StrengthIn review

Mini-Band Clamshell

A side-lying hip rotation against a mini-band above the knees.

This page is a working draft. A coach has not reviewed it, so read it as a starting point, not as checked instruction.

Pattern: Hip isolation
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Beginner
Mechanic: Unknown
Force: Unknown
Laterality: Unilateral
Impact: Low
Trains where: Gym, Home
At home: Yes

How to do it

Set up

Lie on one side with the hips and knees bent and the heels together.
Loop a mini-band above the knees and stack the hips vertically.

Do the rep

Keep the heels together and lift the top knee without rolling the pelvis back.
Lower the knee under control, then complete the set on that side.

What counts as a rep

A rep counts when the top knee opens while the hips stay stacked and returns to the start; count each side.

One rep counts when the top knee opens while the hips stay stacked and returns to the start; count each side.

Breathing

Exhale during the effort; inhale during the controlled return.

Cues

Keep the pelvis still.
Move at a steady speed.
Use a stronger band when the reps get easy.

Common mistakes

Rolling backward
What you seeThe top hip moves behind the lower hip as the knee opens.
FixOpen the knee less far and keep the hips stacked.
Control keeps the work in the intended movement.

Stop the set if

Stop if you feel sharp pain.
Stop if the band slips or shows a tear.
End the set when you cannot meet the rep standard under control.

General educational content, not individual coaching or medical advice.

Muscles worked

Prime movers

Glutes · moderate confidence

Assisting

Deep core / trunk stabilizers · moderate confidence

Equipment

Mini band

Lie on one side with the hips and knees bent and the heels together. Loop a mini-band above the knees and stack the hips vertically.

In the app

You log this by hand. The camera coach does not watch this movement yet.

Tracking: Manual

How this page was checked

Draft. A editorial reviewer has not signed this off yet.

Draft text is original copy for Wave 2 batch 7, written from the blueprint CSV row and the Wave 2 rules page of 2026-10-12. No human review is complete.
Technique, cues, rep standard, breathing, stop cues, and error corrections need independent sources and the assigned review tier (blueprint two-source rule).
Programming roles, skill tier, failure cost, timed use, goal fit, and equipment follow the rules page; the switch-on PR must confirm them.
Anatomy uses the CSV planning hints; the assigned review tier must confirm it.
Legacy relations and engine edges stay empty until the progression ladder lane and S2-CAT-005.
Timed use and goal fit copy ex_glute_bridge, the closest Wave 1 record. The copied timed-use state is a candidate; this draft has no reviewer approval.
The CSV says lower-body. The record uses hip-isolation and isolation_target under the owner ruling of 2026-10-12 (#340).
The CSV allows resistance-band or mini-band. The setup uses a loop around the legs, so the record requires mini-band only (rule 1).
The CSV says bilateral. The record uses unilateral and each_side counting (rule 1).
Skill tier beginner: The band tension, depth or handle assistance can be reduced for a first-session rep. Failure cost low: The user can stop safely with band resistance or on the floor. (rule 3).
The CSV prescribes load-and-reps. Bands and suspension resistance have no kg value, so the record uses bodyweight-reps only and an effort progression cue (rule 1).
The CSV muscle list is a family hint. The record selects glutes as primary and deep-core as secondary. The vocabulary groups the hip abductors under glutes; coach review must confirm this anatomy.

All instruction and editorial text in this record is original draft copy written for Allena. Planning metadata comes from the internal Wave-2 blueprint CSV.

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