Hip Abductor Exercises That Will Transform Your Runs

As a runner, it's natural to get caught up in always going forward: Straightaways are your friend. At the start of any race, you know, when you're jam-packed in a crowd of people, you're well aware that weaving around people, darting from side to side of the course, can waste valuable seconds and energy. But, it also turns out, to boost your running performance and dodge sidelining running injuries, you really need to integrate some side-to-side exercises in your training routine

Why? Because your hip abductors—a group of muscles that connect your thigh bone (femur) to your pelvis—are not only in charge of moving your leg out and away from your body to the side, they also help stabilize your hips and legs. The result: your legs move more smoothly and efficiently, helping you hit PRs while cutting your risk of injury.

“Strong hips are a runner's best friend," says certified strength and conditioning specialist Janet Hamilton, an exercise physiologist and founder of Running Strong in Atlanta.

She explains that, in runners, abductor weaknesses primarily hit the glutes: the gluteus medius, minimus, and upper portion of the gluteus maximus.

“In addition to these primary movers, the quadratus lumborum muscle in the lower back, which attaches to the pelvis and can act to indirectly assist in abduction, can be weak," she says.

The results are wide-ranging: If you have weak abductors, your knees will likely cave in toward each other during every stride. As you can probably imagine, over the course of a 5k or full marathon, that can add up to a lot of energy wasted—and a significantly slower running pace. What's more, “weakness here can allow for greater instability of the pelvis, transmitting unhealthy loads through the lower body or even upstream to the back," Hamilton says. Translation: Your body is a master adapter, so when one part of your body is weak or unstable, other parts go into overdrive to pick up the slack—and can easily wind up injured.

Research in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine reveals that runners with iliotibial (IT) band syndrome—a common ache that strikes the outside of the knee—tend to have weaknesses in the hip abductors of their in-pain leg. Meanwhile, a 2016 study published in the European Spine Journal links weak glute medius muscles to low-back pain, and, according to one Journal of Chiropractic Medicine study, strengthening the hip abductors in tandem with physical therapy can help alleviate plantar fasciitis. You know, that pain in your heal that keeps you in extra-squishy shoes 24/7?

Ready to strengthen your abductors—and kick your runs into high gear? Integrate these eight exercises into your running routine. Perform a few during any lower- or total-body workouts or use them as part of your pre-run dynamic warmup.

1. Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Just like running, this variation targets each side's hip abductors individually, says certified personal trainer Lisa Niren, head instructor and director of content and programming for the Studio running app.

Try it: Lie flat on your back the floor. Place one foot flat on the floor, about eight inches in front of your glutes, and extend the other leg out in front of you so that your thighs are next to each other. From here, drive through your planted heel to thrust your hips up until your body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders. The shin of your planted leg should be completely vertical. Pause, then slowly lower to start. That's one rep. Perform three sets of eight to 12 reps per side.

2. Clamshell

Perhaps the most famous of all abductor exercises, this simple at-home exercise focuses on the upper sections of the gluteus maximus, Hamilton says.

Try it: Lie on the floor on one side with your legs and feet stacked and knees bent to 45 degrees. Brace your core. From here, squeeze your glutes to raise your top knee as high as possible toward the ceiling. Pause, then slowly lower your knee to lower to start. That's one rep. Perform three sets of eight to 12 reps per side.

3. Hip Drop

Here's one awesome exercise that you've probably never heard of, let alone tried. Hamilton explains that it prepares your glute meds to handle the demand that each foot strike places on them.

Try it: Stand tall on the edge of a step, and place all of your weight into one leg. Let the other leg dangle off the side of the step. From here, and while keeping your planted leg fully straight, drop your other hip to lower your dangling foot a few inches toward the floor. Pause, then raise your hip until your dangling foot is higher than the planted one. All motion should occur in your hip. Return to start. That's one rep. Perform as many reps as you can without losing good form, then repeat on the opposite side. Work up to two, and then three, sets per side.

4. Lateral Banded Walk

Great for training the glute medius and minimus, this exercise is easy to do at home or on the go, Niren says. The trick is to perform the entire exercise slowly and under control, using no momentum as you go.

Try it: Stand with a slight bend in your knees and a mini looped resistance band around your thighs, just above your knees. Brace your core. From here, take a giant step straight to one side, then follow with your other foot. Take 10 steps, then repeat in the opposite direction. Perform two sets per side.

5. Monster Walk

This variation on the lateral banded walk hits the gluteus medius from a different angle while also increasing recruitment of the upper portion of the gluteus maximus, Niren says.

Try it: Stand with a slight bend in your knees and a mini looped resistance band around your thighs, just above your knees. Brace your core. From here, take a giant step diagonally behind and out to the side, then follow with your other foot. Take 10 steps, then repeat in the opposite direction. Perform two sets per side.

6. Cable Hip Abduction

“You'll feel the abductors in both sides of your hips working, but usually the side that's holding you up and stabilizing you is actually the one you'll feel working the most," Hamilton says. The exercise is described using a cable station, but you can also perform it with a resistance band secured to a sturdy object.

Try it: Stand next to a cable station (a large vertical piece of fitness equipment to which you can secure handles at various heights) set to the lowest setting, the cable attached to the ankle farthest away from the station. From here, balance your weight in the leg closest to the cable station, allowing the far leg to cross in front of your body. From here, squeeze your hips to slowly swing your leg out as far to the side away from your body as possible. Pause, then slowly return to start. That's one rep. Perform as many reps as you can without losing good form, then repeat on the opposite side. Work up to two, and then three, sets per side.

7. Side Plank With Leg Lift

Apart from hitting the glute medius and minimus, this plank variation strengthens the quadratus lumborum in your low back, which assists in stabilizing the hips, Hamilton says.

Try it: Get in a side-plank position with your bottom foot and forearm on the floor so that your body forms a straight line from head to heels. Brace your core. From here, squeeze your glutes to lift your top leg as high as possible toward the ceiling. Pause, then slowly lower the top leg to return to start. That's one rep. Repeat for 30 seconds, then switch to the opposite side. Perform two sets per side.

8. Squat With Mini Band

The squat is, by itself, a great glute exercise. But, if you loop a mini resistance band around your thighs, your glute meds will have to work doubletime to keep your knees from falling in toward each other.

Try it: Stand with your feet hip-width apart, a mini looped resistance band just above your knees, and your knees slightly bent. Brace your core. From here, push your hips back and bend your knees to lower down as far as possible into a squat without letting your knees fall in toward each other. Pause, then drive through your heels to return to start. That's one rep. Perform three sets of eight to 12 reps.

Work your sides for better strides! Remember, runners: Your body is an intricately connected work of art, and it does nothing in isolation. Each muscle influences how every other one throughout the body moves and powers your runs, Hamilton says. Train it that way.