The glute bridge is aptly named because it targets your glutes or derriere. Today, people spend too many hours sitting behind desks and on couches, which leads to pain, tightness, and weakness in the back and glutes over time. Adding the glute bridge to your workout routine activates your glutes and improves your core stability. You don’t need equipment or a gym to perform this simple, classic exercise, though you might prefer a mat. Here’s what you need to know to master the glute bridge.
What is a glute bridge?
The glute bridge is a bodyweight exercise where you lie on the floor and bend your knees with your feet flat on the ground. You thrust your hips up toward the ceiling and hold the position.
What are the benefits?
Here are some of the many benefits of the glute bridge:
- Build core and spine stability.
- Improve the strength of your glutes and the function of your hips with hip extension.
- Sculpt your derriere.
- Boost your overall fitness level.
- An excellent choice for beginners and all fitness levels.
- Improve your ability to perform other exercises like squats, deadlifts, and running, as well as everyday functional activities and household chores.
- No need for equipment or a gym membership.
A stronger core and glute muscles could reduce lower back pain, improve posture, and more.
What muscles does the glute bridge work?
The glute bridge works the glute muscles in your buttocks. Studies show this effective exercise also activates and strengthens your erector spinae, which is a set of muscles that runs along the length of your back from your neck to your tailbone. The erector spinae allows you to straighten, bend, and rotate your spine and works in tandem with your glutes to help you maintain a stable posture.
Performing a glute bridge stretches and engages the posterior chain muscles at the back of your legs and spine, including your hamstrings, hip abductors, and gluteus maximus. Your obliques, rectus abdominis, and quadriceps also get a workout.
Are glute bridges and hip thrusts the same?
While glute bridges and hip thrusts are similar, and they are both effective at working the glutes, they are two different exercises. The main difference is that you perform a glute bridge on the floor, whereas you perform a hip thrust with your upper back and shoulders elevated, leaning on a bench with your feet on the ground. The elevation allows for greater hip flexion. A hip thrust might also be called an elevated glute bridge.
How to do a glute bridge
Here’s how to perform a glute bridge:
- Lay on your back on the floor with your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent. Your feet should be about hip-distance apart, and your arms should be by your sides, with your palms facing up.
- Engage your core, squeeze your glutes, push through your heels, and lift your hips up high to the ceiling.
- Try not to arch your back. Continue to lift up until your body forms a straight line from your head to your knees.
- Hold the position for a moment before slowly lowering your hips back down to the ground to the starting position.
- Repeat for your desired number of repetitions.
How to do a glute bridge for beginners?
As a beginner, it’s best to focus on perfecting your form rather than trying to do the most repetitions or variations and adding weights. Laying on a mat is softer for your back. Keep it simple, and be sure to engage your core and glutes throughout. You should feel your glutes activated the most throughout this exercise if you have proper form. If you feel your hamstrings working more, you can move your feet nearer to your glutes.
How long should I hold a glute bridge?
How long you should hold a glute bridge depends on the individual, your fitness level, goals, and other factors. In general, if you’re sticking to a traditional glute bridge, try to hold the pose at the top of the movement for at least 1 or 2 seconds. If you’re more advanced, aim for 5 to 10 seconds or longer.
What weight should I choose?
If you’re looking to improve your stability, you might decide you don’t want to use any weights and focus on variations like the single-leg glute bridge instead. If you’d like to focus more on building your strength over time, you could add weights as you grow those glutes.
It’s always best to start with the bodyweight glute bridge and master your form before adding weights. When you add weights, start with a single sandbag, weight plate, or dumbbell across your hips, and choose a weight that doesn’t compromise your form. Hold on to the weight to keep it still.
Sample glute bridge workout routines
You can include glute bridges as a warm-up or as part of your resistance training program or lower-body training. Warming up helps lower your risk of injury when performing resistance exercises and weightlifting. Here are some example workout routines to try.
Warm-up exercises
Start with simple static stretches and warm-up exercises. These stretches and plyometric warm-up exercises will surely get your blood pumping and your muscles ready for a productive workout.
- Use a foam roller: Stretch your calves, quadriceps, hip flexors, and lats, working on each muscle group for at least 30 seconds.
- Bend into a forward fold: Hold for 30-60 seconds. The forward fold is an effective stretch for your hamstrings.
- Shoulder rolls: 2 sets of 6.
- Arm swings: 2 sets of 8.
- Jumping jacks: 3 sets of 8.
- Planks: 2 repetitions (hold for at least 25 seconds).
- Glute bridges: 8 repetitions.
- Squat jumps: 8 repetitions (with or without a box).
Resistance and activation exercises
Try to make sure you warm up before jumping into your resistance training. Resistance training involves working your muscles using some type of resistance, such as weights, bands, or your own body weight countering gravity. Activation exercises actively engage the muscles you plan on training. Your pace should be slow and controlled.
- Pushups: 2 sets of 12
- Glute bridges: 2 sets of 15
- Single-legged cable rows: 2 sets of 15
- Bicep curls: 2 sets of 15
- Split squats: 2 sets of 15
Leg day workout
Glute bridges can take pride of place on your leg day workout list. Here’s a sample leg day routine including glute bridges:
- Seated leg curls: 3 sets of 10.
- Leg presses: 3 sets of 8 reps.
- Goblet squats: 3 sets of 6.
- Bulgarian split squats: 3 sets of 6.
- Glute bridges: 3 sets of 10.
- Romanian deadlifts: 3 sets of 8.
How to include glute bridges in your workout routine
The glute bridge is an excellent activation or warm-up exercise. You can challenge yourself by adding a weight on your hips, using one leg, or putting a band around your knees. The one-legged glute bridge and other variations bring diversity to your workout routine. Adding weights helps you build even more strength in your glute muscles.
Glute bridges work especially well alongside other core-building exercises like planks and pushups. Because they hit your quads, you’ll probably want to include them on leg day.
When you want to work out those glutes for a more sculpted physique, it’s worth adding glute bridges to your workout routine.
