Glute Bridge
Lifting the hips from the floor lying on your back — the simplest glute activation and strength exercise, a staple in warm-ups and rehab.
Also called: hip bridge, bridge
Illustrations: Exercise data by RepDB (repdb.co)
Setup
Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat and hip-width, heels close to your fingertips. Arms by your sides.
How to do the Glute Bridge
- Push through the heels and squeeze the glutes to lift the hips.
- Stop when the body is a straight line from shoulders to knees.
- Hold the top for a second with the glutes doing the work, ribs down.
- Lower with control, one vertebra at a time.
Glute Bridge muscles worked
The Glute Bridge works the glutes and hamstrings.
Common Glute Bridge mistakes
- Arching the lower back past neutral at the top.
- Pushing through the toes.
- Feeling it mostly in the hamstrings — bring the heels closer to your hips.
Scale it
Easier: Reduce range or hold a comfortable top position.
Harder: Single-leg glute bridge, add a slow tempo, or progress to hip thrusts.
Pairs well with
Back Squat
The barbell squat — the heaviest-loadable lower-body strength lift, building quads, glutes, and trunk strength together.
Deadlift
Lifting a barbell from the floor by hinging at the hips — the fundamental full-body strength lift for the posterior chain.
Hip Thrust
Driving the hips up against load with the upper back on a bench — the most direct way to load the glutes heavy.
Kettlebell Swing
A powerful hip-snap projecting the kettlebell to chest height — explosive posterior-chain power and conditioning in one movement.