Why the gluteal bridge should be done for everyone who wants a beautiful ass

What is good about the gluteal bridge

There are several reasons to include a glute bridge in your workouts.

Exercise pumps the buttocks

The glute bridge on two legs uses the gluteus maximus muscles by 23–31%, and on one leg by 51–55%. This is more than in squats (up to 14%) and lunges (23-26%), which are constantly used to pump the priests.

Strengthens the hips

The exercise involves the muscles of the back of the thigh. You can shift the load on them by adjusting the position of your feet on the floor.

Does not overload the fascia lata tensioner

It is a muscle located on the lateral thigh. If the buttocks are weak, it takes on a lot of stress, clogs and shortens, which can cause pain in the knees, hips and lower back. The one-legged glute bridge helps to strengthen the weak buttocks and barely engages the fascia lata tensioner.

Eliminates the risk of injury

The maximum that threatens you with the wrong technique is insufficient muscle work. Performing the exercise, it is almost impossible to get injured.

Has many variations

There is no need to simplify the exercise - it is already easy enough for any level of training. But you can complicate it indefinitely by changing the support and adding resistance.

How to do the gluteal bridge correctly

Lie on your back on the floor. Bend your knees at a right angle and place your feet on the floor, hip-width apart. Cross your arms over your chest.

Feel your lower back touching the mat. There should be no free space between the back and the floor.

Squeezing your buttocks, lift your pelvis off the floor and fully extend your hip joint. First, the pelvis goes up, then the back comes off, maintaining a neutral position - without bending.

Hold at the top point for 1-2 seconds, continuing to squeeze the buttocks. Then slowly lower yourself back down and repeat.

How to increase the load

If you can do 20 reps without stopping without burning and fatigue in the muscles, it is worth increasing the load. There are several ways.

Do glute bridge on one leg

This version of the gluteal bridge is twice as effective as the classic one.

Lie on the floor on your back, bend one knee and place your foot on the floor. Straighten the other leg. Place your arms along your body or cross over your chest. While straining your buttocks, lift your pelvis off the floor and fully straighten your hip joint. Keep the other leg straight and motionless, as if it were in a cast from hip to foot.

If your back thigh muscles are heavily clogged and you want to take some of the load off them, place the foot of your working leg closer to your pelvis so that the knee is bent at an acute angle.

Do the expander exercise

Exercise with an elastic band on the hips works well for the middle gluteal muscles, since you have to not only unbend the hips, but also spread them to the sides, overcoming the resistance of the expander.

Any elastic band is suitable for the exercise. A small one will be more convenient, but if you only have a large one, you can fold it several times.

Put the elastic on your hips above the knees, place your feet slightly narrower than your hips and spread your knees to the sides, stretching the elastic. Raise and lower the pelvis, squeezing the buttocks at the highest point.

Add weight

Exercise with weight on the hips loads the gluteal muscles more and pumps the ass faster.

As a weight, you can use a barbell, dumbbells, a canister of water or sand, and any other object that will be convenient to work with.

The technique of execution coincides with the classic version of the gluteal bridge.

How else to diversify the gluteal bridge

To make your workouts more interesting, try different variations of the bridge. They will help to pump all the fibers of the gluteal muscles and additionally load the abs, adductors and hip flexors.

Swaying your hips

This variation forces you to constantly keep the glutes in tension and additionally loads the muscles of the core.

Straighten at the hip joint, squeeze your buttocks and swing your hips from side to side, trying not to lower your pelvis until the end of the exercise.

With steps

This exercise adds stress to the hip flexors and fatigues the glutes with constant tension.

Raise your pelvis, lock in position and squeeze your buttocks. In turn, raise your legs, bent at the knees, and put them back. Try to keep your pelvis at the same level so that it does not sink until the end of the exercise.

Froggy

Place your feet together and spread your knees to the sides. Bridge in this position, trying to fully extend the hip joint.

With an object between your legs

The exercise additionally loads the adductor muscles on the inner thigh.

Squeeze a flat object between your legs and bridge in this position.

Hold with lifting the leg

This variation will put additional stress on the hip flexors.

Make a glute bridge on one leg and lock the upper position by squeezing the buttocks. Raise and lower your straight leg, do not put it on the floor until the end of the approach. When finished, repeat the same on the other leg.

Stretched

The exercise simultaneously pumps the gluteal muscles of the working leg and stretches the muscles of the free leg.

Place the shin of one leg on the knee of the other and perform the glute bridge in this position. Repeat the exercise on the other leg.

With feet on a dais

This exercise increases the load on the hamstrings with greater range of motion.

Place your feet on a stable elevation, fully unbend at the hip joint and come back.

How to incorporate glute bridge into your workouts

Do glute bridging 1-2 times a week, alternating with other glute bridging exercises. Do 3-5 sets of 15-20 times.

Choose the difficulty level and weight so that the last repetitions in the approach are difficult, and the burning sensation builds up in the muscles.