Exercise guide · Beginner · Compound

Side Lying Hip Adduction (Male): How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The side lying hip adduction (male) is a bodyweight exercise targeting the adductors, performed while lying on your side and lifting the top leg upward.

Primary muscles
Not recorded
Secondary muscles
Glutes , Hamstrings
Equipment
Body Weight
Level · type
Beginner · Compound
Demonstration of the side lying hip adduction (male)
Front view: muscles worked by the side lying hip adduction (male). Secondary: glutes and hamstrings.
Back view: muscles worked by the side lying hip adduction (male). Secondary: glutes and hamstrings.
Primary Secondary

How to do the side lying hip adduction (male)

  1. Step 1: Lie on your side with your legs straight and stacked on top of each other.
  2. Step 2: Place your bottom arm under your head for support.
  3. Step 3: Engage your adductors and lift your top leg as high as possible without rotating your hips or leaning backward.
  4. Step 4: Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your leg back down to the starting position.
  5. Step 5: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch sides.

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the side lying hip adduction (male) by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.