Legs & glutes

Glute bridge

Lifting your hips from the floor — strengthens the glutes and back of the legs, and is easy on the knees.

Beginner Low impact Exercise mat
Movement diagram for Glute bridge: lying on your back, knees bent to glute bridge (hips up)
Original diagram — start and finish positions.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your back with knees bent, feet flat and hip-width apart, arms by your sides.
  2. Breathe out, gently draw in your lower tummy and press your feet into the floor.
  3. Squeeze your glutes to lift your hips until your body makes a straight line from shoulders to knees.
  4. Pause, then lower slowly, one vertebra at a time.

Form tips

  • Push through your heels.
  • Keep your ribs down — the lift comes from the hips, not by arching your back.

Common mistakes

  • Over-arching the lower back at the top.
  • Feet so far away that you feel it mostly in your hamstrings.

Easier and harder

Make it easier

Make the lift smaller.

Make it harder

Hold a dumbbell across your hips, add a pause, or try the single-leg version.

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