The glute bridge is a powerful way to build your glute muscles as well as your hamstrings. It’s done by lying down on your back and keeping your feet on the ground as you push upward with your pelvis.
This is a great exercise for people who spend a lot of their day sitting down in an office or at home and who want to improve lower back strength and health.
It boosts mobility and flexibility, and some of the variations of the glute bridge can be superb additions to your workout as well.
What Is a Double Leg Glute Bridge?
This is the standard glute bridge exercise, as you use both legs for the pelvic thrusting movement. Don’t confuse it with the hip thrust, as the two movements are different.
With a double leg glute bridge, the focus is on your glutes, as you might imagine, so it is a good way to build up that part of the body while improving some aspects of your movements and flexibility.
The position may seem very unnatural at first, so you will need to get used to the exercise slowly. Be sure to limber up your body ahead of the exercise and perform it very gradually as you make sure you have the right form and don’t hurt yourself.
How to Do a Double Leg Glute Bridge
Here is a detailed guide on how to do the double leg glute bridge.
- Start by lying down on the floor and bending your knees while keeping them at about a 45-degree angle to the rest of your body. Your feet should be resting flat on the floor, spread about a hip width from one another. Your arms should be lying flat at your sides, palms facing downward. You will likely want to do this exercise on a yoga mat or other supportive surface.
- From this starting position, lift with your pelvic area, using your feet to push off from the floor. Lift until your lower body is lined up with your bent knees. As you do the exercise, do your best to keep your stomach flattened, and you should be squeezing with your glutes as well to maximize the benefit to those muscles.
- Keep the elevated position held for a few seconds, breathing in and out several times, activating your core as you do so. Then, come back down to your starting point.
- Do several reps and then rest your body for a few moments, continuing with another set or two when you are ready.
What Are the Benefits of a Double Leg Glute Bridge?
The double leg glute bridge is one of the better exercises for developing your glute muscles and getting a shapely rear. It is very simple to do and does not require any equipment other than a floor mat, if you want to use that.
This makes it versatile and simple enough that you can do it at home. The benefits of double leg glute bridge extend to other parts of your body as well.
It builds strength throughout your core and lower body, improving your lower body power and toning your muscles for a fitter look.
What Is a Single Leg Glute Bridge?
The single leg glute bridge is a great modification for this exercise that should challenge you and help to target some other muscles.
You can do this by lying down on your back and extending one leg upward. Keep the other foot flat on the floor and your knee bent.
Do the same glute bridge movement as before, pushing off the floor with your foot that is resting there. Use the elevated foot to stretch upward at the same time.
Hold that movement at the top for a few moments and then come back down to your initial position.
What Are the Benefits of a Single Leg Glute Bridge?
This variation is a great way to focus on a single side of your glutes at once, dealing with training imbalances and putting more exertion into a single glute with each rep.
You may find that your glutes look uneven as you work out for a while and check your progress, and you can train a single side using this modification. The single leg glute bridge also ups the challenge.
It takes more effort to do compared to the double leg version because you are putting more weight on one side of your body. That side has to work harder, so this is a good way to challenge yourself and take the workout to the next level.
Is a Single or Double Leg Glute Bridge Better?
Both of these exercises will work your glutes, but the single leg is the tougher exercise. That makes it a good option for advanced workouts. You just have to be careful to work both sides of your glutes so that there is no imbalance.
There are times where you will want to use one or the other. If you are new to glute bridges or you haven’t been working out for long, the double leg glute bridge is probably the better option for you for now.
What Is the Difference Between a Hip Bridge and a Glute Bridge?
These are two distinct kinds of exercises. They may look the same, but a key difference in the hip thrust and the glute bridge is that one uses a bench or other elevated surface and the other does not.
Hip thrusts are typically weight training exercises, and you would need a bench to rest your shoulders and back on as you do it. You would typically use weights with this exercise as well.
The glute bridge is done on the floor, and no weight is usually necessary. This is a bodyweight exercise that uses your own weight to create resistance rather than trying to add any equipment to it for better results.
The movement for the two exercises is very similar, which is why they can be confused, but they have different goals and require different equipment to perform.
What Muscles Do Double Leg Glute Bridge Work?
This exercise works your glutes primarily, but it can also require input from your abdominals, calves, hamstrings, and quads. It works much of the posterior chain, which includes your gluteus maximus and your hip abductors.
It also exercises the oblique muscles, the rectus abdominis, and several leg muscles for stability.
What Is a Double Leg Glute Bridge Elevated?
If you are ready to handle a variation on the double leg glute bridge, then you can try the elevated version. Use an exercise ball or another small object to elevate your feet for this modification.
Your heels should rest on the ball, and you can do the exercise as normal, like we described it above. Be sure to keep your abdominals activated throughout for spine stabilization and proper form. If you are doing it properly, this exercise should not be painful.
What Are the Benefits of a Double Leg Glute Bridge Elevated?
There is good reason to try this variation of the exercise. It makes you work a bit harder and can increase your gains for your workout.
How high you elevate your feet will determine how difficult the exercise is. Be sure to start with a low elevation, and then you can work your way up from there, if you like.
This exercise works your glutes harder and will put more force on the middle of your body. You will have to push harder and exert yourself more to do the same movement.
Try out the basic version of the double leg glute bridge first before tackling any modifications. Make sure your form is correct and that you can do the exercise without any difficulty or pain. Then, you can feel free to move on to the modification and enjoy their added benefits.
My name is Ellis Francis and I have been a personal fitness trainer, sports nutritionalist and health and fitness advisor for over 25 years. I am the lead health and fitness advisor at https://awellnessbody.com.
