The Pilates side leg lift is a mat exercise where you lie on your side and raise both legs off the mat together, keeping them straight and pressed against each other. It works the muscles along the upper side of your waist (obliques and quadratus lumborum), the muscles at the side of the top hip, and the inner thigh of the bottom leg. With both legs rising at once, your trunk has to hold the pelvis steady, so your waist works harder than it would for a single leg.

How to do the pilates side leg lift

Lie on your side with your bottom arm reaching out along the mat beyond your head, using it as a pillow. Bend your top arm and plant that hand on the mat just in front of you to steady yourself.
Stack your hips one directly above the other, so your pelvis is upright rather than tipping back. Keep both legs straight, pressed together and angled slightly forward of your body.
Breathe out, draw your stomach in gently, and lift both legs off the mat together, keeping them straight and your feet level with each other.
Breathe in as you lower them slowly back to the mat, as in the video. Once that is easy, you can stop them just above the mat before the next lift, as the voice guide describes, which keeps the muscles working for the whole set.
Keep your waist long and your top hip still as the legs rise. Lift only as high as you can without your pelvis rocking back or your back arching.

What you should feel

Work along the upper side of your waist, at the outside of the top hip and in the inner thigh of the bottom leg. Your lower back should feel steady, not pinched.

Common mistakes

Letting the top hip fall backward, which turns the lift into work for the front of the hip.
Swinging the legs up quickly instead of lifting with control.
Letting the legs drift apart as they rise.
Arching the lower back or tensing the neck to get the legs higher.

How often

Many programs use 1 to 2 sets of 5 to 10 slow lifts on each side, a few days a week. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain in the lower back or the side of the hip, or pain that grows as the set goes on.
Pain running down into a leg, or a leg that tingles or goes numb.
A pinch deep in the groin or the front of the hip as the legs rise.

From the clinic

If both legs will not come up without your hips rolling back or your back arching, start with side lying hip abduction, which raises only the top leg, or the clamshell. A folded towel between your head and arm helps if the stretched arm bothers your shoulder or neck. With a sore lower back, keep the lift small to begin with, because the muscles at the side of the lower back help hold the legs up.

If you have had a hip replacement or other hip surgery, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try this exercise. Some operations limit this kind of work for the first months, so the timing depends on your surgery. Ask as well which side you may lie on. If you are pregnant, ask your midwife or physio before you start. If you have recently given birth, including by cesarean section, or you have a gap down the middle of your stomach muscles (diastasis recti), ask your physio, midwife or doctor first.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Pilates side leg lift