Legs · Bodyweight
Standing Side Leg Raise
How to do the standing side leg raise, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Stand tall holding onto a wall or chair for balance. Keep your working leg straight and your toes pointing forward, then lift it out to the side as high as you can without leaning. Pause at the top, then lower under control. Finish your reps and switch legs.
- 1Feel the outer hip and glute lift the leg out to the side
- 2Stay tall through your torso instead of leaning away
- 3Lower the leg slowly to keep tension on the hip
Common mistakes
- Don't lean your upper body to get the leg higher
- Avoid rotating the toes up; keep them pointing forward
- Don't swing the leg up with momentum
Muscles worked
The standing side leg raise mainly works the glutes, with the obliques assisting.
- GlutesPrimary
- ObliquesSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
- QuadsMinor
- HamstringsMinor
- CalvesMinor
- External RotatorsMinor
- AdductorsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
Kovo programs the standing side leg raise for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More glutes exercises
- How to do the agility ladder drill
- How to do the airdyne bike
- How to do the arc trainer
- How to do the assault bike
- How to do the medicine ball atlas stone lift
- How to do the b stance hip thrust
Last reviewed June 2026.