Single Leg Glute Bridge
A floor-based unilateral hip extension that loads one glute at a time while the free leg stays off the ground.
How to do it
- Lie on your back with both knees bent and your feet flat on the floor about hip width apart.
- Lift one leg clear of the floor and hold it there, keeping both hip bones level.
- Brace your trunk and press the planted heel down into the floor.
- Drive your hips upward until your shoulders, hips, and working knee form one line.
- Pause at the top and squeeze the working glute without arching your lower back.
- Lower under control until your hips touch the floor, then repeat before switching sides.
Key technique cue
Keep the hips level, hold the raised thigh up, press through the heel not the toes.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Letting the raised hip drop, which twists the pelvis and shifts load off the working glute.
- ✕ Pushing through the toes instead of the heel, which pulls the hamstring in and often cramps it.
- ✕ Hyperextending the lower back to fake height, which loads the lumbar spine instead of the hip.
- ✕ Planting the foot too far from the hips, which turns the rep into a hamstring curl.
Benefits
- ✓ Trains hip extension one side at a time so left to right differences become visible.
- ✓ Needs no equipment, so it fits home, travel, and clinic programming.
- ✓ Loads the glutes with almost no spinal compression.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 3 You are here - Single Leg Glute Bridge
About the exercise
The single leg glute bridge starts lying on your back with one foot planted under the knee and the other leg held clear of the floor. Driving through the planted heel extends the hip until the torso and working thigh line up, so the gluteus maximus does the work while the hamstrings and trunk resist the pelvis dropping or twisting. That is why the planted heel stays pressed down and the foot stays close to the hips.
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