Glute Bridge

Published: 20 Feb 2023

The glute bridge is a good way to activate the butt muscles.  They’re not just there for sitting on!

Glute max is the biggest and strongest muscle in our body.  Sprinting and climbing stairs and hills will get the highest activity.  Rising from a squat and deadlift/hip hinge will activate them too.  Which means most days most people  don’t activate them.

An added advantage of this exercise is loosening the front of the hip joint.  It’s very common for hip joints to be tight from sitting too much.  And we all know that’s way too common these days.

Combine it with the hip flexor stretch, hip rotations and the frog.  As a result stress on the lower back will be reduced when bending and lifting as the low back is not working against the hips to do it’s job.

To do the glute bridge:

  • lie on your back with knees bent to 90°
  • then tuck elbows into sides at right angles
  • squeeze elbows and heels into the ground and lift butt up
  • repeat 10x, on repetition number 11 hold for 10 sec
  • you can hold up to 30 sec if hip weakness, postural problems and lower back pain after lifting are a concern for you
  • if this is too easy you can do 1 leg at time.  Watch that the hips don’t drop down on the side opposite you are lifting