Glutes exercise
Single-Leg Hip ThrustHow to do it, with form in numbers
How to do it
How do you do the Single-Leg Hip Thrust?
- Sit with your shoulder blades on the bench edge, arms along the bench.
- Plant one foot and lift the other knee to hip height.
- Drive through your heel and squeeze your glute to lift your hips.
- Stop when your shoulders, hips and knee form a flat line.
- Lower slowly, then switch legs after your set.
Cues
- Keep your hips level, like a tray.
- Lifted knee stays still, no kicking.
- Chin tucked, eyes on your knee.
Common mistakes
- Letting one hip drop or twist.
- Arching your lower back at the top.
- Swinging the lifted leg to get up.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
Sit on the floor with the upper back against the long side of a flat bench, about 40 cm high, the bench edge across the lower tips of the shoulder blades. Lay the arms along the top of the bench, out to the sides, palms down, to steady the body. Left foot flat, toes forward, placed in its normal stance spot so the left shin will be vertical at the top. Right leg lifted with hip and knee both bent about 90°, a tabletop leg (at the top the thigh points straight up and the shin is level with the floor). At the start the hips hover 5–10 cm above the floor, the trunk tips back about 45° from the floor and the chin is tucked. No load.
The movement
Drive through the whole left foot (weight towards the heel) and squeeze the left glute. The upper back pivots on the bench edge. The trunk and left thigh rise together until the shoulders, hips and left knee form one straight line, parallel to the floor. The right leg keeps its 90° hip and knee bend and moves only because the pelvis lifts; it does not kick or swing to help. The pelvis stays level: the right hip does not drop and the hips do not twist. Chin tucked, ribs down. Lower under control until the buttocks are just above the floor.
End position
Top: left hip fully extended (0°), body flat from shoulders to left knee, left shin vertical, left knee about 90°. The free hip keeps its 90° bend, so the free thigh turns with the pelvis: straight up at the top, tipped about 45° towards the feet at the bottom.
Tempo
1 s up, 1 s squeeze at the top, 2 s down, no rest at the bottom.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bench height | 40 cm | 35–46 cm | |
| Bench edge on the back | lower tips of the shoulder blades | lower half of the shoulder blades | [1] |
| Working foot | left, under the left knee at the top | toes 0–15° out | [1] |
| Hip extension at the top (working side) | 0° | −5° to +5° (no lumbar arch) | [1][2] |
| Working knee flexion at the top | 90° | 80–100° | [1] |
| Hip range of motion, bottom to top | 75° | 60–90° | [2] |
| Free hip and knee flexion | 90° each, held | 80–100° | [3] |
| Pelvis tilt side to side | 0° | under 5° (free side does not drop) | [4] |
| Pelvis rotation | 0° | under 5° | [4] |
| Trunk angle from the floor at the bottom | 45° | 35–55° | |
| Head | chin tucked, gaze forward at the knee | neck neutral | [1] |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Single-Leg Hip Thrust is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
