Forget squats — I use this simple Pilates exercise to isolate your glutes and reduce lower back pain

A woman doing Pilates on an exercise mat .

While squats and lunges are a fantastic way to strengthen the glutes and lower body, there’s one simple Pilates exercise that really isolates the gluteus medius — a smaller muscle on the outer hip that often gets lazy as the larger gluteus maximus or hip flexors tend to take over during lower-body moves.

I’ve been practicing Pilates for the past 15 years, and it’s a staple exercise in my lower body workouts — read on to find out how to do the Pilates clamshell with perfect form, plus the progressions to try once you’ve mastered the bodyweight move.