Hip exercises are commonly prescribed for older adults after hip injury or surgery. Even without hip problems, it’s also a good idea to maintain muscle strength as we get older. Keeping muscles and balance tuned can help prevent falls and fractures.
Physical therapists at the University of Kentucky compared six different hip exercises for the gluteus medius muscle. This is a hip abductor (moves the leg away from the body). It’s located on the outside of the hip.
Three of the exercises were done without putting weight on the leg. Three were done in the standing position while putting full weight on the leg. It turns out that the standing weight-bearing exercises activate the muscle the most.
Some examples include:
pelvis to a level position.