Clamshell

The clamshell is a small, controlled hip exercise that targets the glute medius on the side of your hip, with help from the deeper hip rotator muscles. It is unilateral (one side at a time), beginner-friendly, and can be done with just your bodyweight or a light resistance band around your thighs.

Lie on your side with your hips and knees bent and stacked one on top of the other. Keep your feet together and your head supported by your bottom arm or a cushion. If you are using a band, place it just above your knees.

Without moving your feet or lower back, exhale and lift your top knee up and away from the bottom knee, like a clamshell opening. Pause briefly at the top, then lower the knee back down with control. Keep your hips stacked and avoid rolling backward as you lift.

Breathe out on the lift and in on the way down. To make it easier, perform the movement without a band or reduce your range of motion. To make it harder, add a light band above the knees or slow the lowering phase down.

Fault: Rolling the hips backward as the top knee lifts. Fix: Keep your hips stacked directly on top of each other throughout the rep; only the top knee should move, and the motion should stay small and controlled.

Fault: Feet separate or the lower back arches. Fix: Keep your feet together and your core lightly engaged so the work stays in the side of your hip, not your lower back.

Fault: Rushing the reps or swinging the knee up. Fix: Move slowly on the way up and down, exhaling as you lift, so the glute medius does the work instead of momentum.