02-10-2012, 05:08
My favourite hip exercises are leg circles with ankle weights. I started with 2lb ankle weights but now I'm up to 10lbs with almost no problem. Wish I'd invested in heavier ankle weights. 
To do it, lay on a mat on your side, extend your leg straight out, and circle it (either forward or backwards). Wider circles are harder, and smaller circles are a lot easier (if you can't finish your sets, use smaller circles as little cheat reps to help you make it through).
Unfortunately, I have bad joints (I'm a plethora of health issues =_=), so sometimes I can barely make it through two sets of leg circles, even when I've been taking MSM for my joints. So just make sure you don't hurt yourself, and if you start to feel like you're about to break something, stop. Even my friend without joint problems has trouble with this exercise sometimes. So learn how to tell the difference between breaking a sweat/feeling the burn and having to just plain stop.
If it becomes to easy, you'll need to up your weights, otherwise you won't see progress. I stuck with the 2lb weights for too long and hit a plateau, but once I bought my 10lb weights I was able to do the 5lbs for a few times, then moved up to the full ten in less than a month.
Squats and donkey/curl kicks are pretty good, too, but the leg circles will work your hips mostly, while those mostly work your butt.
To do it, lay on a mat on your side, extend your leg straight out, and circle it (either forward or backwards). Wider circles are harder, and smaller circles are a lot easier (if you can't finish your sets, use smaller circles as little cheat reps to help you make it through).
Unfortunately, I have bad joints (I'm a plethora of health issues =_=), so sometimes I can barely make it through two sets of leg circles, even when I've been taking MSM for my joints. So just make sure you don't hurt yourself, and if you start to feel like you're about to break something, stop. Even my friend without joint problems has trouble with this exercise sometimes. So learn how to tell the difference between breaking a sweat/feeling the burn and having to just plain stop.
If it becomes to easy, you'll need to up your weights, otherwise you won't see progress. I stuck with the 2lb weights for too long and hit a plateau, but once I bought my 10lb weights I was able to do the 5lbs for a few times, then moved up to the full ten in less than a month.
Squats and donkey/curl kicks are pretty good, too, but the leg circles will work your hips mostly, while those mostly work your butt.