Glute bridge
Muscles worked : Glutes · Hamstrings, lower back
How to do it
- Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor close to your glutes.
- Push through your heels to lift the hips towards the ceiling.
- Squeeze the glutes hard at the top, body aligned from knees to shoulders.
- Lower under control without dropping the hips.
Common mistakes
- Pushing through the toes instead of the heels.
- Over-arching the lower back instead of finishing with a glute contraction.
- Not lifting high enough: the body should be in line at the top.
Where you should feel it
The glutes, distinctly, with some hamstring. If the lower back works harder than the glutes, the lift is coming from lumbar arching rather than hip extension — the most widespread fault on this exercise.
Range of motion
Lift until knees, hips and shoulders are aligned, no higher. Trying to go further only adds arching: alignment is the useful ceiling.
Tempo and breathing
Two seconds up, one to two seconds squeezed at the top, two to three seconds down. The pause at the top with the glutes tight is what separates an effective bridge from a simple pelvic swing.
What works, precisely
The gluteus maximus is the prime mover: it is the body’s most powerful hip extensor. The hamstrings assist, the erector spinae stabilise the spine without having to produce the movement, and the abdominals prevent excessive arching at the top.
Movement mechanics
Closed-chain hip extension with the back on the floor. The floor removes any balance demand and unloads the spine, which allows the gluteus maximus to be targeted in isolation — hard to do standing, where quadriceps and calves always join in.
Benefits
- Targets the gluteus maximus more directly than the squat, where the quadriceps take a large share of the work.
- Counterbalances the glute inhibition installed by prolonged sitting.
- Works with no load on the spine, which often makes it accessible even when standing movements are not yet.
Adapt and progress
- Easier : Reduce the height of the lift, or bring the feet closer to the glutes.
- Harder : Move to one leg, the other knee drawn to the chest, or extend the top squeeze to five seconds.
- Move on when : When three sets of fifteen go by with a firm squeeze at the top and no hamstring cramp, move to one leg.
Precautions
A hamstring cramp at the top usually means the glutes are not taking their share: bring the feet closer and focus on pushing through the heels.