Standing Hip Abduction
The Standing Hip Abduction is a unilateral lower-body exercise that isolates the outer glutes to improve hip stability, balance, and aesthetics. By lifting the leg laterally against gravity, it specifically targets the gluteus medius without requiring heavy equipment.
While this looks like a simple movement, AI coaching optimizes it by analyzing your recent lower-body training volume and recovery data to preventing overtraining the smaller glute medius muscles. Since balance can be affected by physiological factors, the app can cross-reference your stability performance with cycle tracking or sleep data to recommend support modifications on days when neuromuscular coordination is lower. Additionally, by learning your RPE patterns, the AI ensures you are creating enough tension to stimulate growth rather than just swinging your leg through the motion.
Form Cues
- Stand tall and brace your core comfortably
- Flex the foot of your lifting leg
- Lift your leg directly to the side using your hip muscles
- Squeeze your side glute at the top of the movement
- Lower the leg slowly to resist gravity
- Don't lean your torso to the opposite side
- Don't use momentum to swing the leg up
- Don't rotate your toes outward or upward
- Don't lift higher than your hip mobility allows
Common Mistakes
- Leaning the upper body sideways
- Pointing the toes toward the ceiling
- Rushing the lowering phase
- Arching the lower back
- Bouncing off the bottom of the rep
Muscles Worked
This exercise primarily targets the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, which are crucial for pelvic stability and preventing knee valgus. It also engages the tensor fasciae latae (TFL) as a synergist and relies on the core and the standing leg's glutes for isometric stabilization.
Primary
Secondary
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