Side Lying Hip Abduction

This exercise is side lying abduction and its aim is to strengthen the muscles on the outside of your hip, specifically the gluteus medius and minimus.

Start by laying on your side with the hip you are intending to work at the top. The first important step is to make sure your pelvis is at 90 degrees to the floor, pointing directly upwards. Have your toes pointing forwards and your knee straight, and then move your entire leg upwards. Make sure to keep your hips steady and at 90 degrees to the floor, and make sure your toes remain pointing forwards and not upwards to the ceiling. Slowly return to the start position making sure not to allow your leg just to simply collapse back down.

Follow the suggested reps and sets in your rehab programme as a guide. You should feel the muscles on the outside of your hips working to produce this movement.

By focusing on the position of your hips and toes you can make sure that you feel it in the correct place, as a common mistake is to generate the movement using your hip flexors, the muscles on the front of your hips, instead of the muscles on the outside of your hips.

If you find this exercise too easy you may find it better to perform the Monster Walk exercise or you could add some ankle weights to make it harder. If you find it too hard you may find the Clam Exercise more appropriate. We have videos for both of these exercises on our channel.

EXERCISES