The Side Lying Hip Raise: A Complete Guide From First Rep to Advanced Variations

Quick Intro

The side lying hip raise is a core exercise performed from a side plank position, lowering the hip toward the floor and lifting it back up under control for reps instead of holding a fixed position.

Equipment Needed

Nothing beyond floor space is needed, though something soft under the supporting elbow or hand makes longer sets more comfortable.

Why the Side Lying Hip Raise Matters

The side lying hip raise asks the waist muscles (obliques) and the side of the glutes (gluteus medius) to work together, lifting the hip away from the floor while the deep core muscle (transverse abdominis) keeps the torso and legs locked into one straight, stacked line. Rotating the top hip forward or back during the lift reduces how much these muscles have to work, so keeping that stacked line is what makes the exercise effective.

This exercise builds directly on the static side plank, but changes the demand in a meaningful way. Holding a side plank trains the same muscles to resist movement and stay still; this version asks them to actively produce movement, lowering and lifting the hip through a range against gravity. That shift from a held position to repeated movement is a different, and for most people harder, kind of core work.

The side lying hip raise is a demanding muscular endurance and strength exercise for the obliques and hip abductors, with balance work from controlling a raised, unsupported hip position through movement.

When to Do It

The side lying hip raise fits well in a core-focused session, either after a static side plank has become comfortable or as a standalone strength movement for the waist and hips. Two to three sessions a week, with recovery between them, works well given the strength demand involved.

Adding movement on top of an unsteady base is where this exercise tends to go wrong:

• A side plank that isn’t yet solid on its own. Adding movement to a position that’s still shaky when held still usually means the torso collapses or twists partway through the rep. Building a comfortable held side plank first is the safer approach.

For most people who already have a solid side plank, this is an effective way to turn that static hold into strength through a controlled range of motion.

Getting Ready

A minute of standing side bends and a few gentle trunk rotations warm up the waist before asking it to control this raised, moving position.

Keep the torso and legs in one stacked line throughout the movement. Letting the hips rotate forward or back is the easiest way to make the range look bigger while the target muscles do less work.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Starting position. Lie on one side, propped up on the forearm or hand, legs stacked and extended, body forming a straight line from shoulders to feet.

2. The lower. Slowly lower the hip toward the floor without letting it touch, keeping the torso and legs stacked throughout.

3. The raise. Lift the hip back up to the starting straight-line position, squeezing through the waist and outer hip at the top.

Keep the top hip stacked directly over the bottom hip throughout, since any rotation forward or back changes which muscles are doing the lifting.

How Many, How Often

Letting the hips rotate forward or back to make the range look bigger is the easiest way to fake progress while quietly taking the work off the obliques and hip abductors, so a stacked, controlled line matters more here than how far the hip drops.

Modifications and Variations

The side lying hip raise has one easier step.

For an easier entry point, Side Plank holds the same raised position without adding the lowering and lifting movement, a useful base before adding controlled motion back in.

Progression path: Side Plank → Side Lying Hip Raise

Lowering the hip only a short distance at first, or performing the movement with the bottom knee bent for extra support, are reasonable ways to build toward the full range described above.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Letting the hips rotate forward or back during the lift. Rotation lets other muscles share a job the obliques and hip abductor were supposed to be doing alone, quietly diluting the exercise. Keeping the stacked line intact keeps the rep honest.

Dropping the hip all the way to the floor and resting between reps. Letting the hip fully touch down releases the tension the exercise depends on and turns continuous work into separate, disconnected reps. Stopping just short of the floor keeps the target muscles under load throughout the set.

Rushing the lowering phase. Dropping quickly instead of controlling the descent skips the eccentric muscle work this exercise is built around. Lowering with the same control used on the way up keeps the whole rep meaningful.

Letting the supporting shoulder creep up toward the ear. Tension in the supporting shoulder is a common side effect of holding this position under load. Keeping the shoulder pulled gently down and away from the ear protects the joint through the set.

After Your Set

Because this version moves continuously through a range, the waist and outer hip tend to feel more worked afterward than a static side plank alone would leave them. A seated spinal twist, one hand on the opposite knee and gently rotating the torso, releases the waist muscles that just controlled the raised and lowered hip. A standing side stretch afterward, reaching one arm overhead and leaning gently away, lengthens the same side that stayed under tension throughout the set.

Going Deeper

This exercise is a strength progression from the static side plank, and it belongs in a core routine for anyone who has already made the held version feel too easy to be challenging. The combination of oblique and hip abductor work in one movement makes it efficient for anyone training a limited amount of time, since it covers two muscle groups that often get trained separately.

The limit on this exercise is usually control through the lowering phase, not raw strength at the top of the lift. Most people can lift the hip back up without much trouble, but controlling a slow, stacked descent without the hips rotating is the part that builds strength. Slowing down the lower specifically, more than chasing extra reps, tends to build capability faster.

For someone who already holds a solid side plank, 8 clean reps per side is a reasonable target for the first one to two weeks, with 12 to 15 reps per side at a controlled full range following somewhere in the four to six week range.

How to Know You’re Improving

Progress on the side lying hip raise moves through four fairly distinct stages:

1. 8 reps per side with the stacked line staying intact throughout
2. 12 reps per side with a fuller range of motion
3. 15 or more reps per side with a controlled descent on every rep
4. A brief pause held cleanly at the bottom of the lower without losing the stacked line

Whether the stacked line holds through the entire range, not just at the top of the lift, is the clearest sign this exercise is doing its job.

Muscles Worked

• Obliques (the muscles along the sides of the waist, lifting the hips off the floor from the side-lying position)
• Gluteus Medius (a smaller glute muscle at the side of the hip, assisting the raise and keeping the hips square)
• Transverse Abdominis (a deep core muscle that wraps around the torso like a corset, holding the trunk firm through the lift)

FAQ

Should I master the static side plank before trying this? A comfortable, held side plank makes this version considerably easier to learn, since the same stacked position just gets asked to move instead of stay still.

Why does this feel so much harder than a regular side plank? Adding continuous lowering and lifting to a position that was previously just held still is a different, more demanding kind of work than a static hold.

How far should I lower my hip toward the floor? Close enough to feel a stretch and load through the range, without fully touching down. A shorter range with good control is more useful than a bigger one that loses the stacked line.

Can I do this exercise with the bottom knee bent? Yes. Bending the bottom knee for extra support is a reasonable way to reduce the difficulty while building toward the full straight-leg version.

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Next in this series: Tibialis Raise, a standing exercise that isolates the often-neglected muscle on the front of the shin.