Clamshell exercise: Muscle worked, How to do? Variations

What is Clamshell exercise?

It Name implies the way your legs and hips make a clamshell when doing the movement, This exercise will strengthen your hips and thigh muscle by stabilizing your pelvic muscles and toning your glutes.

You can do this exercise anywhere, with some space and there has no need for equipment for an effective lower body workout. This exercise is one of the best for hip strengthening and to prevent and cure the hip injury. The clamshell exercise is mostly used in physical therapy clinics to help with hip pain, back pain and sciatica. It helps to decrease pain by strengthening the hip, core and lower back muscles.
These exercises can help to balance the muscular effort between your inner and outer thighs and the pelvic floor. Creating balance in the leg and hip muscles helps to prevent overuse and injury of the leg. This exercise helps to give the muscle shape and maintain its shape.

Which Muscle is used for the Clamshell Exercise?

The clamshell exercises mainly target the gluteal muscles this are Gluteal maximus, Gluteal medius and the muscles around the hip and pelvis.

Health benefits by doing Clamshell exercise

• Helps to strengthen the hips and core muscles.
• Helps to eliminate back, hip, or knee pain, or this exercise can be used as a preventative measure. so it improves strength and prevents painful problems.
• Helps To Build Strength
• Helps To Build Endurance (distance runners and athletes participating in longer duration sports)
• Helps To Improve Activation/Coordination (for those having a hard time getting those glutes to contract at all)
• This exercise helps to activate glute muscles
• Helps to maintain or develop muscle shape.
• Helps to decrease the risk of injury to the hip joint

How to Do the Clamshell Exercise With Perfect Form?

• For this exercise you have to lie on your left side with your hips and feet stacked, your knee should be flexed up to 90 degrees, and your head is resting on your left arm. Move your knees towards your body until your foot is in line with your buttocks.
• Put your right hand on your right hip to ensure it does not tilt backside. This is the initial position of this exercise. keep sure your core muscles should be engaged your feet should be together throughout the movement.
• Now raise your right knee as much as possible by you without lifting your foot and left knee off the ground. Hold this position for a couple of seconds. then slowly lower your right knee over the left knee. You have to complete 20 repetitions on the right side, then you go for the left side.
• You can increase or decrease the repetition according to your ability and strength of muscles.

There are different variations of clamshell exercise.

Clamshell exercise with a resistance band

How to do it?

This variation of clamshell will help to work the glutes and hamstrings and, for a strong core and back.

• Wrap the resistance band around both thighs, just above the knees.
• You have to Lie on the right side with knees at a 45-degree angle, legs and hips stacked.
• Contract your abdominal muscles to stabilize your core.
• Your foot should be closed when you raise your left knee towards the ceiling.
• Do not allow your right leg to move off the ground.
• Hold at the top movement for 2 seconds then slowly lower your knee to the initial position.
• Do 20 to 25 repetitions on each side.

Clamshell with dumbbell rotation

How to do it?

• If you want to strengthen both the upper and lower limb muscles at the same time, then add dumbbells. This will increase the burn to your glutes, as well as help to tone the shoulder muscles.
• For this variation, you have to take a basic clamshell initial position while holding dumbbells in both hands. then raise your one knee towards the ceiling without lifting your foot and move your elbow inward.
• Hold this top position for a couple of seconds then slowly lower your knee.
• Do this movement 20 to 25 times on each side.

Clamshell with stability ball crunch

How to do it?

• In this exercise, your core muscle is mostly used.
• For this exercise you have to lie on your back with a stability ball held in between your lower legs, your hands put behind your head, and then you have to lift the ball towards the ceiling with this you also lift your shoulder off the ground.
• This will utilize your abdominal muscles, pelvic muscles, and hip flexors.
• Hold this position for 3 to 4 seconds then return to the initial position.
• Repeat this exercise 10 times.

Clamshell exercise tips to get more benefits from this exercise.

• You should engage your core muscles throughout the exercise, this will protect your spine.
• You have to more focus on your gluteal muscles. you should rotate from your hip joint, not from the lower back.
• Your neck should be in the neutral position so you do not strain it.

Common Mistakes of Clamshell Exercise

Rocking Your Torso

During the clamshell exercise, it is easy to rock your trunk or top hip back behind you to help elevate your knee. Do not do it! It will give stress to your core, hips, and glutes, so you do not get as many muscle-strengthening benefits.

Using Too Tight of a Band

People may be eager to make this exercise challenging with extra tight bands, do not rush it. using too tight a resistance band can lead to poor exercise patterns and reduce its effectiveness.

When did you not do this exercise?

• If you feel any pain during this exercise.
• If your doctor suggests you take a rest.
• If your leg bone is fractured.
• If you have recently undergone any surgery.

Author: Priti Tirgar