Barbell Glute Bridge
What you'll gain
Loads the glutes at full hip extension without a bench.
Keeps the bar on the hips so the spine is not the load path.
Scales from a bodyweight bridge to a heavy barbell without changing the setup.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1
Sit on the floor and roll a padded barbell into the crease of your hips.
- 2
Lie back with the knees bent, feet flat, and both hands holding the bar on your lap.
- 3
Brace the trunk and tuck the pelvis slightly so the low back stays quiet.
- 4
Drive through the heels and lift the hips until the knees, hips, and shoulders line up.
- 5
Squeeze the glutes at the top without arching the low back.
- 6
Lower the hips to the floor under control and repeat.
Common Mistakes
Arching the low back to gain height instead of extending the hips.
Pushing through the toes so the hamstrings take over.
Letting the bar float off the hips instead of staying pinned in the crease.
Setting the feet so far from the hips that the shins cannot stay near vertical at the top.
About This Exercise
The barbell glute bridge loads hip extension on the floor. You roll a padded bar into the hip crease, lie on your back with the knees bent and feet flat, then drive the heels down until the knees, hips, and shoulders form a straight line. It is a glute isolation lift with abs and hamstrings assisting, graded intermediate. Coach the same floor bridge without a bench: squeeze the glutes, keep the ribs down, and do not arch the low back for extra height. Because the shoulders stay on the floor, the range is shorter than a bench hip thrust. For a catalog this is the floor-loaded glute clip, not a hip thrust. It fits barbell filters, posterior-chain blocks, and progressions that start on the floor before a bench is added.
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A floor hip extension with a barbell across the hips, driving to a straight line from knees to shoulders.
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Specifications
Built for
- Glute isolation blocks in barbell programs.
- Posterior-chain accessories after squats and deadlifts.
- Progressions from a floor bridge toward a bench hip thrust.
- Coaching clips that show a straight knee-hip-shoulder line at lockout.
Muscles Worked
Details
License Includes
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