Clamshell

How to do the Clamshell

1. Lie on your side with your hips and knees bent at approximately 45 degrees, stacking your hips and shoulders vertically.
2. Rest your head on your lower arm and place your top hand on the floor in front of your chest for stability.
3. Keep your feet together and maintain contact between your heels throughout the movement.
4. Rotate your top knee upward as far as comfortable while keeping your pelvis stable and avoiding any backward lean.
5. Pause briefly at the top of the movement, then lower your knee back to the starting position with control.

Form tips

• Keep your pelvis from rolling backward by engaging your core and maintaining a neutral spine throughout the movement.
• Focus on initiating the movement from your glutes rather than using momentum or hip flexors to lift the knee.
• Maintain constant tension by stopping just short of letting your knees touch at the bottom of each rep.

Common mistakes

• Rolling the hips backward during the lift reduces glute activation and shifts tension away from the target muscles.
• Lifting the knee too high by using hip flexors instead of glutes diminishes the effectiveness of the exercise.
• Allowing the feet to separate breaks the movement pattern and reduces isolation of the gluteus medius.

Sets and reps

Perform 3 to 4 sets of 12 to 20 reps per side for hypertrophy, or 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps per side when using the exercise for activation before compound lifts.

Frequently asked questions

Why do I feel clamshells in my hip flexors instead of my glutes?

This typically happens when you lift your knee too high or allow your pelvis to rotate backward. Focus on a smaller range of motion and keep your pelvis stable to ensure the glutes do the work.

Should I add resistance bands to clamshells?

Adding a resistance band around your thighs increases difficulty and can enhance glute activation once you master the bodyweight version. Start with bodyweight to establish proper form before progressing to banded variations.

How do clamshells fit into a leg workout?

Clamshells work well as a glute activation exercise at the beginning of a leg session before squats or deadlifts. They can also be used as accessory work at the end of a workout to target the gluteus medius specifically.

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