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This one's tricky, watch the video for sure!

This variation of horizontal torso rotations is a great and fun way to work on balance, while still working your trunk muscle at the same time, especially our obliques. While this movement is usually done at the gym with a cable machine, we can easily do this at home with a resistance band instead. This trains our abs and core muscles in a very functional way, which is how to properly rotate our core- from the hips, not the spine. Definitely learn the double leg version of this exercise first!

The exercise is done standing on one leg. The muscles all the way from the feet (even the toe muscles), to the neck will be working. Start this exercise without using a band until you are able to keep nice and steady. The standing leg will initiate the movement by using the deep rotating muscles to rotate the torso around the standing hip. If you use too much resistance the larger muscles of the hips will start trying to help with the movement. Try to avoid the temptation to use too much resistance - focus on control and balance.

One of the benefits of this exercise is that it will work the hip rotators. The muscles that rotate the hip joint rotators can be thought of as the rotator cuff muscles of the hip. Just like the four muscles that make up the rotator cuff that stabilize and rotate the shoulder joint, the hip rotators stabilize and rotate the hip joint. Most exercises focus on the larger movements of the hip joint - moving the leg forward, backwards or out to the side. There are fewer exercises that train the muscles to stabilize and rotate the hip. It is important to train the muscles this way for the health of the hip joint - they need to keep the ball of the thigh bone centered in the socket of the pelvic bone - this is important for preventing damage to the joint. It is also important for controlling the alignment of the leg which is needed to protect the knee, ankle, and even back from uneven stresses on the joints and soft tissues. 

The hip external rotators turn the thigh out, like you do when you sit cross-legged, or put your leg up onto the other leg to tie your shoe. If you are standing at the counter and pick up your right leg to turn to the right, the left leg stays planted on the floor. The external rotators hold the leg in place as the pelvis rotates to the right. If you picked up your right leg but turned to the left, the left hip internal rotators would be working as the pelvis rotated left. 

The other added benefits include working the gluteus medius and minimus muscles on the side of the hip. When you stand on one leg the unsupported side of the pelvis tends to drop down (because of gravity), the hip abductors will need to work harder to keep the pelvis level. Balance is something we all need to work on more frequently. Balance naturally declines with age. Adding in some balance training to our workouts is really important for our ability to prevent falls, and eventually our ability to live independently.