Clamshell Exercise: A Comprehensive Guide 

Clamshell exercise is considered one of the simplest but most effective exercises, which aids in strengthening the abductor muscles. Often, with age or intense activities, we end up with hip complications like sprains or weak muscles. Clamshell exercise can be your ultimate solution in curing sprains in the gluteus medius, a hip muscle. Lower body function is also enhanced, along with the prevention of injuries by incorporating such hip exercises in your regular workout schedule. 

The movement involves lying on one’s back and mimicking the shape of a clam opening and closing. In this blog, we will be sharing a detailed overview of the clamshell exercise and how to perform the steps. We will also share a glimpse of the benefits of the practice and how it affects your daily life. 

How to do a Clamshell Exercise

If you want to add the clamshell exercise to your fitness regime, performing each step properly is crucial. Emulate the following steps to reap the benefits of the clamshell exercise: 

• Start by lying on your back and side, using a pillow to support your head. This prevents any neck sprain or pressure on your shoulder. 

• Next, you need to stack your hips and knees so that they lie upon one another. This way, your knees shall be bent towards your chest in a V-shape. 

• Make sure that you keep your feet close to each other while you perform this exercise. 

• Now, you need to lift your top knee in such a way that it is pointing towards the ceiling. You can extend it as high as possible without creating any rotation around your lower back. 

• Do not strain your body, and remain within your comfort zone to prevent any unnecessary aches. 

• Hold this position for a while, and then release your top knee back to the starting point. 

Perfecting this posture might take some time, and you should not pressure your body to hasten the process. Allow your progress to be slow but gradual so you do not hurt your back. Modifications to this posture can be made based on your comfort to avoid injuries.

To make it easier for beginners, limit extending your knees too much towards the ceiling. With practice as you perfect the step, you can make the exercise more difficult for you with a looping band placed around the knees. This increases resistance as you try to extend your knees, but it has added benefits in the long run. 

Clamshell Exercise Benefits

We have listed the most common and effective perks of clamshell exercise for you below: 

Targets the Goodness of Gluteal Muscles 

When you perform something like a squat, you are using the gluteal muscles located in the hips to support the structure. This creates excess pressure on the knees and enhances the inward collapse. Our knees remain in order with the feet, and the posture is held right. 

However, if your gluteal muscles are weak, it poses a balance problem. Sometimes, you might be clueless about the corrective measures that can be taken. Clamshell exercise is an effective measure to strengthen your glutes and train them to be firm and flexible. Turning out movements gets easier as you involve your glute muscles more often. Later on, you can perform squats better due to regular practice of the clamshell exercise. Moreover, in case of hip injury, this exercise is suggested by the doctors to strengthen the hip region and regain control. 

Counteracts the Effect of Injury 

In case of an injury in your knee or foot, clamshell exercise can help you get back up on your feet with regular practice. Instead of doing more functional exercises that can harm you due to their intensity, clamshell exercise is a better and milder substitute to keep your glutes active and gain back strength in the affected region. Until you can engage in anything hard-core and intense, exercises like these can help you remain active. 

Aid in Core Control 

In this exercise, you learn to move your legs without engaging your body. Hence, clamshell exercise is known to build core strength. This is a vital skill where you engage your core and build power without the additional involvement of other muscles in the body. Since this form of exercise is simple, practitioners of all age groups can practise it hassle-free. 

Enhance Hip Mobility 

Clamshell exercise encourages hip mobility through the active involvement of the hip joints and their overall motion. When your hips are immobile and tight, it can create constrictions in smooth motion. Discomfort and higher risk of injury often propel individuals to opt for the clamshell posture, which alleviates these issues and promotes hip flexibility. 

Create Posture and Alignment 

Both gluteal muscles and hip abductors aid in posture and proper alignment. So by activating these joints, positions and motions like the knee valgus ( movement of the knees inward) and anterior pelvic tilt are successfully initiated. Thus, exercise is not only beneficial for proper posture but also helps reduce sprains in the knees, lower back, and hip. 

The Clamshell Exercise is Easy to Modify 

Another major perk of practising clamshell exercise is that it is highly versatile. Modifications can be made based on different fitness levels and the impact on the joints. Even with aches and injuries, you can engage in this exercise without any side effects. However, the level of difficulty needs to be adjusted to prevent any further sprain. You do not need any props in the beginning to practise the exercise. This makes the posture easy and encourages practitioners to perform it regularly. 

Clamshell Exercise with a Resistance Band

Clamshell exercise with a resistance band is an additional obstacle created on the path to increase the challenge of achieving the posture. Outer thighs and glutes are the primary muscles involved, while the hip and thighs act as secondary support. Here are the following steps to perform the clamshell exercise with a resistance band: 

• First, you need to lie on your side and then keep your knees in a slightly bent posture. Make sure one of your knees is placed on top of the other, and the same goes for your entire leg. 

• Now, place a reputable band around your thighs and try to lift your top knee. Make sure that your feet are closed as you try to lift your knee towards the ceiling. 

• Lower your knees to the initial stage and then repeat this a couple of times before you switch sides and perform the steps again.

While performing clamshell exercise with additional equipment, make sure that your body is relaxed and the upper body is in a state of equilibrium to avoid sprains. Your spine should be neutral, and your core tightened as you slowly exhale and inhale. Exhale while you lift your knees, and then inhale as you bring them back to the starting point. 

Clamshell with Dumbbell Rotation

To perform a clamshell with dumbbell rotation, here are the steps that you need to follow: 

• You need to lie on your side and then bend your knees slightly into a V-shape. 

• Bring your feet together and hold the dumbbell in the top of your hand. 

• At this point, you should lift your top knee and simultaneously rotate your arm while you still hold onto the dumbbell. Go up and back as you feel the rotation in your upper arms near the shoulder. Make sure your elbows are placed against your body. 

Clamshell with Stability Ball Crunch

Are you wondering what a clamshell with stability ball crunch is? Let us break it down for you. This posture combines the original clamshell exercise and ball crunch. The purpose of this exercise is to strengthen your glute muscles and engage your core and abs for stable ball crunches. Here’s how you need to proceed: 

• First, you need to lie on your side and bend your knees to acquire a V-shape. 

• Then, you need to stack your feet on the stability ball. During stacking your feet, simultaneously perform the clamshell exercise while also engaging your core to perform the crunches. 

• While a clamshell requires you to use your glutes and other hip muscles, crunches require the assistance of your shoulders and upper body. 

The combined benefits of the clamshell with the stability ball crunch involve targeting a wide range of muscles in the body without addressing only the lower or upper body at a time. By involving your hip, shoulder and core, this modification of this exercise is widely popularised for its additional perks and advantages. 

Tips to Perform Clamshell Exercise for Fruitful Results

As a beginner, you must be looking for clamshell exercise tips. So, we have found some effective ways and tips to perform this exercise with accuracy and ease: 

• Focus on the starting position: You need to lie on your side and then bend your knees slightly without creating pressure on them. They are stacked upon each other while the feet are brought together for the ideal posture. 

• You must engage your core: For more effective results and benefits of clamshell exercise, make sure to involve your core muscles. This stabilises your spine and tightens the muscles in the abdominal region. Certain modifications of clamshell exercise allow a greater engagement of your core muscles. 

• Strategic lifting of the top knees: You should not force your body to go beyond its range of comfort while lifting the upper knees. As a beginner, lift your knees towards the ceiling as much as you can without causing strain or unnecessary pull in the joints. With practice, you can increase the range of extensions you can offer. 

• Have control over the movement: It is easy to get hurt or incur a sprain if you are not mindful of your movements. While lifting your knee and then bringing it back, make sure you don’t do it rapidly, especially if you are already injured. 

• Repeat for effective results: Since clamshell exercise is easy to perform even as a beginner, you need not worry about the frequency of the posture. The more, the better it is to observe the benefits of the exercise and experience flexibility around the hip region. 

• Keep your hip in a stacked position: While you perform this posture, make sure that your hips are stacked up against each other, shifting outward and forward. 

• Engage your glutes while performing the exercise: Focus on engaging your glutes by squeezing your muscles. This helps to lift your knees without relying solely on momentum. 

• Move slowly but gradually: You should experience a controlled movement rather than a rapid process, which can cause a sprain in your back. 

• Be mindful and listen to your body: Ultimately, it is your comfort zone that matters. Do not force your body to perform the clamshell exercise extensively if you are feeling abrupt sprains and pulls. Discontinue and consult your physiotherapist to find an easier way to accomplish the posture. 
  
  Start today! Add clamshell exercises to your routine and feel the difference in your strength and flexibility. Need expert guidance? Our physiotherapists at FlexifyMe can help you incorporate the right exercises into your fitness journey.

Conclusion

If you experience frequent muscle aches and cramps in your hip joints, then exercises like clamshells can help you generate strength in your abductor and gluteal muscles. To add clamshell exercise to your daily routine, start with your warm-up session and then go ahead with some floor stretching before you continue this exercise. 

If you find it hard to include it in your workout session, clamshell exercise can be practised at any time and to your convenience. Generally, it is performed in the morning to experience some flexibility and remove the stiffness from sleeping for prolonged hours.