straight leg is a longer lever and loads the hip harder; when you want heavy, measurable load, a cable or the abduction machine does that better.

How to Perform

Lie on your side on the floor or a mat. Bend your bottom knee to about 90 degrees, shin pointing back, as your base.
Prop your upper body up on your straight bottom arm, hand flat a little ahead of the shoulder. Head up, eyes forward.
Put your top hand flat on the floor in front of your stomach. Pressing it down helps keep your pelvis from rolling back.
Straighten your top leg in line with your torso and stack your top hip over the bottom one, toes pointing forward, not up.
Lead with your heel and lift for about 2 seconds, to roughly 40-45 degrees or until your pelvis starts to roll back.
Pause briefly with the knee straight, then take about 2 seconds to lower along the same arc until the leg touches the bottom one.
Go into the next rep without bouncing. After the last one, turn over and do the same number on the other side.

What Muscles Work

Primary Muscle:

Tips

Do 2-4 sets of 12-20 reps per side, stopping 1-3 reps short of failure. Add reps first: once both sides get 20 clean reps in all sets, put on a mini band or a 0.5-1 kg ankle weight and drop back to 12. A 2-3 second hold at the top is a step in between.
A burn should build just below the hip bone on the side of the top leg. If it's mostly the front of the hip, your leg has drifted forward or your foot has turned up; if it's your waist or lower back, you're hitching the hip or rolling back.
Wrist or shoulder of the support arm complaining? Prop on your forearm with the elbow under the shoulder, or lie all the way down with your head on the bottom arm. Bending the top knee shortens the lever if the straight leg is still too hard.
Substitutes: Cable Hip Abduction and Standing Hip Abduction train the same muscle standing up, Seated Hip Abduction is the machine to load it heavily, and Side Plank Hip Abduction is the harder no-equipment step once banded sets feel easy.

Common Mistakes

Letting the leg drift forward in front of your body, so the front of the hip does the lifting. Keep it in line with your torso or a touch behind, as if sliding your heel along a wall behind you.
Turning the toes and kneecap up toward the ceiling. Keep them facing forward and let the heel lead.
Rolling the pelvis back to get the leg higher. Keep the top hip stacked over the bottom one, press your top hand into the floor and stop at about 45 degrees.
Hitching the hip up toward your ribs. Keep the top side of your waist long and accept a smaller lift.
Swinging the leg up and letting it drop. Count about 2 seconds up and 2 down, and set the leg on the bottom one quietly.