You've heard of your shoulder rotator cuff, but did you know your hips also contain a rotator cuff set of muscles? "They run horizontal from your outer, upper hip joint to the center of your gluteals and sit well under your gluteus maximus. And, like the rotator cuff of the shoulder, these muscles not only rotate your upper thigh bone outward, but strong hip rotators also help you to balance and protect your hips when you jump, do kickboxing moves, or climb up and down stairs," Olson says.
Best Exercise: Side-Lying External Rotations
Start lying down on your right side with your legs and hips stacked, supporting yourself with your right elbow bent under your shoulder and your left hand in front of your body, palm on the floor to help you balance. Press the right side of your torso away from the floor and draw your abs in tight to keep your spine lifted and supported. Squeeze your butt and lift your left leg about 20 inches (just above your hip) and hold for 1 full count. Then, turn your leg outward so that your toe is pointing up to the ceiling and slowly lower until the heels of both feet touch. Repeat for three sets of 15 reps and then change sides.
