How many circles per side should you do for the side-lying leg circles when you are new to the exercise?

Start with 2 to 3 sets of 8 small circles in each direction per side, keeping the circle no bigger than a dinner plate. Widen the circle only once the pelvis stays completely still and the waist stops sagging toward the floor.

What's an easier or harder version of side-lying leg circles?

To make it easier, shrink the circle further and rest your head on your arm instead of propping it up. To make it harder, add a light ankle weight, or lift the head and prop the torso up on the forearm to remove that extra point of stability.

What are side-lying leg circles good for, and when should you skip them?

They isolate the gluteus medius and hip stabilizers through a full range of motion, which makes them useful for runners, lifters with knee tracking issues, or anyone doing hip rehab work. Skip them, or shrink the circle a lot, if you feel pinching at the front of the hip, since that usually means the circle is going farther than that hip currently controls well.

Intermediate

Side-Lying Leg Circles

A 360-degree challenge for the hip stabilizers that forces the pelvis to stay quiet while the leg travels through every direction. Because the load shifts around the joint, the glute medius, adductors, and hip flexors all take a turn under tension. Keep the circles small and honest and the outer hip will burn quickly.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Glutes
Type: Pilates, Strength
Browse by muscle: Gluteus Medius
Browse by movement: Hip Abduction

How to do it

1
Lie on your side in a straight line with legs slightly forward and the top leg lifted to hip height.
2
Draw a small circle with the top leg, roughly the size of a dinner plate, leading with a pointed toe.
3
Keep the movement smooth and continuous, sweeping forward, up, back, and down.
4
Hold the pelvis and ribcage completely still so only the leg moves.
5
Complete the reps in one direction, then reverse the circle.
6
Roll over and repeat the full sequence on the other leg.

Tips

Shrink the circle if the waist collapses or the hip starts to rock.
Initiate from the hip socket, not the knee, keeping the leg long.
Keep the bottom leg pressed lightly into the floor as an anchor.

Variations

Common mistakes

The top leg drops below hip height as the circle continues, changing the angle of pull on the hip stabilizers partway through the set.
The torso rocks forward and back to help swing the leg through the circle, turning a hip-isolation drill into a whole-body sway.
The toe relaxes and turns passive partway through the circle instead of staying pointed, taking some of the length out of the working leg.
The circle size grows noticeably larger in one direction than the other, so the hip gets a different, uneven challenge each way.
Rushing through both directions back to back without a brief reset lets fatigue-driven wobble carry from one direction straight into the next.

Frequently asked

How many circles per side should you do for the side-lying leg circles when you are new to the exercise?: Start with 2 to 3 sets of 8 small circles in each direction per side, keeping the circle no bigger than a dinner plate. Widen the circle only once the pelvis stays completely still and the waist stops sagging toward the floor.
What's an easier or harder version of side-lying leg circles?: To make it easier, shrink the circle further and rest your head on your arm instead of propping it up. To make it harder, add a light ankle weight, or lift the head and prop the torso up on the forearm to remove that extra point of stability.
What are side-lying leg circles good for, and when should you skip them?: They isolate the gluteus medius and hip stabilizers through a full range of motion, which makes them useful for runners, lifters with knee tracking issues, or anyone doing hip rehab work. Skip them, or shrink the circle a lot, if you feel pinching at the front of the hip, since that usually means the circle is going farther than that hip currently controls well.

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