Single Leg Glute Bridge
Also works: Hamstrings
A floor bridge driven by one heel while the other knee is pulled toward your chest. Halving the base doubles the load on the working glute and adds a second job — stopping the free hip from dropping — which is why it exposes side-to-side differences that a two-legged bridge hides completely.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Lie on your back with both knees bent and heels roughly a hand's width from your glutes.
- Pull one knee toward your chest and hold it there, or leave that leg extended straight if you can keep the thigh parallel to the working thigh.
- Press the working heel hard into the floor and lift the toes slightly so the drive is heel-dominant.
- Tuck your ribs down and flatten your lower back into the floor before the first rep.
- Lay your arms flat on the floor at your sides, palms down — do not push yourself up with them.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Exhale as you drive up, inhale as you lower. Two seconds up, a two-second hold at lockout, two seconds down — the hold is where this movement earns its keep.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Bodyweight first. When 15 clean reps per side with a two-second hold are easy, add load before adding reps: a 10-20 kg dumbbell or plate held across the hip crease, or a foot elevated on a 20-30 cm step to lengthen the range. A folded towel under the plate saves your hip bones.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Reduce the range until the pelvis stays level, and put your fingertips on both hip bones for a set so you can feel the tilt. Rebuild height from there.
Hug the raised knee to your chest with both hands for a set so it cannot swing. If the hip will not rise without that swing, go back to a two-legged bridge for a week and rebuild.
Stop the rep when your torso and thigh form a straight line. Keep the ribs pulled down; the extra centimetres come from your spine, not your hip.
Pause a beat at the bottom with the glute still under tension and start each rep from a dead stop. Two seconds up, two seconds down.
Why bother
A two-legged bridge lets the stronger side quietly take over, and you never find out. Lift one foot and the working glute has to extend the hip and keep the pelvis level at the same time. That second job belongs to gluteus medius, and it is usually the reason one side shakes while the other does not.
The range is short and the leverage is poor, which is the point for anyone who cannot yet load a hip thrust. Bodyweight through a single hip is enough resistance for most people to reach genuine failure inside 15 reps, with no bar, no rack and nothing pressing on the hips.
Where it fits
As glute work after squats or deadlifts, or as a standalone at home on days you cannot get to a gym. Two to three times a week, 3 sets per side. It is also a good pre-squat activation drill: one set of 10 per side wakes up hips that have been sitting in a chair all day, without costing you anything on the main lift.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
Start here instead
When this gets easy
Asked and answered
Why do my hamstrings cramp instead of my glutes working?
Almost always foot placement. Heels too far from your glutes put the hamstring in a long position where it is the strongest hip extender available. Slide the working heel closer until your shin is close to vertical at the top, lift your toes off the floor, and squeeze the glute before the hip leaves the ground.
Is this as good as a hip thrust?
For a beginner, close enough to be worth doing. For anyone past that, no — the hip thrust has a longer range and takes real load, and it is the better long-term glute builder. Keep single-leg bridges as accessory work, as a warm-up, or as your home option, and thrust when you have a bench and a bar.
One side is clearly weaker. Should I train it more?
Train both sides for the same number of sets, but let the weaker side set the reps: do your set on the weak side first, then match that number on the strong side. Give the weak side one extra set a week if the gap is large. Side-to-side differences shrink with consistent equal work, not with chasing them.
How high should the hip go?
To a straight line from knee to hip to shoulder, and no further. Anything above that comes from arching the lumbar spine, which feels like a bigger squeeze but is just spinal extension. If your lower back is what feels worked afterwards, you went too high.