Clamshell Exercise: Hip Strength and Best 1 for Stability
Exercise with clamshells is excellent for your hips. Picture sourced from Freepik
The clamshell exercise mimics the movement of a clam opening and closing its shell. Regularly performing this exercise can help to develop the lower body muscles required for daily tasks like walking and stair climbing. You will need to lie on your side and use your legs to imitate a clam in order to do this exercise. For the clamshell workout, a resistance band can also be used. Continue reading to learn more about how to strengthen your hips.
Also Read: How and Why You Should Do the Clamshell Exercise
What is the exercise using clamshells?
According to fitness expert Rhea Shroff Ekhlas, is usually done on the ground and works the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscles, which are a part of the outer glutes. It also engages the lower body’s tensor fasciae latae and external hip rotators. It looks like a clam when you lift your upper knee while maintaining your lower leg on the ground.
A hip-strengthening exercise is called Clamshell. Picture sourced from Adobe Stock
Exercise using clamshells to strengthen the hips
A 2013 study that was published in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy found that the is one of the best for strengthening hips and aiding in the prevention and treatment of injuries. The expert claims that the clamshell exercise develops the hip abductors and external rotators by targeting the muscle tissue of the external gluteal region. This lowers the chance of injury, boosts hip strength overall, and enhances hip mobility and balance.
What advantages does clamshell exercise offer?
Clamshell exercises improve knee and pelvic alignment, strengthen the hips, and more. According to Ekhlas, strengthening these muscles can help prevent unexpected injuries linked to delicate hip muscle tissue and lessen the likelihood that your discomfort will recur.
Reverse clamshell exercise,
How is the clamshell exercise performed?
The can be performed by doing the following:
- Assume a lateral position, extend your lower limbs, and flex your lower knee joint 90 degrees.
- Placing the tip of your palm on your hip for support, rest your head on your lowered arm.
- Raise your upper leg as high as you can without shifting your pelvis while keeping your toes together.
- Return the lower back’s kneecaps to their initial position gradually.
Alternatives to the clamshell drill
Here are a few ways to modify this hip-strengthening workout:
1. Resistance band exercise in the form of a clamshell
Your knees should be above the resistance band.
The clamshell exercise can be performed with a resistance band. Picture sourced from Adobe Stock
2. Exercise with a reverse clamshell
Extend your lower arm across the mat while lying on your side.
Place your upper leg on top of the lower leg while bending your knees to a 90-degree angle.
Place your upper hand directly in front of you on the ground.
With your knees together, raise and then lower your top foot toward the ceiling.
Also Read:
clamshell exercise target muscles
Do the cobbler’s position to relieve lower back discomfort. Image credit: Adobe Stock.
3. The high clamshell drill
As you lie on your side, align your shoulders and hips straight. They ought to be piled straight on top of one another.
Place your upper hand in front of your chest.
With your head resting on your extended upper arm, bend your legs.
When you lift your feet, your knees should be together and lowered.
Keep your feet elevated, rotate your top knee open, and then lower it back down.
Although it’s a wonderful way to strengthen the hips, persons who have lower back or hip injuries should not use . Ignoring medical advice or performing this exercise improperly can aggravate pre-existing injuries or cause new ones.
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