Train Around It
Side of the Hip — Glute & Hip Resilience
Eight weeks, three days, for a hip that aches on the side. Abduction holds and bridges first, then loaded hip work under one rule: never past neutral. One variable moves each week — range, load or stance width — with a soreness check every session. Dumbbells and a band.
- Category
- Train Around It
- Length
- 8 weeks
- Frequency
- 3 days/week
- Est. session
- 55–75 min
Last updated: June 2026
About this program
Side of the Hip is an eight-week, three-day block for people whose hip complains on the outside — after a long walk, on stairs, or after lying on that side. It trains the muscles on the side of the hip to hold the pelvis level under load, without pressing that side of the hip into the positions that usually provoke it: no leg crossing the midline under load, no deep hip flexion early, nothing that pulls the working hip past a neutral, feet-under-hips stance.
It is for adults who can walk and stand comfortably for ten minutes and want the side of the hip to be the priority for a block, on a kit that stops at dumbbells and a band. It is not for you if you are recovering from hip surgery, if pain wakes you at night and is getting worse, or if you have pain in the groin or pain that travels down the leg. This is a training program, not medical care — if any of those describe you, see a qualified healthcare professional before starting, and stop and see one if they appear mid-block. Want size rather than tolerance? Hips & Hamstrings is the better fit.
Loading follows our Injury Prevention framework's graded-exposure principle — one variable advances per week, never two, so a flare-up traces to a single change. Weekly set counts sit at the low end of the range our Volume Management framework calls productive, because tolerance, not volume, is the limit here. The bias toward isometric holds and slow single-leg work comes from our Exercise Selection framework.
Expect two weeks establishing a pain-free range, two adding load inside it, a scheduled unload in week five, two weeks of single-leg stance work, and a week eight repeating week one's tests so you can compare directly.
Train Around It · 8 weeks · 3 days/week
Start to finish
- Frequency
- 3 days/week
- Per session
- 55–75 min
Who it's for
Four ways to tell at a glance whether this block belongs in your week.
- 01The goal
- Eight weeks, three days, for a hip that aches on the side.
- 02The commitment
- A focused two-to-three days a week
- 03The arc
- 8 weeks, 5 phases that build and reset
- 04The coaching
- Your coach drives the plan forward — it reads each session and moves you up the moment the work gets easier, so you keep progressing
How it progresses
8 weeks across 5 phases — your coach watches the effort in your logged sets and moves the weight up the moment a load starts getting easier, so you keep climbing instead of waiting on the calendar.
- Weeks 1–260Intensity
Phase 1 · Standard
Find Neutral
Two weeks establishing the range that does not provoke the hip, and the loads that sit comfortably inside it. Nothing is chased.
- Weeks 3–462Intensity
Phase 2 · Accumulation
Load the Level Hip
Two weeks where load is the only thing that changes. Range, stance width and step height stay exactly where week two left them.
- Weeks 5–530Intensity
Phase 3 · Deload
Unload
One planned easy week. Loads drop by about a third, every range and stance setting stays put, and nothing new is introduced.
- Weeks 6–782Intensity
Phase 4 · Intensification
One Leg, Level
Two weeks proving the hip can hold you level on one leg with load — step-ups and a one-sided carry join, and stance width narrows.
- Weeks 8–888Intensity
Phase 5 · Testing
Stand and Check
One week repeating week one's tests at the loads, ranges and stance you finished on. A straight comparison, not a maximum effort.
Sessions in this program
The individual workouts this program schedules through the week — open any session for its full exercise list, sets, and coaching notes.
Why your coach builds it this way
Side of the Hip is an eight-week, three-day block for people whose hip complains on the outside — after a long walk, on stairs, or after lying on that side. It trains the muscles on the side of the hip to hold the pelvis level under load, without pressing that side of the hip into the positions that usually provoke it: no leg crossing the midline under load, no deep hip flexion early, nothing that pulls the working hip past a neutral, feet-under-hips stance.
It is for adults who can walk and stand comfortably for ten minutes and want the side of the hip to be the priority for a block, on a kit that stops at dumbbells and a band. It is not for you if you are recovering from hip surgery, if pain wakes you at night and is getting worse, or if you have pain in the groin or pain that travels down the leg. This is a training program, not medical care — if any of those describe you, see a qualified healthcare professional before starting, and stop and see one if they appear mid-block. Want size rather than tolerance? Hips & Hamstrings is the better fit.
Loading follows our Injury Prevention framework's graded-exposure principle — one variable advances per week, never two, so a flare-up traces to a single change. Weekly set counts sit at the low end of the range our Volume Management framework calls productive, because tolerance, not volume, is the limit here. The bias toward isometric holds and slow single-leg work comes from our Exercise Selection framework.
Expect two weeks establishing a pain-free range, two adding load inside it, a scheduled unload in week five, two weeks of single-leg stance work, and a week eight repeating week one's tests so you can compare directly.
The principles behind it
Common questions
The facts most people check before they commit a block to it.
01How long is the Side of the Hip — Glute & Hip Resilience program?
Side of the Hip — Glute & Hip Resilience runs 8 weeks at 3 days a week, structured into 5 phases so the load builds and resets on schedule. In Squatly, the coach tunes it to you, so the plan keeps moving with your training.
02Who is Side of the Hip — Glute & Hip Resilience for?
Eight weeks, three days, for a hip that aches on the side. It sits in the Train Around It category, and the coach reads your training to tell you whether it's the right fit before you commit a block to it.
03How does Side of the Hip — Glute & Hip Resilience progress over the weeks?
It opens with find Neutral and finishes with stand and Check. Each phase has a job — accumulate work, push intensity, or back off to absorb it — and the coach moves your load when your logged sets earn it, not on a fixed schedule.
04Does the coach adjust Side of the Hip — Glute & Hip Resilience to me?
Yes. The program is the starting structure; the coach reads your e1RM trend, your weekly volume, and your effort on each lift, then tells you when to push — when a load is getting easier, it's time to add weight. It shows you the trend lines behind every call, and you accept, edit, or reject it. With every workout, the plan gets more yours.
Keep moving forward.
The program sets the structure. Your coach drives it forward — reading your numbers and pushing the weight up as you get stronger, so the plan stays yours and you keep progressing.
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Aleks · Coach
Proposal — add weight