Side Lying Leg Raise

The side lying leg raise is a hip abduction exercise done on the floor, lifting the top leg toward the ceiling while lying on your side. It isolates the glute medius and the hip abductors with no equipment at all, which makes it a staple of warm ups, rehab and home training alike. The position does the work for you: lying down removes the balance element, so the muscle cannot hide behind the trunk the way it does on a standing version. Keep the foot flexed and the core braced — the common error is arching the lower back to lift the leg higher, which trades range for the wrong muscle. Keep the bottom leg bent for support and lower the top leg slowly rather than letting it drop. Ten to fifteen controlled reps per side does more than thirty rushed ones, because the muscle only works when the leg moves slowly.