Side Hip Abduction

Also known as: straight-arm side plank leg raise

Secondary muscles
Glutes, Quads
Body part
Upper Legs
Position
Standing
Laterality
Bilateral (both sides together)
Category
Strength

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Standing on one leg and sweeping the other out to the side trains the raised hip through abduction while the stance hip works just as hard stabilizing your pelvis. No equipment is involved, so it slots into warm-ups anywhere; hold a rail if balance, not hip strength, is the limiter.

How to do the Side Hip Abduction

  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands on your hips.
  2. Shift your weight to one leg and lift the opposite leg out to the side, keeping it straight.
  3. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your leg back down to the starting position.
  4. Repeat on the other side.
  5. Continue alternating sides for the desired number of repetitions.

Tip: Lead with the heel and keep the movement slow enough that you can stop at any point.

Muscles worked

Primary

Abductors · Legs

The glute medius and minimus on the outside of the hip drive the leg away from the midline, and the burn should sit high on the side of the hip, not the outer thigh.

Secondary

  • Glutes — Leaning the torso forward slightly on the machine shifts more of the work onto the upper glutes.
  • Quads

Common mistakes

  • Leaning away to lift higher — on the machine or standing variations keep the torso still; if you have to lean, the weight is too heavy.
  • Rotating the hip open — on side lying raises the toes should point forward or slightly down, not up at the ceiling, or the hip flexors take over.
  • Bouncing out of the bottom — pause at the bottom on each rep so the abductors do the work rather than the momentum.
  • Rushing banded walks — on lateral walks keep the band tight the whole time and take small controlled steps instead of big fast ones.

Where it fits in a workout

Abduction work sits at the end of a lower body day or in the warm-up before squats to wake up the hips. Superset it with hip adduction on the neighboring machine.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

Similar exercises

Without bodyweight

Easier and harder

When to talk to someone

  • Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
  • Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

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More exercises

Sources

  1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
  2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
  3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
  4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.

Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.