Training guide
A hip airplane (or hip aeroplane) is a balance drill on one leg: you hinge forward with your free leg reaching back, then turn your pelvis open towards the ceiling and back down, your standing foot planted. Hold a wall while you learn, go only as low as you can balance, and start with 2 sets of 5 slow turns each leg.
It trains balance, hip rotation and the side glutes at the same time. The evidence is thin: one muscle-activity study and one small trial in which it was part of a programme. It isn't a proven fix for hip impingement or falls, and with pain at the front of the hip you keep to the opening turn.
This guide shows the turn on the 3D figure, what it works, how it differs from the single-leg deadlift, the supported and weighted versions, balance and hip pain, who should wait, and how many to do.
Stand on one leg with a soft knee and one hand on a wall, hinge forward as the other leg reaches long behind you, only as low as you can balance, then turn your pelvis and chest open towards the ceiling over the planted foot and back down until your hips are square. Do your turns, stand up and change legs. The drill is credited to the spine researcher Stuart McGill.
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In one study of 20 healthy men, the hip airplane drew more activity from the gluteus medius (on the side of the hip) than single-leg squats or pelvic drops. In one small trial, a standing hip programme that included it improved single-leg balance in women with knee osteoarthritis. No trial has tested the drill on its own.
Balance and functional exercise cut falls in older people by about a quarter, but balance gains are largely specific to what you practise. Hip airplanes make you better at turning on one leg; for steadier walking and fewer falls, our balance guide's programmes have the evidence.
No study has tested hip airplanes for hip impingement. The physiotherapy programmes tested for it strengthen the glutes and the deep muscles that turn the thigh out, and avoid deep bending with the knee turned in. So with pain at the front of the hip, turn open and don't turn past square on the way back.
After a hip replacement, wait for your surgical team: the NHS says not to bend the hip past 90 degrees or do sudden turns while it recovers. With pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy, standing on one leg can make it worse. If you're dizzy or have fallen recently, keep a hand on something solid.
2 sets of 5 slow turns each leg, holding a support at first (the move page's dose). With hip pain, 2 sets of 3 to 5 each side in a comfortable range (our hip pain guides). Build towards 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 slow turns, 2 or 3 times a week (our editorial starting point, below the trial's 3 sets of 10).
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You balance on one leg in a hinge, the trunk and back leg in one line, and turn your pelvis open over the standing hip and back. Squat University says Stuart McGill designed it "as an active flexibility exercise for the glute muscles", and strength coaches use it as a hip control drill and warm-up.
Opening the pelvis towards the ceiling turns the standing hip outwards (external rotation). Squat University also turns past square, towards the standing leg, which turns the hip inwards (internal rotation). Our move page stops at square, and that's its rule with any pain at the front of the hip.
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The standing leg's glutes (gluteus medius and minimus at the side, gluteus maximus at the back) and the deep muscles that turn the thigh out (piriformis, the obturators, the gemelli and quadratus femoris) control the turn; the hamstrings and back muscles hold the hinge; your trunk keeps the chest and back leg moving as one; and your ankle and foot balance it all. Nobody has measured the deep rotators in it.
"Airplane" also names a balance on one leg with the arms out and no turn, like a dancer's arabesque or warrior 3 in yoga. That one is close to our single-leg Romanian deadlift; this guide is about the turning drill.
Steady single-leg balance and a controlled single-leg hinge, as our move page asks: in practice, about 30 seconds on one leg near a support and a few controlled single-leg Romanian deadlifts at a wall.
Most people find one hip turns better than the other. Normal hip rotation varies a lot with the shape of the bones. Athletes with groin pain have less inward rotation, though measuring it doesn't predict who will get pain.
From our move page and Squat University, in our editorial wording; the 2 to 3 seconds a turn is the pace the Kang trial used. The 3D figure does it free-standing.
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The movement on the figure: Hip airplane
In 20 healthy men, gluteus medius activity was higher in the original and a modified hip airplane than in single-leg squats and pelvic drops, while the gluteus maximus worked hardest in the single-leg squat, and the muscle at the front of the hip (tensor fasciae latae) worked least in the modified airplane. The authors call the original "a challenging and advanced movement". We could read only the abstract, which gives no percentages.
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Kang and colleagues randomised 26 women aged 50 to 64 with mild knee osteoarthritis (22 analysed) to a standing hip programme with four exercises including the hip airplane, or lying and seated hip exercises (side-lying leg raises, clamshells, seated rotation and standing leg raises), twice a week for 10 weeks. The airplane was done as 3 sets of 10 each side, 2 to 3 seconds a turn, with fingertip support withdrawn over time.
The standing group swayed less on one leg and reached further on a balance test (the affected leg's reach rose from 87% to 100% of leg length, 16 points more than the other group). It's small and unblinded, it didn't measure pain, the test resembled the training, and the airplane can't be separated from the other three exercises.
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Single-leg squats and single-leg deadlifts drew about 55 to 65% of maximum glute activity in small studies; across 23 studies, step-ups and a rotational single-leg squat drew the most gluteus maximus activity; and standing on one leg while the other leg moves loaded the gluteus medius highly across 20 studies. Adding a load raised modelled glute forces, and the loaded single-leg Romanian deadlift was top tier for all three glutes in 14 female footballers. Muscle activity shows effort, not what a muscle will build.
The small muscles deep in the buttock turn the thigh out and have been proposed as hip stabilisers. But recordings suggest the obturator internus works mainly in particular directions rather than as a general stabiliser, a model found the deep muscles add little to hip stiffness, and its authors say the merit of training them for hip stability "remains unclear". The one imaging study of exercises that switch them on tested only lying exercises.
We found no trial of the hip airplane alone for hip pain, impingement, falls or injuries, and no rehabilitation guideline after hip arthroscopy that names it: one hospital's guideline uses windmills and lawnmowers in weeks 7 to 12, not airplanes. Its use rests on coaching and clinical practice.
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Both start with a single-leg hinge. The single-leg deadlift keeps your hips square on purpose and adds a weight for strength; the hip airplane turns your hips open on purpose to train rotation and balance. Learn the single-leg deadlift at a wall first, as our single-leg deadlift guide teaches it, then add the turn.
Clamshells work the same outward-turning muscles lying down, and standing hip circles move the hip through its range on one leg without the hinge. Both are easier steps on the way to the airplane.
Single-leg stands, 3 holds of 10 to 30 seconds each side near a support (our outer hip pain guide; the NHS one-leg stand holds 5 to 10 seconds, 3 times each side); standing hip circles, 3 slow circles each way with each leg, 20 to 30 seconds a circle (the move page's dose); single-leg Romanian deadlifts, 2 sets of 6 to 8 each leg with your fingertips on a wall (our balance guide); hip airplanes, 2 sets of 5 slow turns each leg (the move page's dose); then a loaded single-leg hinge, single-leg kettlebell deadlifts, 3 sets of 6 to 8 each side (our kettlebell workout B).
One hand on a wall, a rack, the back of a chair or a stick while you learn: that's how our move page and the trial started. A kickstand version rests the back toes on the floor (our editorial suggestion).
Hold a foam roller upright on the floor in one hand as a support. It's a popular coaching version and works the same way as a wall.
Once free-standing turns are steady, hold a light dumbbell or kettlebell in the hand on the standing side as a counterweight, as Squat University does; it also uses a band round the standing knee. Adding a load raised glute forces in single-leg hinges in a modelling study.
The supported, kickstand, foam roller and weighted versions have no 3D demo: follow the steps above with the hip airplane demo.
In older people living at home, exercise cut the rate of falls by 23%, and balance and functional exercises by 24% (108 trials, 23,407 people, average age 76). That's for regular programmes, not for any one drill.
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Balance training improves balance in young and older adults; about 3 sessions a week for 11 to 12 weeks did best across trials of limited quality.
Across 6 trials of 102 people, balance training improved the trained tasks but had "only minor or no effects on non-trained tasks". So hip airplanes mostly make you better at hip airplanes and tasks like them, as the Kang trial's single-leg tests suggest.
Balance training cut ankle sprains in athletes (risk ratio 0.65; 7 trials, 3,726 athletes), with moderate evidence for preventing repeat sprains. Hip strengthening with bands improved balance tests in 26 people with unstable ankles. Neither used hip airplanes.
Weaker hip outward rotation and side strength predicted ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury in 501 athletes, but with only 15 injuries. Weak hips are probably a result rather than a cause of kneecap pain, yet hip plus knee strengthening eases it. No study has tested hip airplanes for either.
For hip impingement (femoroacetabular impingement, or FAI, syndrome), an international consensus recommends at least 3 months of exercise-based physiotherapy, though strong trial evidence for it is lacking. In two UK trials, surgery gave a modestly better average result at 12 months (348 and 222 people) and both groups improved. About half of people respond to non-surgical care (26 studies, 1,153 people).
The physiotherapy in those trials strengthened the gluteus maximus, the deep outward rotators and the gluteus medius first, in a pain-free range, with balance exercises, and advised avoiding deep bending with the hip turned in. Neither programme names the airplane. The opening turn works the muscles they strengthen; turning back past square in a deep hinge moves towards the position they avoid. So with pain at the front of the hip, keep to the opening turn and stop at square, as our move page and Squat University say.
Our hip impingement, labral tear, snapping hip and hip dysplasia guides use 2 sets of 3 to 5 each side, holding a support, in a pinch-free middle range.
During the exercise, pain up to about 5 out of 10 is acceptable. It should settle within an hour or so, and your hip should be no worse that night or the next morning, as our hip pain guides say.
NICE recommends therapeutic exercise tailored to the person for everyone with osteoarthritis. The 2026 Cochrane update found exercise probably reduces hip osteoarthritis pain only slightly against no treatment or usual care (about 7 points out of 100, moderate certainty), an effect "unlikely to be clinically meaningful", and may make little or no difference against a placebo; the 2014 version had found about 8 points. Hip airplanes haven't been tested in hip osteoarthritis. Our hip arthritis guide has the plan.
Education plus exercise beat a steroid injection and wait and see for outer hip (gluteal tendon) pain in the LEAP trial of 204 people; its exercises trained control of the hip dropping or drifting inwards. In an airplane, keep the standing hip level: it shouldn't drop or swing out to the side.
No extra pain over the bony point on the side of your hip during or after, and the hip no worse that night or the next morning, as our outer hip pain guide says.
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The NHS says "do not bend your hip more than 90 degrees" and not to do exercises with "sudden turns, or where there is a high risk of falling" while your hip recovers, and a new hip can dislocate. A review questions routine hip precautions after back-approach replacements (low to very low certainty evidence). A hip airplane bends the standing hip, turns on a planted foot and risks a fall, so it waits until your surgical team or physiotherapist clears it, whatever the precautions debate.
2 sets of 5 slow turns each leg, holding a support at first (the move page's dose, our editorial starting point). Squat University suggests 3 to 5 turns before standing back up.
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2 sets of 3 to 5 each side, holding a support, in a pinch-free middle range, as our hip pain guides dose it.
2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 slow turns each leg (our editorial starting point, within the Kang trial's 3 sets of 10 and Squat University's 1 to 2 sets of 10 to 20). Let go of the support first, then add turns, then a light weight.
2 or 3 times a week. The trial trained twice a week, the NHS suggests balance exercises at least twice a week, and balance trials did best with about 3 sessions.
Do the other leg, then rest about a minute (our editorial starting point). A lost balance ends the set.
Only once 2 sets of 8 free-standing turns are steady: a light dumbbell, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 (our editorial starting point; Squat University's banded version uses 2 to 3 sets of 10).
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Turn your pelvis; your trunk and back leg move as one, as our move page says.
Keep it over your middle toes.
Stay higher. The depth isn't the point.
Keep your pelvis level as you turn. With outer hip pain, no extra pain over the bony point.
Slow turns, 2 to 3 seconds each way. A lost balance ends the set.
Keep to the opening turn and stop at square, as our move page says.
Single-leg reach matrix, 3 rounds of 5 reaches in each direction, each leg (the move page's dose); 90/90 hip lift-offs for hip rotation range, 3 holds of 5 to 8 seconds each way, each side (the move page's dose). Side planks with a leg lift, 2 sets of 10 each side (our Pilates for runners workout); single-leg glute bridges, 2 sets of 8 to 10 each side (our Pilates strength workout); clamshells for the outward rotators, 2 sets of 10 to 12 each side (our hip impingement guide); lateral band walks, 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 15 steps each way (our band walk guide).
3D demoSingle-leg reach matrixIntermediate · No equipment
3D demo90/90 hip lift-offIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoSide plank with leg liftAdvanced · No equipment
3D demoSingle-leg glute bridgeIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoClamshellBeginner · No equipment
3D demoLateral band walkBeginner · A bandThe pelvic control routine uses hip airplanes at the move page's dose, after single-leg stands; the Pilates sessions for golfers, tennis players and skiers do 5 slow turns each leg holding a counter. The balance and hip mobility sessions build the steps before it.
A 25-minute routine for a pelvis that feels twisted or uneven: gentle holds, bridges, bird dogs, side planks and single-leg balance, the same on both sides.
25 minBeginner11 movesA band, Other / check instructionsA 25-minute Pilates class for golfers: upper-back and hip rotation, trunk control, side-hip strength and one-leg balance, done equally on both sides.
25 minBeginner19 movesA wallA 25-minute Pilates class for tennis and padel players: trunk endurance, rotation both ways, shoulder blades, hips and single-leg balance, on a mat.
25 minBeginner19 movesA band, An anchor pointA 25-minute Pilates class for skiers: trunk endurance, hips and thighs, wall sits and single-leg balance, for the 6 to 8 weeks before your trip.
25 minBeginner17 movesA wall, A bandA 20-minute balance workout for steady adults: harder stances, head turns and eyes closed, single-leg reaches and hinges, step-ups and stuck landings.
20 minIntermediate13 movesA wall, A dumbbellA 15-minute hip opener: 90/90 switches, windshield wipers, CARs, Cossack squats, frog and pigeon.
15 minIntermediate8 movesA wallWait until your surgical team or physiotherapist clears pivoting and deep hip bending, as the NHS's recovery advice and our Pilates after hip replacement guide say.
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Avoid twisting on a planted foot early on, as our Pilates after knee replacement guide says.
2 sets of 3 to 5, holding a support, in a pinch-free middle range, keeping to the opening turn, as our hip guides dose it.
With pelvic girdle pain, skip it: the NHS says standing on 1 leg can make it worse. Otherwise hold a support, especially later in pregnancy, as the NHS advises avoiding activities with a risk of falling.
Keep a hand on a support throughout and have someone nearby. The NHS suggests doing balance exercises near a wall or a stable chair.
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Pain from 0 to 2 out of 10 is fine, and up to 5 is acceptable if your knee is back to its usual level by the next morning; for tendon pain just below or above the kneecap, keep it to 3 or less. Sharp, catching or giving-way pain, or new swelling, means stop. That's our knee guides' rule.
Call 999 after a fall with a possible head, neck, back or hip injury, or if someone can't get up. Get help from NHS 111 if someone who has fallen may be in pain, injured or unwell, and see a GP if you've had a fall or are worried about your balance. Practise near a wall or a stable chair, and stop if you feel dizzy or light-headed.
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
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For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; arm pain that comes on suddenly with pressure, heaviness or squeezing across your chest; severe difficulty breathing, or a chest that feels tight or heavy; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for a headache that's triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising.
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Call 999 or go to A&E for severe hip pain after a fall or injury, if you can't walk or put weight on the leg, or for tingling or loss of feeling in your hip or leg after an injury. Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for severe hip pain that started suddenly without an injury, or a hip that's swollen and hot. See a GP if hip pain hasn't improved after 2 weeks of looking after it yourself.
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Get advice from NHS 111 if your knee is very painful, you can't move it or put weight on it, it's badly swollen or has changed shape, or it locks, gives way or clicks painfully (painless clicking is normal). See a GP if knee pain doesn't improve within a few weeks. In the US, your doctor or urgent care.
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Call 999 or go to A&E if you heard a crack, the joint or limb has changed shape or points at an odd angle, it's numb or tingling, or the skin looks blue or grey or feels cold. Get help from NHS 111 (in the US, urgent care) if it's very painful, very swollen or bruised, very stiff, or you can't put weight on it or walk more than a few steps.
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Call 999 or go to A&E: loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
See a GP if pain spreading down a leg hasn't improved after a few weeks of home treatment, is getting worse or stops your normal activities. Sciatica on both sides, or weakness or numbness in both legs that's severe or getting worse, is a 999 call or a trip to A&E.
See a GP if you think you have a hernia, a bulge or lump that may get bigger when you strain and smaller when you lie down. Get help from NHS 111 if you have a hernia and pain in or around it, a bloated tummy, you feel or are sick, you're vomiting blood or your vomit looks like coffee grounds, you're constipated, you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery, or you've suddenly become confused. Call 999 or go to A&E for a femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of your thigh, in your groin) with very bad tummy pain, sickness, being unable to fart or poo, a high temperature or sudden confusion.
The NHS lists lifting heavy weights among the causes of a femoral hernia. After an inguinal hernia repair, avoid heavy lifting or strenuous activity for at least 4 to 6 weeks.
Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before hard or straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled (140/90 or higher at a clinic, or 135/85 at home), or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists.
With controlled high blood pressure, the American Heart Association considers low- to moderate-intensity strength training with proper breathing safe. Breathe out as you lift, as our breathing guide advises.
No study has tested them for it. Impingement is treated first with at least 3 months of exercise-based physiotherapy, which helps about half of people; the trial programmes strengthened the glutes and outward rotators and avoided deep bending with the hip turned in; and exercise doesn't change the shape of the bone, as our hip impingement guide explains. The airplane's opening turn fits those programmes; turning back past square can pinch.
They improve balance on tasks like themselves. The falls evidence is for balance programmes practised regularly, not for one drill.
It's a single-leg strength and control drill that works the side glutes hard in the one study of it. Squat University calls it "active flexibility".
With pain at the front of the hip, keep to the opening turn, as our move page and Squat University say, and as non-surgical impingement programmes avoid deep bending with the hip turned in. After a hip replacement, wait.
Never tested. Hip strengthening helps kneecap pain alongside knee exercises, but the airplane itself hasn't been tested for any pain. Our knee, back pain and sciatica guides have tested plans.
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Our move page rates it hard and asks for steady single-leg balance and a controlled single-leg hinge first; the authors of the muscle study call it "a challenging and advanced movement".
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Six weeks of body-weight glute activation drills didn't raise hip extension force or muscle activity in 24 rugby players.
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A single-leg balance drill: you hinge forward on one leg with the other leg reaching back, then turn your pelvis open towards the ceiling and back down, the standing foot planted. It trains balance, hip rotation and the side glutes together.
Stand on one leg with a hand on a wall, hinge forward as your free leg reaches back, only as low as you can balance, then turn your pelvis and chest open away from the standing leg and back to square. Do 5 slow turns, stand up and change legs.
Mainly the glutes of the standing leg, especially the gluteus medius at the side: in one study of 20 men it worked harder than in single-leg squats or pelvic drops. The deep hip rotators, hamstrings and trunk help.
Start with 2 sets of 5 slow turns each leg, holding a support (our move page's dose), and build towards 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 (our suggestion). With hip pain, 2 sets of 3 to 5 in a comfortable range.
2 or 3 times a week is plenty. The one trial used them twice a week for 10 weeks, and the NHS suggests balance exercises at least twice a week.
No study has tested them for it. Exercise-based physiotherapy is the first treatment for impingement; if hip airplanes are part of yours, keep to the opening turn and don't turn past square if the front of your hip pinches.
They improve the balance they practise: balance training mostly helps the tasks you train. A programme that included them improved single-leg balance in women with knee osteoarthritis; for steadier walking and fewer falls, our balance guide has the tested programmes.
Both start with a single-leg hinge. The single-leg deadlift keeps your hips square and adds a weight for strength; the hip airplane turns your hips open on purpose to train rotation and balance. Learn the single-leg deadlift at a wall first.
Yes, once free-standing turns are steady: hold a light dumbbell in the hand on the standing side as a counterweight. There's no 3D demo of it, so follow the standard steps.
Hold a wall, a rack or the back of a chair with one hand, hinge less, or rest your back toes on the floor while you learn. A lost balance ends the set.
Not until your surgical team or physiotherapist says so. The NHS advises no bending past 90 degrees and no sudden turns or high fall risk while your hip recovers.
Nobody has tested them for either. Strengthening the hips alongside knee exercises helps kneecap pain, and our back pain guides have plans for backs.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
