What Does an Outside Leg Lift Do?

Some exercises involve multiple joints and boost strength in a few areas. Others, such as outside leg lifts, involve a single joint and target a particular muscle group. Outside leg lifts work the hip abductors, muscles that control movement of the leg away from your body's midline. They're easy enough for fitness newbies, require no special equipment, and serve several purposes. Precede outside leg lifts with a general warm-up and finish with a glute stretch to preserve hip flexibility.

  1. Boosts Hip Strength

    • Outside leg lifts don't melt fat off your hips, but they can strengthen and tone muscles that act at the hip joint. In particular, lateral leg lifts beef up the gluteus medius muscle, which is located on the outer side of your hip, under the gluteus maximus. Research appearing in the January/February 2012 issue of "Journal of Athletic Training" indicates that basic side-lying leg lifts are more effective than certain other exercises -- including the clamshell -- at isolating and activating the gluteus medius.

    Steadies Your Pelvis

    • By boosting gluteus medius strength and endurance, outside leg lifts preserve or improve your gait, which can boost athletic performance and prevent injury in the lower extremeties. The gluteus medius plays a key role in stabilizing your pelvis when you stand on one leg, walk or run. As you raise one leg off the floor -- either to balance in place or move through space -- a strong gluteus medius prevents your pelvis from dipping to the opposite side. When the gluteus medius is weak, other parts of the body work overtime to compensate, which can lead to excessive stress and strain. Insufficient gluteus medius strength has been linked to a range of injuries, including patellofemoral pain, iliotibial band syndrome and low back pain.

    Lift Off

    • Side-lying leg lifts let you work your hip abductors without worrying about balance. Lying on your left side with your hips and shoulders stacked, exhale and raise your right leg to approximately 45 degrees, taking one or two counts to get there. Keep your torso stable, your knees directed forward and your right hip completely still. Inhale and lower your leg, taking three slow counts to return to the start position. Complete one to three sets of eight to 12 reps before rolling to the other side and working your left hip.

    Raising the Bar

    • Up the intensity of the basic side-lying leg lift by resting a dumbbell or weighted bar on your upper thigh or wearing an ankle weight. Increase the total core challenge by combining leg lifts with a side-lying plank. Move into a stable side plank, slowly lift and lower your upper leg, and then return your bottom hip to the floor. If you prefer, do outside leg lifts from a standing position. Be careful to maintain proper alignment, keeping your head directly over your spine, your hips and knees facing forward and your lower back in a neutral -- not excessively arched -- position. Increase difficulty by adding a resistance band or ankle weight.