What you'll gain

• Isolates and builds the glutes without involving the quads.

• Strengthens hip extension for sport, sprinting, and heavier hinges.

• Shapes the glutes from a different angle than squats and deadlifts.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Attach a cable cuff to your ankle and set the pulley to the lowest position, then face the cable stack.

2. 2

   Stand a few feet back from the stack and rest your forearms on a flat bench in front of you.

3. 3

   Brace your core and start with the working leg lightly forward so the cable has tension at rest.

4. 4

   Drive the straight leg back and up by squeezing the glute, finishing in line with or slightly above your torso.

5. 5

   Pause at the top for a hard glute squeeze, keeping your hips level and your lower back neutral.

6. 6

   Lower the leg under control back to the start, then repeat for 12 to 15 reps before switching sides.

Common Mistakes

• Arching the lower back to throw the leg higher, which loads the spine instead of the glutes.

• Letting the working hip rotate open, which lets the lower back take over the movement.

• Bending the knee mid-rep, swapping glute work for hamstring engagement.

• Rushing the return phase and letting the cable yank the leg forward instead of controlling the descent.

About This Exercise

The cable bench straight leg kickback is a glute isolation exercise performed bent over a flat bench with a cable cuff strapped to the ankle. By driving the straight leg back and up against the cable, it targets the glutes directly with minimal help from the quads or hamstrings. The bench provides a stable platform so the lifter can focus entirely on the glute contraction. For app and content use, this clip is a strong fit for glute-focused leg days, lower-body hypertrophy blocks, and shape-focused training programs. It's also a clean teaching piece for showing how to lock out the hip without arching the lower back, which makes it useful in beginner glute-activation modules and warm-up flows before heavier hinge work.

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