Anybody who spends a whole lot of the day sitting might in all probability stand to strengthen their glutes. And the clam shell train is a wonderful strategy to do exactly that.
However it additionally provides a complete lot extra. This train—which is a staple in rehab and prehab bodily remedy applications, in addition to a fixture in some Pilates lessons—ushers in a number of total-body advantages that transcend the butt. Suppose: harm prevention, lowered ache, and general higher motion.
In case you’re not acquainted, the clam shell includes mendacity in your facet along with your hips, knees, and ankles stacked on high of one another and knees bent to a 90-degree angle. Then, conserving your toes pressed collectively, you merely carry after which decrease your high leg, performing a movement referred to as hip abduction (principally utilizing your hip muscle tissue to maneuver your leg away out of your physique). Watch a demo and also you’ll perceive the place it will get its identify: The train mimics the movement of its namesake sea creature.
The clam shell is easy, sure, however its advantages are significantly legit. Right here we cowl all you might want to find out about this super-effective transfer, together with which muscle tissue it really works, what kind of train it counts as, what you’ll achieve by doing it on the reg, type errors to keep away from, and ideas for weaving it into your routine. Then we’ve got a GIF and step-by-step directions so you may check out the clam shell for your self!
What muscle tissue does the clam shell work?
Do sufficient reps of the clam shell and also you’ll really feel your gluteal muscle tissue put to work. Particularly, this train actually fires up your gluteus maximus (your largest butt muscle) in addition to your gluteus medius, a smaller muscle that types your facet butt, Femi Betiku, PT, DPT, CSCS, a bodily therapist and Pilates teacher in Westchester, New York, tells SELF.
It additionally engages your tensor fasciae latae (TFL), one of many hip flexors, in addition to your exterior obliques, core muscle tissue that run alongside the edges of your torso, he provides. These two muscle tissue get particularly fired up in case you use some kind of resistance to finish the transfer—folks mostly do it with a mini-band positioned above their knees—since that requires your physique to work further onerous to assist stabilize your trunk as you full the clam shell movement.
What sort of train is the clam shell?
What field the clam shell ticks will depend on your present exercise stage. For those who’re new to train, it may be a muscular power and endurance transfer, Dr. Betiku says. In different phrases, it will probably assist your muscle tissue get stronger and increase their means to work for lengthy durations of time. However in case you’re already fairly energetic, then it’s extra of a warm-up drill that may assist interact your muscle tissue earlier than you employ them extra intensely throughout a exercise. That’s as a result of the glutes are one of many strongest muscle tissue within the physique, and as a way to develop and strengthen them, you want resistance that’s heavy sufficient to essentially problem them. Relying in your present power stage, a band might do that initially, however ultimately, it received’t be as much as snuff.