Dumbbell Figure Four Heels Elevated Hip Thrust
A single-leg hip thrust with the free leg crossed into a figure-four position — isolating one glute through a deep range.
How to do it
- Sit in front of a bench with a dumbbell on the floor and place your working heel on the bench.
- Cross your free ankle over your working knee in a figure-four shape, then lift the dumbbell onto your hips.
- Lower your hips toward the floor, keeping the figure-four position locked.
- Press your working heel into the bench and drive your hips up until they line up with your shoulders.
- Squeeze your working glute hard at the top with your hips fully extended, holding for one second.
- Lower under control to the start, then complete all your reps before switching legs.
Key technique cue
Drive through the working heel and keep the hips level; don't tip to one side.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Pushing through the toes instead of the working heel, which shifts the work to the quad.
- ✕ Tilting the hips to the side at the top, which lets the other side help and breaks the isolation.
- ✕ Overarching the lower back at the top instead of holding a clean hip lockout.
- ✕ Cutting the range short by stopping before full hip extension, missing the strongest part of the rep.
Benefits
- ✓ Isolates one glute through a long, loaded range of hip extension.
- ✓ Builds single-leg hip strength that carries over to running and sprinting.
- ✓ Exposes and corrects glute strength imbalances between sides.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 -
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Step 3 You are here - Dumbbell Figure Four Heels Elevated Hip Thrust
- Dumbbell Single Leg Hip Thrust
- Single-Leg Hip Thrust
About the exercise
The Dumbbell Figure Four Heels Elevated Hip Thrust is a single-leg glute exercise. The free leg crosses over the working knee in a figure-four shape, the working heel goes on a bench, and a dumbbell loads the hips. This setup fully isolates one glute and makes it do every rep through a long range. For anyone specializing in glutes, it is a valuable single-leg variation. It fits intermediate-to-advanced glute blocks, athletic conditioning for runners and sprinters, and single-leg strength training.
Updated
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