Side lying hip abduction- only a physio exercise?

I work out at home and wanted to try hip abduction exercises because I heard they're helpful for making the side of your butt look nice. But naturally I don't have access to a hip abduction machine.

I already have access to ankle weights, so I've been doing side lying hip abduction with them. At this stage even with light weights I find them very challenging, but I noticed when I watch video tutorials for them online they all seem to be physiotherapy videos. Despite feeling pretty hard, does this man it's not a good exercise for building muscle? I'm also doing heavy compounds as well such as squats and rdls