Clamshells Not Working? Fix These 3 Common Mistakes (Hip Stability Tutorial)

Quick tutorial on how to perform clamshells correctly for gluteus medius strength; and why they're only part of the puzzle. Clamshells target your glute medius, the outer hip muscle that stabilises your pelvis during single-leg movements like running. Weak glute med is linked to knee pain, instability, IT band syndrome, and lower back issues. What you'll learn in this video: ✅ Proper clamshell setup and form ✅ Most common mistakes ✅ Progressions from bodyweight to weighted Worth Noting: Your glutes work differently depending on your hip position. If you have limited hip internal or external rotation range of motion, you're not accessing your glutes' full capacity; even if they're "strong" in isolation exercises like clamshells. There is more to the story. This approach of testing & addressing hip mobility in general ensures you're not just building strength in one range; you're building functional hip control through ALL ranges of motion. Program Suggestion: 🐚 Clamshells: 3 sets of 15-20 reps, 3-4x per week 🐚 Hip internal & external rotation mobility: 5-10 minutes of matched work, 3-4x per week 🐚 Blend in strength training: single-leg squats, lateral step-ups, lateral squats or reverse lunges. Truth is: Clamshells are excellent for glute med activation and rehab, but they're a starting point 🏁 Add hip rotation mobility work to ensure your bigger glute muscles are accessible and functional through your full range of motion. Also think of adding functional strength training to hit your hip mobility & strength at all angles. If in doubt, TEST don’t guess, just comment TEST for our full body joint testing process. There is no one exercise that fixes all woes, but there are exercises that give you one hell of a bang for your buck, this is one of those exercises, and a great extra for your warm up! My personal opinion? We are all different! Based on different joint assessments, limb lengths, movement patterns & history, let alone the slight variation in muscle insertion points we have as humans, this can make one exercise work very differently for one person than another. The aim is, does it feel right? Is there any discomfort? Are you getting the wrong places light up? If so, change it up & target what you are aiming for efficiently by 👇 1. Finding sources of compensations through testing & 2. Having a flexible attitude & adjusting your plans as you go! Always feel free to reach out on our contact form to discuss in more depth! Check out our coaching, programs & CPD Mobility Certifications here: https://www.flowmotionfitness.co.uk/ References: 1. Boren K, Conrey C, Le Coguic J, Paprocki L, Voight M, Robinson TK. Electromyographic analysis of gluteus medius and gluteus maximus during rehabilitation exercises. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2011 Sep;6(3):206-23. PMID: 22034614; PMCID: PMC3201064. 2. Marcelo Peduzzi de Castro, Heiliane de Brito Fontana, Marina Costa Fóes, Gilmar Moraes Santos, Caroline Ruschel, Helio Roesler, Activation of the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and tensor fascia lata muscles during hip internal and external rotation exercises at three hip flexion postures, Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, Volume 27, 2021, Pages 487-492, ISSN 1360-8592, doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2021.05.011. 3. Mohammad WS, Elsais WM. Association Between Hip Rotation and Activation of the Quadriceps and Gluteus Maximus in Male Runners. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. 2020;8(11). doi:10.1177/2325967120962802