The prone heel squeeze is done lying on your stomach. With both knees bent and wide apart and the soles of your feet touching in the air, you tighten your buttocks to press your heels into each other, hold briefly, then relax. The knees-apart position already turns the hips outward, so the squeeze works the big buttock muscle and the small muscles deep in the hip that turn the thigh out. You need no equipment. Physios often give it to people who struggle to feel their buttocks switch on.

How to do the prone heel squeeze

Lie face down on a mat and rest your forehead on your hands, or on a small folded towel, so your neck stays relaxed.
Bend both knees so your lower legs point up toward the ceiling. Let the knees slide apart until the soles of your feet meet.
Tighten your buttocks and use them to press your heels firmly together. Your hip bones and knees stay resting on the mat.
Keep the pressure on for a few seconds while you breathe normally.
Let the pressure go, rest for a moment with your feet still touching, then squeeze again.

What you should feel

Both buttocks working, with some effort deep in the hips. Your lower back should stay relaxed and quiet.

Common mistakes

Lifting your hips or knees off the mat to squeeze harder.
Arching your lower back instead of using your buttocks.
Holding your breath as you push the heels together.
Forcing the knees wider than is comfortable, which strains the groin.

How often

Many programs use 1 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 squeezes, each held for about 3 to 5 seconds. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain or a pinch in the groin or deep in the hip.
Your lower back aches in this position, even with a pillow under your stomach.
Tingling, numbness or pain running into your thigh or lower leg.

From the clinic

The app lists this as strengthening for the external rotators, which is accurate. Face down with the knees bent, bringing your feet toward each other turns the hips outward (external rotation), so pressing the heels together works those muscles while the legs stay still. The name used here, prone heel squeeze, just describes the movement. For a version where the hip turns through its range, see prone hip rotation.

A thin pillow under your stomach helps if lying flat bothers your lower back, and a folded towel under the knees makes a hard floor kinder. If you are pregnant, lying face down soon becomes awkward. The clamshell works similar muscles while you lie on your side.

If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try this exercise. Lying face down with the knees wide and the soles together turns both straight hips outward, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations.

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.

Prone heel squeeze