Side Leg Raises
A standing lateral leg swing done beside a chair or rack: you swing one straight leg out to the side, then back down across the standing leg. The swing across the midline is what stretches the adductors — the raise on its own only works the abductors — and range is meant to grow rep by rep rather than start at maximum.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Stand side-on to a chair back, wall or rack upright and rest one hand on it — support, not a lean.
- Put your weight on the far leg, knee soft rather than locked out.
- Stand tall with your ribs down and your hips square to the front before the first swing.
- Give yourself clear space on both sides. This drill needs about a metre of swing room.
- Keep the swinging leg straight and the foot relaxed — no pointed toe, no deliberate turnout.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Breathe freely and let the rhythm set itself at roughly one swing per second. There is no hold and no brace here — if you find yourself holding your breath, you are swinging harder than the drill needs.
Before you load it
- Build the range over the set rather than swinging maximally when cold. A ballistic movement into unprepared end range is the classic mechanism for an adductor strain.
How much, how often
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Bodyweight, and it should stay that way — ankle weights turn a momentum-driven mobility drill into an uncontrolled loaded swing at end range. One or two sets of 5-10 per leg in the warm-up, most days you train. Progress by getting higher and further across on the last reps of a set, not by adding sets, weight or speed.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Fix your eyes on a point straight ahead and keep both shoulders level. Lower the swing until the torso stays still — height built from side-bending trains nothing at the hip.
Make the crossover the loudest part of the rep: consciously drive the leg past the midline each time. Without it the adductors never reach end range and the drill is just an abduction warm-up.
Deliberately make the first two swings half-height and build from there. The whole method is progressive momentum; a cold maximal swing is how a groin gets strained in a warm-up.
Use fingertips only on the chair or wall. If you need a full grip to stay upright, stand closer and slow the swing down — balance is part of what the drill trains.
Why bother
Both halves of the swing do a job. Swinging out loads the glute medius and abductors concentrically; letting the leg travel back down and across the standing leg is where the adductors get taken to end range. Skipping the cross means you have done half a drill, which is the single most common way this one gets wasted.
Because momentum takes the leg past where you could actively lift it, the range increases across the set. That is the point of the 5-10 rep prescription: the first two swings are deliberately short, and the last two are the ones that matter. It is also why this belongs before training and a static groin hold belongs after.
Where it fits
In the warm-up for anything involving lateral movement, squatting or running: one or two sets of 5-10 per leg after a few minutes of general movement. It costs thirty seconds and needs nothing but a wall to hold. Pair it with front-to-back leg swings to cover the hip in both planes.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
Start here instead
When this gets easy
Asked and answered
How high should the leg go?
As high as it goes without your torso tipping the other way — for most people that is somewhere between hip height and just below it by the end of a set. Height is the output, not the target. A 60-degree swing with a still torso does more for the hip than a 90-degree one built out of side-bending.
Is this a stretch or a warm-up drill?
A warm-up drill that happens to stretch. Because the swing is ballistic it raises tissue temperature and increases usable range without the drop in force production that a long static hold before lifting can cause. If you want a genuine adductor stretch, hold a side-lying or butterfly position after your session instead.
Can I use ankle weights to make it harder?
Do not. The leg is already travelling on momentum past the range you can actively control, and adding weight at the end of a long lever multiplies the force arriving at the hip and groin exactly where you are least able to resist it. If you want to load abduction and adduction, use band hip adductions or a cable, where the load is controlled throughout.
How many should I do before a lower-body session?
One or two sets of 5-10 per leg is enough, and it takes under a minute. This is preparation, not training — you are looking for the last few swings to feel easy and free. If you are still not moving well after two sets, the limitation is not something a warm-up drill will solve that day.