How you can Do the Glute Bridge: Kind, Advantages, and Variations

When most individuals consider glute workouts, they consider barbell squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts.

And whereas there’s no denying that these are nice workouts for creating your derriere, in addition they require a degree of talent, coordination, and energy that may be daunting in case you’re new to weightlifting.

If you happen to fall into this camp, the glute bridge is a greater place to begin.

That’s as a result of the glute bridge is less complicated to study, means that you can begin together with your physique weight and progress slowly, and will be carried out anyplace with out the necessity for health club tools.

Simply because it’s extra beginner-friendly doesn’t imply you may get away with utilizing slipshod approach, although. Like every train, if you wish to make the glute bridge as protected and efficient as potential, it’s important to study correct glute bridge kind.

On this article, you’ll study every part it’s good to know about how you can do a glute bridge, together with what a glute bridge is, the principle glute bridge advantages, which muscle tissues are labored by the glute bridge, one of the best glute bridge variations, and extra.

What Is a Glute Bridge?

The glute bridge, also called the “hip bridge” or the “butt bridge,” is a lower-body train that primarily trains the glutes.

There are a number of variations of the glute bridge that contain utilizing tools just like the barbell glute bridge, dumbbell glute bridge, and banded glute bridge, however the most typical (and the one we’ll give attention to on this article) is the body weight glute bridge.

Glute Bridge vs. Hip Thrust

Many individuals suppose the glute bridge and the hip thrust are interchangeable.

Whereas these two workouts are alike in that they each contain extending your hips (growing the space between your thighs and stomach), there are some necessary variations.

The hip thrust is carried out utilizing a bench and a barbell, which suggests it’s straightforward to progressively overload, however you want entry to a health club or well-stocked house health club if you wish to carry out it appropriately.

The glute bridge, however, is a body weight train that requires no tools and little or no area. This makes it a greater possibility for people who find themselves new to weightlifting and don’t have the energy so as to add exterior resistance, are coaching round an damage, or are understanding in a lodge or house health club and don’t have a lot area or tools accessible.

Glute Bridge: Advantages

1. It successfully trains your glutes.

Most individuals have weak glutes as a result of they spend an excessive amount of time sitting on them fairly than utilizing them.

And when your glutes are weak, you rely extra closely on different muscle tissues close to to the glutes that can assist you transfer, which modifications how your lower-body muscle tissues perform and might lead to pains, strains, and accidents.

(Though you’ll typically hear individuals say that sitting is especially unhealthy in your glutes, it’s actually inactivity on the entire that’s accountable for these illnesses.)

What’s extra, having weak glutes compromises your efficiency on workouts the place your glutes are extremely concerned, just like the squat and deadlift, and any sport that requires hip extension, together with working, leaping, climbing, throwing, sidestepping, and touchdown.

Thus, strengthening your glutes helps you keep away from many widespread aches and pains (significantly knee and lower-back ache) and carry out higher in virtually each sport.

The glute bridge successfully trains and strengthens the glutes, which helps maintain you pain- and injury-free and acting at your finest.

(Oh, and it’d make you extra engaging, too.)

2. It’s straightforward to study.

In relation to glute workouts, most individuals consider confirmed glute builders just like the again and entrance squat, Romanian deadlift, and hip thrust.

And whereas it’s true that these are among the many finest workouts for creating your glutes, they’re not all the time an ideal place to begin in case you’re new to weightlifting. That’s as a result of people who find themselves new to energy coaching typically don’t have the requisite degree of energy and talent to carry out these workouts safely and successfully.

The glute bridge trains the glutes and hamstrings in an identical strategy to the barbell workouts above, nevertheless it’s simpler to study and means that you can begin with simply your physique weight and construct energy over time. This makes it best for people who find themselves simply getting began with weightlifting and/or don’t need to go to a health club (but!).

3. It’s extremely adaptable.

There are a lot of body weight glute bridge and weighted glute bridge variations you are able to do, together with the . . .

Single-leg glute bridge
Banded glute bridge
Dumbbell glute bridge
Barbell glute bridge
Smith machine glute bridge

. . . so irrespective of how you want to coach or what tools you’ve got accessible, you’ll be able to virtually all the time discover an efficient glute bridge variation to incorporate in your exercises.

Extra about how you can do these variations quickly!

Glute Bridge: Muscle tissues Labored

The principle muscle tissues labored within the glute bridge are the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus, the hamstrings, and the hip adductors.

Right here’s how these muscle tissues look in your physique:

Glute Bridge: Kind

One of the simplest ways to study how you can do a glute bridge is to interrupt the train up into three components: arrange, thrust, and descend.

The Finest Glute Bridge Variations

1. Single-Leg Glute Bridge

The single-leg glute bridge, also called the “one-leg glute bridge,” “one-legged glute bridge,” or “SL glute bridge,” is a extra superior model of the common glute bridge that requires you to elevate your total physique weight utilizing only one leg at a time. This makes the single-leg glute bridge helpful for figuring out and night out any dimension or energy imbalances you may need.

Tip: Analysis reveals you can improve the quantity of labor your glutes must do within the single-leg glute bridge by bringing your heel nearer to your butt whereas performing the workouts (6-to-8 inches works effectively for most individuals).

2. Barbell Glute Bridge

The barbell glute bridge is a wonderful glute bridge variation as a result of it means that you can safely and successfully improve the burden you elevate over time, which is likely one of the finest methods to maximize the muscle-building results of weightlifting.

3. Banded Glute Bridge

The banded glute bridge is an effective various to the body weight glute bridge while you need to make the train tougher, however don’t have entry to a health club (when touring, for instance). To arrange the glute bridge with band, sit on the ground and lay a resistance band throughout your lap and pin every finish of the band to the ground on both aspect of your physique utilizing one thing heavy (like weight plates or dumbbells). Then, lie again and carry out the train the identical means you’ll carry out the common glute bridge.

4. KAS Glute Bridge

The KAS glute bridge appears much like the hip thrust, nevertheless it’s carried out with a a lot shorter vary of movement. Though some individuals want this as a result of it permits them to “isolate” the glutes, most research present that longer ranges of movement are higher for muscle progress, which suggests you’re in all probability higher off with the barbell glute bridge or hip thrust. That mentioned, the KAS glute bridge is a viable various to the barbell glute bridge in case you’re in search of methods to vary up your routine.

5. Static Glute Bridge Abduction

The static glute bridge abduction is a extra superior variation of the body weight glute bridge that includes wrapping a resistance band round your thighs and performing “hip abduction” (transferring your thighs outward, away from the midline of your physique), which will increase the quantity of labor your glutes must do.

To carry out static glute bridge abduction, wrap a resistance band in a loop round your thighs, then get arrange as you’ll for the body weight glute bridge. Thrust your hips towards the ceiling till your butt, hips, and knees kind a straight line. That is the beginning place. To carry out a rep, squeeze your glutes and push your thighs outward in opposition to the resistance of the band, then enable your thighs to maneuver again towards one another and return to the beginning place.

6. Glute Bridge March

The glute bridge march (or “marching glute bridge”) is a body weight glute bridge variation that means that you can practice both sides of your physique independently, which suggests it’s good for figuring out and night out any muscle imbalances you may need. Not like most different glute bridge variations, nevertheless, the glute bridge march requires ample stability and coordination, which suggests it may not be appropriate in case you’re very new to energy coaching.

7. Elevated Glute Bridge

The elevated glute bridge includes performing a glute bridge together with your toes elevated one-to-two toes off the ground on a secure field or bench. This makes it tougher than the common glute bridge, which suggests it’s an excellent variation to make use of as soon as the common glute bridge turns into too straightforward.

8. Dumbbell Glute Bridge

The dumbbell glute bridge (or “db glute bridge”) is similar because the barbell glute bridge, solely as a substitute of utilizing a barbell you employ a dumbbell. Doing the glute bridge with a dumbbell is an effective possibility in case you’re understanding in a lodge or house health club and don’t have a barbell accessible, or in case you’re new to weightlifting and need to begin out with a weight that’s lighter than a barbell.

9. Glute Bridge Maintain

The glute bridge maintain includes stepping into place to carry out a daily glute bridge, thrusting your hips towards the ceiling till your butt, hips, and knees kind a straight line and your shins are vertical, holding this place for 5-to-10 seconds, then reducing your butt to the bottom and repeating.

Performing the glute bridge with an “isometric” maintain on the prime of every rep will increase the time your glutes are “below pressure,” which makes it more difficult than the common glute bridge and will improve its muscle-building results. That mentioned, the glute bridge maintain doubtless isn’t as efficient as performing weighted glute bridge variations, so it is best to solely use it while you’re simply beginning out or don’t have any tools accessible.

10 . Smith Machine Glute Bridge

The Smith machine glute bridge in all probability isn’t fairly as efficient at creating your glutes as different weighted glute bridge variations, nevertheless it’s a workable various in case you don’t have entry to a barbell, dumbbell, resistance band, or glute bridge machine. It may also be a viable possibility in case you’re coaching round an damage otherwise you merely don’t need to do the barbell model.

The Finest Glute Bridge Exercises

If you wish to maximize muscle progress, analysis reveals that it’s finest to coach your muscle tissues in numerous methods, from totally different instructions, and at totally different angles.

Thus, a correct “glute bridge exercise” also needs to embody different workouts that practice your glutes and different decrease physique muscle tissues, similar to your quads, hamstrings, and calves.

Listed below are two instance glute bridge exercises: one which requires a barbell and one which makes use of simply your physique weight.