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Exercises

Hip exercises for men: extension, side hips, inner thighs and hip flexors

Published October 29, 2026

The best hip exercises for men are the hip thrust and single-leg Romanian deadlift for hip extension, the hip abduction machine, band walks and clamshells for the side of the hip, the Copenhagen plank, adduction machine and Cossack squat for the inner thighs, and the standing cable hip flexion for the front of the hip. Your hips move the leg back, out, in and forward, and most men only train the first. Add one exercise for each of the other directions twice a week, 2 to 3 sets each, 1 to 3 reps short of failure. The Cossack squat and lateral lunge also take your hips through a deeper range with load, which is how strength work helps stiff hips.

  1. Hip Thrust Glutes
  2. Single-Leg RDL Hamstrings, Glutes
  3. Cossack Squat Quads, Adductors
  4. Copenhagen Plank Adductors, Abs
  5. Hip Abduction Machine Abductors
  6. Standing Cable Hip Flexion Abs
  7. Dumbbell Lateral Lunge Quads, Glutes, Adductors
  8. Lateral Band Walk Abductors

Hip extension: driving the leg back

This is the hip's strongest action and the one squats and deadlifts already train. These three add work at lockout, on one leg and at speed.

Glutes, loaded hip extension

Hip Thrust

Glutes

It trains the hips at full lockout, the position that sitting takes away. Heavy thrusts build the glutes that power every jump, sprint and lift.

How to do it

  1. Sit with your shoulder blades against the long side of a flat bench and roll a padded bar over your hips.
  2. Plant your feet flat about hip width apart, close enough that your shins are vertical at the top.
  3. Drive through your heels and lift your hips until your torso and thighs form a straight line.
  4. Hold the top for a second with your chin tucked, then lower your hips most of the way down and repeat.

Cues

  • Chin tucked, ribs down
  • Shins vertical at the top
  • One-second squeeze

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back to get higher: stop when your hips are level with your knees and squeeze your glutes there.
  • Feet too far out, which turns it into a hamstring exercise: bring them in until your shins are vertical at lockout.

Swap for: Dumbbell Hip Thrust, Smith Machine Hip Thrust, Glute Bridge

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Hamstrings, glutes and side hip, one-leg hinge

Single-Leg RDL

Hamstrings, Glutes

Balancing on one leg while you hinge trains extension and the side of the hip at once. It shows quickly if one hip is weaker or less steady.

How to do it

  1. Stand on your left leg with a dumbbell in your left hand and the standing knee softly bent.
  2. Hinge forward at the left hip while your right leg extends straight behind you, keeping your hips level.
  3. Lower until your torso and back leg are close to parallel to the floor or the standing hamstring stops you.
  4. Drive the left hip forward to come back up, then finish the set before switching sides.

Cues

  • Back leg and torso move as one
  • Hips level, back toes down
  • Slow on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Opening the hip so the back leg rotates out: point the back toes at the floor the whole time.
  • Touching the free foot down between reps to rebalance: slow down and hold a wall with your free hand if needed.

Swap for: Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Dumbbell B-Stance RDL

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Glutes and hamstrings, explosive hinge

Kettlebell Swing

Glutes, Hamstrings

Snapping the hips forward to float the bell trains hip extension at speed, the way it is used in sprinting and jumping.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your feet a little wider than your hips, the bell set about a foot in front of you.
  2. Hinge down, grip the handle with both hands, and hike the bell back between your thighs.
  3. Snap your hips forward to stand tall, letting the bell float up to about shoulder height on straight arms.
  4. Let it fall back between your legs as you hinge again, and go straight into the next rep.

Cues

  • Hips snap, arms just hold on
  • Stand tall at the top
  • Bell passes high between the thighs

Common mistakes

  • Squatting the swing by bending the knees deeply: push your hips back and keep the shins nearly vertical.
  • Lifting the bell with your shoulders: if your arms are working, the hips are not driving it.

Swap for: Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift, Superman

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The side of the hip

The muscles on the outside of the hip keep your pelvis level and your knee tracking straight when you stand on one leg. Most men have never trained them directly.

Side hips, seated abduction

Hip Abduction Machine

Abductors

The simplest way to load the side of the hip with weight you can add in small steps. Two or three sets after leg day is enough.

How to do it

  1. Sit with the outside of your knees against the pads and set the start so your legs are close together.
  2. Lean your torso forward slightly and hold the handles.
  3. Push your knees apart as far as the machine allows.
  4. Pause at the widest point, return slowly without letting the stack touch, and repeat.

Cues

  • Lean forward a little
  • Pause at the widest point
  • Do not let the plates rest

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing the pads out and letting them slam back: count two seconds on the way in.
  • Using so much weight that the range shrinks to a few inches: full range with less load works better.

Swap for: Lateral Band Walk, Band Seated Hip Abduction, Standing Side Leg Raise

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Side hips, banded side steps

Lateral Band Walk

Abductors

A mini band trains the side hips anywhere and makes a good warm-up before squats, where it helps you feel your knees pushing out.

How to do it

  1. Place a mini band around your legs just above the knees or at the ankles.
  2. Sink into a quarter squat with your feet hip-distance apart.
  3. Step sideways with the lead foot, follow with the other without letting the feet touch, and keep tension in the band.

Cues

  • Stay low
  • Toes point forward

Common mistakes

  • Swaying the torso side to side: keep your shoulders level and take shorter steps.

Swap for: Clamshell, Band Standing Hip Abduction

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Side hips and rotators, lying clamshell

Clamshell

Abductors

Opening the top knee while your feet stay together trains the hip's outward rotation. Easy to do at home or as a warm-up.

How to do it

  1. Lie on one hip with knees bent, stacked, heels touching.
  2. Pillow your head on the lower arm; keep the hips stacked.
  3. Keep your feet touching and lift the top knee as high as you can.
  4. Lower the knee slowly back to the other one.

Cues

  • Feet together
  • Hips stacked
  • Pause up top

Common mistakes

  • Rolling the top hip back: only the knee should move.
  • Rushing the reps: a two-second lowering makes a light move useful.

Swap for: Fire Hydrant, Standing Side Leg Raise

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Inner thighs and side-to-side range

The adductors pull the leg in and are among the least trained muscles around a man's hips. Side lunges and Cossack squats train them while opening up the hips under load.

Inner thighs, seated adduction

Hip Adduction Machine

Adductors

Men often skip this machine, but the adductors are a large muscle group that helps in squats and in changing direction. Load it like any other machine.

How to do it

  1. Set the range lever so the pads start wide enough to give your inner thighs a stretch you can hold without strain, and pick the weight on the stack.
  2. Sit with your back and hips pressed into the back pad, put your feet on the footrests and place the inside of your knees against the pads.
  3. Hold the side handles and brace your stomach lightly so your hips stay planted.
  4. Squeeze your knees together in a smooth arc until the pads meet or nearly meet, and hold the squeeze for a moment.
  5. Let your legs open slowly back to the starting stretch, stopping just before the plates touch, then start the next rep.

Cues

  • Hips glued to the seat
  • Squeeze, pause, open slowly
  • Stop the stack from resting

Common mistakes

  • Setting the start too wide: if your hips lift or your groin pinches at the bottom, bring the range lever in a notch and add depth over a few weeks.
  • Slamming the pads together: close at a steady speed and pause, so the adductors do the work rather than momentum.
  • Letting the legs fly open: control the return for about two seconds; that stretch is where most of the work happens.

Swap for: Copenhagen Plank, Band Hip Adduction

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Inner thighs and obliques, side plank on the top leg

Copenhagen Plank

Adductors, Abs

Holding yourself up on your top leg loads the adductors hard with no equipment beyond a bench.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your side next to a flat bench or sturdy chair, propped on your bottom forearm with the elbow under your shoulder.
  2. Lay your straight top leg on the seat so the inside of your foot and ankle rest on it; tuck the bottom leg under it or let it rest on the floor.
  3. Press the top foot down into the seat and raise your hips until your body runs in one line from head to feet.
  4. Hold for the set's time or lower and raise your hips for reps, then turn over and do the other side.

Cues

  • Push the seat away with your top foot
  • Hips stacked, not rolled back
  • Breathe while you hold

Common mistakes

  • Starting with the foot on the seat before you can hold a side plank: rest your knee there instead until 30-second holds feel solid.
  • Hips drifting backward so the plank turns into a pike: keep your hips in line with your shoulders.

Swap for: Band Hip Adduction, Cossack Squat, Balance Board Lateral Squat

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Inner thighs and quads, side-to-side squat

Cossack Squat

Quads, Adductors

Sitting deep onto one leg while the other stays straight stretches the inner thigh under load. It builds strength in the range stiff hips are missing.

How to do it

  1. Take a very wide stance, about twice the width of your shoulders, with the toes turned out a little.
  2. Bend your right knee and sit your hips down toward your right heel, letting the left leg straighten with the toes pointing up.
  3. Sink as deep as you can with the right foot flat and your chest lifted.
  4. Press the floor away with the right foot to return to the middle, then sit to the left.

Cues

  • Sit down, not forward
  • Flat foot on the bent side
  • Long leg stays straight

Common mistakes

  • Folding the chest down to the knee to get lower: hold a light weight out in front as a counterbalance instead.
  • Rushing from side to side: stop in the middle for a breath between reps.

Swap for: Dumbbell Lateral Lunge, Kettlebell Lateral Lunge, Balance Board Lateral Squat

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Inner thighs, glutes and quads, side lunge

Dumbbell Lateral Lunge

Quads, Glutes, Adductors

Stepping out to the side trains the hips in a direction gym training rarely covers, and dumbbells let you load it once bodyweight is easy.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your feet together and a dumbbell hanging at each side.
  2. Take a wide step to the right and sit your hips back over the right foot, left leg straight.
  3. Lower until the right thigh is near level with the floor, dumbbells on either side of the bent knee.
  4. Push hard off the right foot to step back to the start, then step out to the left.

Cues

  • Step wide, sit back
  • Trailing leg stays long
  • Both feet point forward

Common mistakes

  • Stepping too short, which turns the lunge into a squat with no stretch on the trailing leg.
  • Letting the bent knee drift inward past your big toe: keep it in line with the foot.

Swap for: Kettlebell Lateral Lunge, Cossack Squat, Goblet Squat

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Hip flexors and single-leg strength

Sitting all day keeps the hip flexors short but rarely makes them strong. Lifting the knee against a cable trains them through their full range, and the split squat strengthens the front hip of the back leg in a stretch.

Hip flexors, cable knee drive

Standing Cable Hip Flexion

Abs

It trains the muscles that lift your knee, which matter for sprinting and kicking, through their full range against a cable you can load.

How to do it

  1. Attach an ankle strap to a low pulley, strap one ankle and face away from the stack.
  2. Hold the frame for balance and stand tall on the other leg.
  3. Drive the strapped knee up toward hip height or above, then lower it slowly.

Cues

  • Tall chest
  • Knee high
  • Control the return

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to lift the knee higher.
  • Letting the stack yank the leg back.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Captain's Chair Knee Raise

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Front leg strength, back hip in a stretch

Bulgarian Split Squat

Quads, Glutes

The front leg works hard while the back hip is held in a stretch, so it builds the front hip's range while strengthening the front leg.

How to do it

  1. Set the top of your back foot on a bench and place your front foot a long stride ahead.
  2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, and keep your front foot flat.
  3. Drop your back knee straight toward the floor until the front thigh is close to level.
  4. Press through the front foot to rise, then finish all reps before switching legs.

Cues

  • Go deep for the inner thigh
  • Front foot flat
  • Rear foot is just a kickstand

Common mistakes

  • Pushing up with the back leg: let it relax and make the front leg do the work.
  • Front knee collapsing inward: keep it pointed the same way as your toes.

Swap for: Dumbbell Split Squat, Step-Up, Reverse Lunge

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

Desk job, stiff hips, training at home

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets18 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Resistance Bands

You sit most of the day, your hips feel tight when you squat or get up from the floor, and you have a band and a dumbbell at home.

Three short sessions of about 6 sets each, roughly 18 sets a week, train the hips in every direction while each day stays light enough to repeat. The Cossack squat and single-leg RDL work through range under load, which builds the strength stiff hips lack.

Day 1
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Cossack SquatPer side. 3 × 5–8 3 75 s
ClamshellPer side. 3 × 12–20 2 45 s

Open Day 1 in the session builder

Day 2
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Single-Leg RDLPer leg. 3 × 8–12 3 75 s
Lateral Band WalkSteps per side. 3 × 10–15 2 45 s

Open Day 2 in the session builder

Day 3
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Lateral LungePer side. 3 × 6–10 3 75 s
Copenhagen PlankSeconds per side. Rest the bottom leg on the floor to start. 3 × 10–20 3 1 min

Open Day 3 in the session builder

How to run it
Do one session on three days a week, such as in the morning before work. Each takes 15 to 20 minutes.
How to progress
Stay at 2 to 3 reps in reserve for the first month, and let your depth grow on the Cossack squat before adding reps. After that, add reps to the top of the range, then hold a dumbbell.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Gym lifter adding hip work to leg days

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets14 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Flat Bench, Hip Abductor, Hip Adductor +2

You already squat and deadlift, and want the side hips, inner thighs and hip flexors trained without a separate day.

Your squats and deadlifts already load hip extension, so the hip thrust here adds only lockout work and the rest of the block covers the side hips, inner thighs and hip flexors: 7 sets per leg day, 14 a week. Machines and cables let you push close to failure with little fatigue.

Block A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Hip Thrust1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–12 2 2 min
Hip Abduction Machine 2 × 12–20 1 1 min
Hip Adduction Machine 2 × 12–20 1 1 min

Open Block A in the session builder

Block B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Bulgarian Split SquatPer leg. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Standing Cable Hip FlexionPer leg. 2 × 10–15 1 1 min
Hip Adduction Machine 2 × 10–15 1 1 min

Open Block B in the session builder

How to run it
Add Block A to the end of one leg day and Block B to the other. If you only have one leg day, do both blocks back to back.
How to progress
Add reps until every set reaches the top of the range at 1 rep in reserve, then move up one pin. On the hip thrust, add 10 lb when you reach the top of the range.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Field and court sports: cutting, skating, kicking

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets14 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentKettlebells, Dumbbells, Resistance Bands

You play soccer, basketball, hockey, tennis or rugby and want hips that hold up to side-to-side movement.

Change of direction loads the side hips and inner thighs hard, so most of the 14 weekly sets go there, with swings for hip power and single-leg RDLs for balance. Short sessions fit around practice.

Day 1
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell Swing 3 × 10–15 3 90 s
Dumbbell Lateral LungePer side. 3 × 6–10 2 90 s
Copenhagen PlankSeconds per side. 2 × 15–30 2 1 min

Open Day 1 in the session builder

Day 2
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Single-Leg RDLPer leg. 3 × 6–10 2 90 s
Lateral Band WalkSteps per side. 3 × 12–15 2 45 s

Open Day 2 in the session builder

How to run it
Do the two days on days without hard practice, with at least a day between. In season, keep Day 1 and cut each exercise to 2 sets.
How to progress
Add 5 seconds to the Copenhagen plank until you reach 30, then lift the bottom leg off the floor. On swings and lunges, add weight when every set reaches the top of the range at 2 reps in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are some good exercises for the hips?

Hip thrusts, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, Cossack squats, lateral lunges, Copenhagen planks, band walks and cable hip flexion. Together they train the hip in all four directions it moves.

Will walking strengthen my hips?

It keeps them moving, but it is too easy to build much strength. Single-leg exercises and side-to-side work load the hips far more.

What muscles make up the hip flexors?

Mainly the iliopsoas, deep in the front of the hip, and the rectus femoris, one of the quad muscles. Cable hip flexion and hanging knee raises train them.

Do I need to stretch tight hips, or strengthen them?

Strength work through a full range improves how your hips move too. Exercises like the Cossack squat, lateral lunge and Bulgarian split squat load the hips in the stretched positions that feel tight.

How often should men train their hips?

Two or three times a week. The side-hip and inner-thigh exercises recover quickly, so they fit at the end of leg days or as short sessions at home.