Dr. Jaclyn – Let’s talk butt exercises. For an industry that takes itself as seriously as fitness does, it suffers no shortage of exercises with offbeat names. So if you haven’t already been introduced, allow us to familiarize you with another: the clamshell exercise.
Modeled after other classics like the fire hydrant, the clamshell is so named for its resemblance to — wait for it — a clam opening and closing its shell. Although there may be even deeper meanings here; as anyone who’s ever tried to pry open a clamshell can tell you, it’s no easy task.
- Lie on your right side with your feet and hips stacked, your knees bent 90 degrees, and your head resting on your right arm.
- Draw your knees in toward your body until your feet are in line with your butt. Place your left hand on your left hip to ensure it doesn’t tilt backward. This is your starting position.
- Keeping your abs engaged and your feet together, raise your left knee as far as you can without rotating your hip or lifting your right knee off the floor.
- Hold for 1 second, squeezing your glutes at the top of the move, before slowly lowering your left knee to the starting position.
- Continue for a total of 20 reps, then repeat on the other side.
Make it harder: Loop a resistance band around both thighs, just above your knees. Credit OpenFit.com
How to do a bridge exercise from Sweat.com
Focus on engaging your glutes, rather than pushing your hips up high — doing this can cause lower back pain as you extend through the lumbar spine, and cause potential injury.
Squeeze your core and glutes the whole time and drive through your heels to raise your hips up with each repetition. Using a resistance band around your knees can help you to keep your knees pushed out and trigger glute activation.
- Start by lying flat on your back on a yoga mat. Bend your knees and position your feet firmly on the mat, ensuring that they are hip-width apart and your spine is in a neutral position. Allow your arms to rest by your sides on the mat. This is your starting position.
- Press your heels into the mat, activate your glutes and raise your pelvis off the floor until your body forms one straight line from chin to knee, resting on your shoulders.
- Inhale. Lower your pelvis to return to the starting position.
Repeat.
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