Type: Legs · Difficulty: Beginner
Muscles worked: glutes, back of the thighs (hamstrings) and lower back (lumbar muscles).
The basic exercise for the glutes: lying on your back, you push your hips toward the ceiling, pressing through your heels. Gentle on the knees and the back, it wakes up glutes that long days of sitting have put to sleep. Do it two or three times a week, in a leg session or at the end of a full session.
The position
The steps
- Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor near your glutes, hip-width apart.
- Place your arms along your body, palms on the floor.
- Push through your heels and lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
- Squeeze your glutes hard at the top and pause briefly.
- Lower yourself slowly until your hips touch the floor, without dropping, then repeat.
Why this exercise
- The glutes are the most powerful muscles in the body. They carry you when you stand up, climb stairs or bend down to pick something up.
- Days spent sitting put them to sleep. When they stop doing their job, the lower back and the back of the thighs compensate, and tension follows. The bridge wakes them up directly.
- It is gentle on the knees and the back, with no impact. A good starting exercise, even after a long break.
Common mistakes
- Arching the lower back at the top: rise to the straight line, no further, and brace your abs at the same time as your glutes.
- Pushing with the balls of your feet: keep the weight in your heels, that is what makes the glutes work instead of the front of the thighs.
- Letting the knees cave inward: keep them pointing in the direction of your feet through the whole movement.
- Rising and lowering too fast: the slow descent is half the work.
Adjust the difficulty
- Easier: move your feet a little further from your glutes and reduce the number of reps. Start with 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.
- Harder: one leg at a time, the other leg pointing toward the ceiling, or pause for two seconds at the top of every rep.
- The pace: 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps, with 60 seconds of rest between sets.
In case of pain
Stop the exercise as soon as you feel pain. Muscle fatigue is normal, pain is not. If the pain comes back or persists, see a health professional.
