The oyster exercise has become widely popular over the years because of its numerous benefits for the human body. One of the reasons why it’s become so widespread is because you can do it with a Pilates ball, resistance band, weights, or without any of those items and you can still achieve amazing results. Not only will you strengthen your hips, but your knees as well and benefit in many other ways too.

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Stronger hips

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Not only will you strengthen the hips while doing the oyster exercise, but you’ll also tighten the glutes, and pelvis, prevent injury and ease lower back tension. If you’re a runner, a soccer or tennis player, a clamshell exercise will be particularly beneficial for you and your hips. Namely, runners are very prone to injuries stemming from weak hips, so in order to avoid foot, ankle or knee pain, it would be a good idea to do clamshell exercises to strengthen your hips. By creating a balance between the thighs, glutes, and pelvic floor, clamshell will ensure your body is out of harm’s way during running.

Stronger knees

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The clamshell exercise also helps alleviate knee pain which can often be caused by weakened hips. The hip abductors and hip external rotators are essential for knee control and stability, so once these muscles are no longer tight, you’re likely to experience pain in the knee area. To make sure you’re ready to start doing the oyster exercise properly, get some comfortable bodybuilding clothing first, and lay on the floor on your left or right side. Keep the heels together and the hips stable, your heels, hips and shoulders should form a straight line. Lift the top leg 3 to 4 inches while keeping the ankles together without rotating your hips. If you feel the hips move, lessen the range of motion. Repeat the exercise 10 times in a row, switch sides, then do it again.

How to do it properly

The clamshell exercise will only alleviate the pain in your hips and knees if you do it properly. That's why you need to make sure you know exactly how to do it if you want to see the results soon. One of the most common mistakes is that people allow the pelvis to go back while performing the exercise. That's why it would be a good idea if you had a couch or a wall behind you to prevent you from rotating backward and make sure you're doing the exercise properly. Feel free to use resistance bands for some stronger thigh tightening.

Additional pointers

If you'd like to turn your clamshell game up a notch, you can consider putting some extra burn into your glutes. Once you've laid down on your side with your hips bent to 45 degrees and knees at 90 degrees, push your top knee outward, as if it were longer than the bottom knee. To prevent your upper body from rolling too much, place a hand on your hip. Push your top knee outward, to rotate your pelvis and place the hip in a more abducted and externally rotated position. This way, the posterior fibers of the gluteus medius will be more engaged and kickstart the external rotation fibers of the gluteus maximus. Just make sure you don’t open the knees too much or rock your upper body backward.

Final thoughts

The oyster exercise has shown to help many people heal their back, knee and hip pain while also allowing them to tighten up their glutes a little. The most important thing to remember is that if you want to do the exercise, you'll have to do it properly. Too much backward rotation or knees opening can lessen the progress and actually be counter-effective. That's why you should do your best to follow the instructions on how to do it and which mistakes to avoid in order to alleviate your body from any pain.