Lower back and hips

Glute Bridge: Single Leg

Strengthens your glutes and posterior chain one side at a time, building the hip extension power that supports your pelvis and lower back during walking and stair climbing.

How to do it

1. 1

   Lie down with your knees bent and feet flat

   Feet flat, hip width apart, arms resting by your sides. Set your lower back in its comfortable middle position.

2. 2

   Lift one leg and keep the other foot planted

   Draw one knee in towards your chest, or extend that leg out in line with the other thigh. All the work now goes through the standing leg.

3. 3

   Press through the standing heel and lift your hips

   Push the floor away and raise your hips until your shoulders, hips and knee make one line. The lift comes from your hip pushing through, not from arching your back.

4. 4

   Keep both hips at the same height

   Check the side with the lifted leg has not dropped. If it does, or the hold is a struggle, put both feet down and bridge with two legs.

5. 5

   Work each side for 30 to 60 seconds

   Hold, or lift and lower slowly, then change legs. Shorten the hold before you let the form go.

What to watch for

The hip on the lifted-leg side sagging, or the height coming from your lower back arching rather than your hip extending. Either one means go back to a two-legged bridge.

Ways to adjust it

• Double leg bridge
• Reduce hold time

Other ways to do this movement

Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits. See all Bridge versions in one place, ordered from gentlest to strongest.

• Bridge: Block Between Knees
• Bridge: Classic Hold
• Bridge: Legs on Chair
• Bridge: Mini
• Bridge: Movement
• Bridge: Supported Sacrum
• Bridge: Wall

Before you try it

Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.