Glute Bridge
Lying on your back with knees bent and feet flat, you drive through your heels to lift your hips into a straight line from shoulders to knees, training your glutes.
Equipment
- Primary muscles
- Glutes
- Secondary
- Hamstrings, Lower back
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
- Primary muscles
- Glutes
- Secondary
- Hamstrings, Lower back
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
Loads from YouTube only when you press play. The video is by an independent creator.
Why do it
The glute bridge is the simplest glute exercise: you lie on the floor, so there's no balance to manage and almost nothing to learn. It suits beginners and anyone who wants a hip extension movement they can do anywhere. Because your shoulders stay on the floor instead of a bench, the range is shorter than in a hip thrust, and the barbell version needs no bench at all. Start with bodyweight, then roll a padded barbell over your hips when high-rep sets get easy.
How to do it (Barbell)
Sit on the floor with your legs straight and roll a padded barbell over your legs until it sits in the crease of your hips, then lie back.
Bend your knees, plant your feet flat, hip-width apart and close to your glutes, and hold the bar steady with both hands.
Drive through your heels and lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
Squeeze your glutes at the top, then lower under control. Keep your ribs down so the lift comes from your hips, not your lower back.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart and close to your glutes.
Drive through your heels and lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
Squeeze your glutes hard at the top for a second without arching your lower back.
Lower slowly until your hips hover just above the floor and repeat. Push your knees slightly out if they drift together.
Common mistakes
Arching your lower back at the top
Pushing your hips too high bends your lower back instead of extending your hips. Stop at a straight line from shoulders to knees with your ribs down.
Feet too far from your glutes
With your feet far out, your hamstrings take over and may cramp. Set your heels close enough that your fingertips can almost touch them.
Knees drifting together
When your knees fall in, your hips lose their line and the glutes do less. Push your knees slightly out so they stay over your feet.
Letting the barbell roll
A bare or loosely held bar rolls toward your belly or down your thighs. Pad it, set it in the crease of your hips and hold it steady with both hands.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
