How To Do A Glute Bridge

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Chris Freytag demonstrating a Glute Bridge

The Glute Bridge is one of the most effective exercises to tone the glutes and the hamstrings. This lower body workout isolates and strengthens the glutes, hamstrings, the core stability muscles, the hip muscles, the lower back muscles, and strengthens the stabilization of the spinal cord. If you learn how to do a glute bridge, this move will give your glutes more definition, which in turn leaves you with a much more toned and firm backside.

In addition to helping your performance on a more active platform, this is an excellent exercise for those who spend ample hours at an office sitting at a desk. The Glute Bridge strengthens the erector spinae, which gives better posture and is particularly important for those who sit for long periods of time. This lower body exercise is an effective way to prevent future injuries by strengthening the muscles in the knees and ankles, which will better protect your body in situations where you may be more prone to injury.

This is a great move because it allows for multiple variations to be included in your day-to-day workout. While this exercise does not need any equipment, you can always add in dumbbells to amp up the magnitude of the upper and lower body challenge. Look below to learn how to do a glute bridge!

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How To Do A Glute Bridge

1) Lie on back with bent knees hip distance apart, and feet flat on mat stacked under the knees.

2) Engage the core and squeeze your glutes as you lift your hips to a bridge. Hold, squeezing tight and return to mat with control. Repeat for desired number of reps.

Skip to 0:25 seconds to see Chris Freytag perform glute bridges.

What Muscles Do Glute Bridges Work?

Glute bridges work nearly every lower body muscle including glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves as well as your core. This exercise works on flattening your tummy, helps tone the muscles that give definition to your six pack, and gives you a more defined waistline by working the oblique’s.

The glute bridge will also help you excel at other exercises. The strengthening of the glutes fuels more power, which enhances exercising on all other platforms. Whether running, squatting, or lunging you will see improvement in your reps.

Benefits of Glute Bridges

There are many rasons you should learn how to do glute bridge and just as many reasons you should incorporate them into your workouts. Here are just a few:

Work Your Core

Glute bridge is an exercise that works the entire core. It’s probably obvious that glute bridge works your glutes, given its name. In addition you use your abdominals to pull your body up and hold it in the lifted position. Your entire core is fired up during this isometric move making it one of the best core exercises around.

Strengthens Your Back

Glute bridge is an awesome way to strengthen your back and help you avoid lower back pain. As you lift and engage with your core and glutes, you also activate your hamstrings and lower back muscles to keep everything stable.

Stretches Your Chest and Shoulders

The glute bridge is also a great way to get a good stretch in your chest and anterior deltoids, or shoulders. The front of the body opens as you lift your body into the bridge. You can add an extra upper body stretch by clasping your hands below your back and pressing them into the floor.

How Many Calories Do Glute Bridges Burn?

People often ask how many calories they are burning in their workouts. Most exercises will generally burn about 100 calories for every 10 minutes you are working. However, keep in mind this is an isometric pose meaning you will be holding still and squeezing. The benefits are amazing, but calorie-burning is not going to be as high as a cardio move. As in everything, the harder you work, the more calories you burn.

Other Exercises Similar to Glute Bridges

Glute bridge is an amazing way to get a strong core and lower back as well as glutes and hamstrings, but there are other moves that will help with that as well. Check out a few of these!

How To Do Plie Squats

How To Do Glute Kickers

How To Do A Plank

Incorporating Glute Bridges Into Your Workouts

A glute bridge can be done as a stand-alone exercise and give you great results. But you could also incorporate the glute bridge into a plan with other exercises and get a good warm-up, leg day or full body workout.

Use Glute Bridges in Your Warm-Up

Because the glute bridge helps to activate and fire up the glutes, it is a great way to begin a workout and get warmed up. Use the glute bridge in your warm up like this one:

Warm-Up With Glute Bridge

5 inchworms

20 hip circles alternating right and left (bring the knees up and around)

10 arm circles forward

10 arm circles backward

10 Glute Bridges – hold each one at the top for 5 seconds and squeeze

Use Glute Bridges For a Lower Body Workout

Often we think of working our lower body with squats and lunges. However, a glute bridge is another excellent way to get this kind of work done and it includes more hamstring than some of these other moves making a great compliment to squats and lunges.s

Leg Day Workout

10 Glute Bridge

10 Cross Behind Lunge

10 Deadlifts

10 Backward Lunges

10 Stiletto Squats

Rest 20 seconds, then repeat the sequence one more time

Use Glute Bridges In Your Circuit Training

Circuits are a fun way to exercise and get your strength and cardio in all at the same time. The idea behind circuit training is to go from one move, or one “station”, to the next with little or not rest in between. Check this out:

Full Body Circuit Training Workout: Move directly from one exercise to the next with little to no break in between. Rest for 1 minute at the end, then repeat the sequence.

30 seconds burpees

30 seconds reverse grip double arm row

30 seconds jumping jacks

30 seconds push-ups

30 seconds skaters

30 seconds cross behind lunge with lateral raise

30 seconds lateral shuffle

30 seconds glute bridges

Rest 1 minute. Repeat. Stretch.

Here are 3 more workouts for you to try that incorporate glute bridge:

5 Butt and Belly Burning Tabata Moves

No Squat, No Lunge Better Booty Workout

7 Exercises to Go From Flat to Firm Butt

Targets: glutes, hamstrings

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