Banded Clamshell

Muscles worked by the Banded Clamshell

Primary

Glute MediusGluteus Medius

Secondary

GlutesGluteus Maximus

Also called: glute med, gluteus medius, side glute, hip abductor glute.

Equipment

Loop Band

Also called: mini band, hip band, booty band, fabric band, glute band, mini loop band.

How to do the Banded Clamshell

1. Lie on your side with hips and knees bent to roughly 45 degrees, feet stacked.
2. Place a loop band around both legs above the knees.
3. Keep the feet pressed together and the pelvis stable — do not roll back as you move.
4. Open the top knee upward against the band, like a clamshell opening, until you feel the glute fire.
5. Pause briefly at the top, then lower under control to the start.
6. Complete all reps on one side, then switch.

Form tips

• The pelvis stays stacked — the moment you start rocking back, the glute disengages.
• Slow controlled tempo beats heavy band; this is a stability drill, not a strength PR.
• If you cramp in the side of the hip, that is exactly the right muscle. Shorten the set.

At a glance

Banded Clamshell in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Banded Fire Hydrant
• Banded Seated Hip Abduction
• Banded Standing Hip Abduction
• Banded Sumo Walk
• Clamshell Hold
• Clamshells
• Machine Hip Abduction
• Side-Lying Hip Abduction

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "banded-clamshell",
  "name_en": "Banded Clamshell",
  "name_de": "Clamshell mit Band",
  "name_es": "Almeja con Banda",
  "description_en": "A clamshell hip-abduction performed with a loop band wrapped above the knees. The band adds constant tension on the gluteus medius — a small, focused isolation drill for hip stability.",
  "description_de": "Eine im Seitliegen ausgeführte Hüftabduktion gegen ein Loop-Band oberhalb der Knie, die gezielt den mittleren Gesäßmuskel für Hüftstabilität isoliert.",
  "description_es": "Una abducción de cadera tipo almeja con una banda circular por encima de las rodillas, que aísla el glúteo medio.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "equipment": "loop_band",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_medius"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "rehabilitation",
    "endurance",
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "leg_day",
    "warm_up"
  ],
  "variation_group": "hip-abduction",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie on your side with hips and knees bent to roughly 45 degrees, feet stacked.",
    "Place a loop band around both legs above the knees.",
    "Keep the feet pressed together and the pelvis stable — do not roll back as you move.",
    "Open the top knee upward against the band, like a clamshell opening, until you feel the glute fire.",
    "Pause briefly at the top, then lower under control to the start.",
    "Complete all reps on one side, then switch."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Lege dich auf die Seite, Hüfte und Knie etwa 45 Grad gebeugt, die Füße übereinander.",
    "Lege ein Loop-Band um beide Beine oberhalb der Knie.",
    "Halte die Füße zusammengedrückt und das Becken stabil — kippe während der Bewegung nicht nach hinten.",
    "Öffne das obere Knie wie eine Muschelschale gegen das Band nach oben, bis du den Gesäßmuskel arbeiten spürst.",
    "Halte oben kurz inne und senke das Knie kontrolliert in die Ausgangsposition.",
    "Führe alle Wiederholungen auf einer Seite durch, dann wechsle die Seite."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Túmbate de lado con las caderas y rodillas flexionadas a unos 45 grados y los pies juntos uno sobre otro.",
    "Coloca una banda circular alrededor de ambas piernas por encima de las rodillas.",
    "Mantén los pies pegados y la pelvis estable; no rotes hacia atrás durante el movimiento.",
    "Abre la rodilla de arriba contra la banda, como una almeja al abrirse, hasta notar que el glúteo se activa.",
    "Haz una breve pausa arriba y baja de forma controlada hasta la posición inicial.",
    "Completa todas las repeticiones de un lado y luego cambia."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "The pelvis stays stacked — the moment you start rocking back, the glute disengages.",
    "Slow controlled tempo beats heavy band; this is a stability drill, not a strength PR.",
    "If you cramp in the side of the hip, that is exactly the right muscle. Shorten the set."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Wähle ein langsames, kontrolliertes Tempo statt eines stärkeren Bands.",
    "Sobald das Becken nach hinten rollt, verliert der seitliche Gesäßmuskel die Spannung.",
    "Krampft es seitlich in der Hüfte, arbeitet genau der richtige Muskel — verkürze den Satz."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "La pelvis se queda fija; en cuanto rotas hacia atrás, el glúteo deja de trabajar.",
    "Un tempo lento y controlado vale más que una banda dura.",
    "Si te da un calambre en el lateral de la cadera, acorta la serie."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/banded-clamshell-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/banded-clamshell-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "banded-clamshell");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.