# Side-Lying Leg Raise: how to do it

- Main muscles: abductors, glutes
- Equipment: bodyweight
- Level: beginner
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/side_lying_leg_raise/4f03380f15/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Lie on your side, legs straight and stacked.
2. Rest your head on your lower arm, hips stacked.
3. Lift your top leg with the knee straight and toes forward.
4. Stop before your hips tip, then lower slowly.
5. Finish your set, then switch sides.

## Cues

- Lead with your heel, toes facing forward.
- Keep the leg in line with your body.
- Hips stay stacked, no rolling.

## Common mistakes

- Lifting the leg too high.
- Rolling back so your toes point up.
- Swinging the leg forwards.

## Starting position

Lie on the left side on a mat, so the right (top) leg works. Both legs straight and in line with the trunk, feet stacked, ankles at a right angle (toes not pointed or pulled up). Shoulders and hips stacked straight up and down, the pelvis square, not rolled forward or back. Head rests on the stretched-out bottom arm (or a hand), neck in line with the spine. The top hand rests on the top hip or on the floor in front of the chest for balance. Brace the stomach. The body lies along one straight line from head to heels. The app tells users to switch sides.

## The movement

Keeping the right knee straight and the kneecap and toes facing forward, lift the right leg straight up towards the ceiling, led by the outside of the heel. The leg stays in line with the trunk or a touch behind it; it never drifts forwards. Only the top hip moves: the pelvis stays stacked, the waist does not crunch and the bottom leg stays still. Stop just before the pelvis starts to tip, hold briefly, then lower slowly until the right foot is just above the left, without resting.

## End position

Top: right leg about 35° from the bottom leg, foot about 45–50 cm above the bottom foot, kneecap still facing forward, pelvis stacked. ACE puts the true limit of hip abduction at about 45°; above that the pelvis tips and the waist muscles take over.

## Tempo

1.5 s up, 1 s hold, 2 s down, a brief hover at the bottom.

## Form in numbers

| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bottom leg | straight, in line with the trunk | hip and knee bent up to 45° for balance | [1] [2] |
| Hip abduction at the top | 35° | 25–45° | [1] |
| Working knee | 0° (straight) | 0–5° | [1] |
| Working hip flexion | 0° (leg in line with the trunk) | 0–10° extension, never forward | [1] [2] |
| Hip rotation (kneecap) | facing forward | under 10° up or down | [1] |
| Ankle | 90° (neutral) | 80–100° | [1] |
| Pelvis | stacked vertically | under 10° roll forward or back | [1] [2] |
| Trunk side bend | none | waist does not crunch | [2] |

## Sources

1. [ACE, Side Lying Hip Abduction](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/38/side-lying-hip-abduction/)
2. [ACE, 6 Glute Medius Exercises for Strength and Stability (Kelsey Graham)](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/pros/expert-articles/6936/6-glute-medius-exercises-for-strength-amp-stability/)
3. [Distefano et al. 2009, J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 39(7):532–540, Gluteal muscle activation during common therapeutic exercises](https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2009.2796)
4. [Bolgla and Uhl 2005, J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 35(8):487–494](https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2005.35.8.487)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/side-lying-leg-raise