Reps Only exercise

Banded Clamshell form, muscles worked, and workout tracking

The banded clamshell is a side-lying hip rotation exercise that targets the gluteus medius and the deep external rotators of the hip, with a mini band looped above the knees providing resistance. It is widely used in warm-ups, rehabilitation, and knee-health programs because strengthening these lateral hip muscles improves pelvic stability and helps control knee valgus during squats and running.

Banded Clamshell illustration

How to do Banded Clamshell

  1. 1Loop a mini band just above your knees and lie on your side with your hips and knees bent to about forty-five degrees, feet stacked.
  2. 2Rest your head on your lower arm and brace your core so your pelvis stays stacked and does not roll backward.
  3. 3Keeping your feet together, exhale and raise your top knee toward the ceiling against the band's resistance.
  4. 4Stop when your hips start to rotate; the range should come from the hip joint, not the lower back.
  5. 5Lower the knee slowly back to the start, resisting the band the whole way, and finish all reps before switching sides.

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Track Banded Clamshell in Plates

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