5 Strength Exercises to Upgrade Your Turnout.
How to Build Strong, Supported Turnout (Without Forcing Your Feet)
Dancers, if you’re working hard to improve your turnout but keep hearing "rotate more!" without knowing how to achieve that, then this blog post is for you.
Hi! My name is Gwendolen and as a professional dancer and teacher, I’ve spent years refining my own turnout technique and helping students unlock theirs safely and effectively. Beautiful, functional turnout doesn’t come from forcing your feet outwards, it comes from strength, mobility and awareness of your deep rotator muscles, hips and glutes plus a lot of consistent practice.
“Beautiful, functional turnout doesn’t come from forcing your feet open, it comes from strength, mobility, awareness, and consistency.”
I’ve put together this mini routine of my 5 favourite turnout conditioning exercises that I use in my practice and with my students. These are the ones I come back to again and again because they actually work. They build turnout you can feel secure in and apply during class and choreography, not just turnout that looks good in a photo.
What is Turnout?
Turnout refers to the external (lateral) rotation of the legs at the hip joint, ideally allowing the feet and knees to face outward while maintaining postural alignment, joint integrity, and muscular control. Contrary to popular belief, turnout does not originate in the feet or knees. It is primarily a function of the hip joint and is supported by a coordinated effort of multiple muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascial systems. The primary muscles used during turnout are the deep lateral rotators of the hip. These are small but powerful muscles that provide stability and precise control:
· Piriformis
· Gemellus superior
· Gemellus inferior
· Obturator internus
· Obturator externus
· Quadratus femoris
These muscles are located beneath the gluteal muscles and attach from the pelvis to the femur. Their function is to externally rotate the thigh bone at the hip joint, which as dancers, we call turnout.
Why These Exercises Work
Turnout isn’t just about stretching harder, it’s about a balanced combination of strength, mobility, flexibility and mindful control. These exercises are specifically designed to help you:
Strengthen your deep external rotators and hip flexors
Improve your body awareness and alignment
Build turnout you can use without straining your knees or feet
Whether you’re struggling to hold your fifth or retiré, or you just want to feel more open and supported through the hips, this routine is a great place to start.
The 5 Turnout Boosting Exercises
Retire Turnouts with band
Beginners 6 x reps each side, Intermediate 10-12 x reps, Advanced 16 x reps
Place the band around your knees and bring your working leg to parallel retire, toes pointed, and supporting leg also in parallel. Focusing on keeping your hip bones level and facing forward, open the working leg out to a turned out retire. Make sure you don’t sickle the foot! After completing your reps, add a 20-30 second hold in turnout retire…it will start to burn!Diamonds with band
Beginners 6-8 x reps, Intermediate 10-12 x reps, Advanced 16 x reps
Place the band around your knees as you sit upright on the floor, arms in a 1st position. Point your feet, lifting the heels off the floor. Press outwards equally into the band with both knees.Supine Retiré Turnouts Switch with band
3 x reps, parallel retiré switch, 3 x reps. Repeat this for 6 x rounds
Lying on your back or elbows for support, place the band around your knees, legs out straight in front of you, feet pointed. Bring your working leg to parallel retire, toes pointed and open this working leg out to a turned out retire 3 times. Switch your legs like a bicycle and repeat 3 retiré reps with the other leg. The switch helps strengthen your hip flexors.Turnout Banded Pulls
Beginners 6-8 x reps, Intermediate 10-12 x reps, Advanced 16 x reps
Begin sitting upright, legs out straight in front of you in turnout with the band around your ankles. Press both legs equally into the band outwards, almost like moving from a 1st position to a 2nd position.Attitude Knee Opener
Beginners 6 x reps, Intermediate 8 x reps, Advanced 10-12 x reps
Seated, have one leg forward at 90 degrees like you’re setting up for a pigeon stretch. Extend the back leg into a turned-out attitude position. Focusing on keeping the hips level, lift the knee just a couple of inches, focusing on maintain as much rotation in the hip as possible. This is a great hip mobility exercise to increase turnout but don’t cheat your range, it’s a small but effective movement!
How Often Should You Practice This Routine?
Add these exercises to your hip warm-up routine or workout days. For beginners and dancers under the age of 12, I recommend practicing twice a week. For older and/or more advanced dancers, aim for 3-4 x per week.
If you want to supplement this workout with stretches for improving the flexibility of your turnout, try my Deep Hip Release Stretch Routine for Improved Turnout.
I’d love to hear from you. What’s your biggest challenge with turnout? Is it keeping it maintaining it in the centre? Knowing which muscles to activate? Dealing with tight hips?
Leave a comment below and let me know if turnout is something you’re actively working on right now.
