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legs

Side Lying Leg Raise

Lying on your side, you lift your top leg straight up and lower it slowly. A simple exercise for the outer hip.

beginnermat

Side Lying Leg Raise, start position
START
Side Lying Leg Raise, end position
END
BEFORE YOU START1
  1. Find a flat spot.
HOW TO DO IT

Get into position

  1. Lie on your left side with your legs stacked and your head resting on your left arm.
  2. Put your right hand on the floor in front of you for balance.
  3. Line your body up straight: shoulders, hips and ankles in one line.
  4. Point the toes of your top foot slightly down toward the floor.

Check: You are lying straight on your side with your legs stacked and your top toes pointing a little down.

Lift the top leg

  1. Lift your top leg straight up as high as possible without rolling back.
  2. Hold for a second at the top.

Check: Your top leg is raised with the knee straight, your hips are still stacked, and your trunk has not rolled.

Lower slowly

  1. Lower the leg slowly until it is just above the bottom leg.

Check: The leg is back just above the other leg, not resting on it.

That is one rep. Do all the reps on one side, then roll over and switch.

Breathe out as you push out or lift; hold for a second; breathe in as you return over 2 seconds.

MUSCLES WORKED
Side Lying Leg Raise: muscles worked, front view
Side Lying Leg Raise: muscles worked, back view

abductorsglutescore

Red marks the muscles doing the work; amber the assisting ones. Same body for every exercise, so guides compare at a glance.

COMMON MISTAKES3
  • Rolling the hips back to lift higher. The hip flexors take over. Fix: Keep your hips stacked; lift only as high as that allows.
  • Toes pointing up to the ceiling. Fix: Keep the toes pointing slightly down.
  • Resting the leg on the bottom leg between reps. Fix: Stop just above it to keep the tension.
SAFETY1
  • Keep the movement slow; no swinging.
RELATED EXERCISES

harder: standing cable abduction

variants: banded clams, side lying hip raise

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