clamshell

The Clamshell exercise is a glute isolation exercise, particularly useful for warming up your glutes or concluding a workout with a powerful glute finisher.

Here, we will explore the Clamshell exercise in detail, the specific muscles it engages, the correct way to perform it, its benefits, common mistakes to avoid, recommended reps and sets, strategies for incorporating it into your workouts, and exercises that target similar muscle groups.

Muscles Worked When Performing the Clamshell Exercise

The Clamshell exercise predominantly engages the Gluteus Medius, this area of your glutes is located on the side of your hip, it plays a crucial role in hip stability and abduction, a.k.a. moving your leg away from your body's midline.

You can use the muscle highlighted image at the top of this page for a visual guide of the muscles worked.

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How to Perform the Clamshell Exercise

1. Start Position: Begin by lying on your side on a comfortable surface, such as a mat or the floor. Bend your knees at a 45-degree angle, with your feet together. Your legs should be stacked on top of each other.

2. Execution: Keeping your feet together and your heels touching at all times, open your knees by lifting the upper knee as high as comfortably possible. The motion should resemble the opening of a clam shell.

3. Back to Start: Close your knees, returning to the initial start position with both knees touching. This is one rep.

4. Go For Reps: Perform the desired number of reps on one side before switching to do the same thing on the other side for balance.

Benefits of the Clamshell Exercise

Glute Activation: The Clamshell exercise is excellent for activating the gluteus medius, which can help improve hip stability, balance, and overall lower body strength as well as prepare you for more intense glute exercises.

Injury Prevention: Strengthening the gluteus medius can assist in preventing injuries related to hip stability and unbalanced movement patterns.

Clamshell Exercise: Common Mistakes to Avoid

Feet Separation: The most common mistake is allowing the feet to separate while opening the knees. Ensure that your feet remain together throughout the exercise to effectively engage the gluteus medius.

Rushed Reps: Prioritise proper form over speed. Perform the exercise with control and focus to maximise its benefits and avoid unnecessary strain on other muscle groups.

Inadequate Range of Motion: Strive to open your knees as wide as is comfortably possible for you. The wider your range of motion, the better. Remember that this is something you can build up to over time, with experience.

Reps and Sets

The number of reps and sets you perform depends on your current strength with this exercise.

Beginners: Start with simply mastering the move. Keep in mind that if you’re just starting out, 3 reps is a valid set.

To determine how many reps/sets of Clamshell you should start with, you first need to figure out how many reps you can comfortably perform. Then add 2, and perform that number of reps for 3 sets.

For example; let’s say you can perform 4 reps comfortably. Add 2 to make 6 reps. Perform those 6 reps 3 times over, allowing yourself sufficient rest inbetween.

Experienced lifters: You know your body and its abilities better than anyone, use your own judgment.

We recommend that you avoid performing more than 12 reps per set. If you’re comfortably performing 12 reps for up to 6 sets, it’s time to make the exercise more challenging.

How to Make Clamshells More Challenging

For resistance, you can add a band to this exercise, simply by looping a resistance band around your legs, positioning it just above your knees. Different bands provide a different level of resistance, choose the one that feels best for you and work your way up to the bands that offer the most resistance.

Another thing you can do is slow the move right down to increase the time under tension.

How to Incorporate the Clamshell Exercise into Your Workouts

You can incorporate the Clamshell exercise into your warm-up routine to activate your glutes before more intense exercises. Alternatively, use it as a finisher exercise at the end of your glute-focused workouts to fully engage and exhaust your glutes as your final push of the day.

Exercises That Work Similar Muscles to the Clamshell Exercise

Compound exercises such as Squats, Lunges and Bulgarian Split Squats are excellent for further strengthening your glutes. Compound exercises are crucial for muscle growth since they allow you to move more overall weight than isolation exercises, helping you build the muscle faster.

You can also pair this exercise with other assisted and/or isolation exercises such as; Cable Hip Abductions, Kickbacks, Glute Bridges or Crab Walks. A combination of compound and isolation exercises is recommended for well rounded results.

You can find more Bum Exercises at the bottom of this page. Also check out our entire exercise database, broken down by muscle group here.

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