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Although many exercises target the glutes and lower back muscles, the single leg hip thrust is one of the simplest ways to load your hips hard with minimal equipment. Your glutes are among the largest and most powerful muscles in the body; strong glutes help you climb stairs, stand upright, accelerate, and protect your lower back during daily life and sports.
In this guide, you will learn exactly what the single leg hip thrust is, how to perform it with safe form, common mistakes to avoid, how to program it in your workouts, and practical variations you can do at home or in the gym.
What is a Single Leg Hip Thrust?
A single leg hip thrust is a unilateral variation of the classic hip thrust that strengthens your hips, glutes, hamstrings, and supporting core muscles. Rather than lifting with both legs at once, you work one leg at a time, which challenges balance and stability and helps correct side-to-side strength imbalances.
The exercise is usually performed with your upper back supported on a bench or box while you drive your hips upward. When done with good technique, it can improve hip and leg strength, enhance athletic performance, and reduce the risk of lower back pain and postural problems.
How to Do A Single Leg Hip Thrust?
Here is a step-by-step guide to performing a single leg hip thrust with a strong glute focus. Start with bodyweight before adding resistance.
Step 1
Sit on the floor with your back to a sturdy bench. Slide down until the edge of the bench rests just below your shoulder blades. Bend both knees and plant your feet flat on the floor about hip-width apart. Position your feet so that, at the top of the movement, your shins will be roughly vertical.
You can lightly hold the sides of the bench for balance, but avoid pushing down with your arms.
Caution: Choose a bench height that allows you to keep your ribs down and neck relaxed. If you are arching your lower back just to reach the bench, lower the bench or adjust your position.
Step 2
Brace your core as if preparing to be lightly poked in the stomach and gently tuck your pelvis (imagine pointing your belt buckle toward your ribs). Lift one foot off the floor so that the knee hovers above the hip.
Drive the heel of the planted foot into the ground and lift your hips toward the ceiling. At the top, your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your working knee. Pause for 1–2 seconds and squeeze the glute on the working side. Studies confirm that performing hip extension with bent knees minimizes hamstring contribution, forcing the glutes to do more work[1].
Caution: Keep your chin slightly tucked and your eyes looking forward. Do not let your head drop back or your ribs flare up; this shifts stress to your lower back instead of your glutes.
Step 3
Lower your hips slowly and under control until they hover just above the floor, keeping your pelvis level and your lifted leg stable. Avoid collapsing at the bottom.
Complete all reps on one leg before switching sides. Move smoothly rather than bouncing. When you can control bodyweight easily with good form, you can place a dumbbell or weight plate across the crease of your hips, using a pad or towel for comfort and to protect your hip bones.
Safety & Setup Tips for Single Leg Hip Thrust
Because the single leg hip thrust loads the hips and spine area, proper setup and pain-free execution are critical.
- If you have a history of significant hip, knee, or lower-back pain, start with basic glute bridges on the floor and consult a healthcare or fitness professional before loading this exercise heavily.
- Stop the set if you feel sharp pain, tingling, or discomfort in the lower back, hip joint, or knee that does not improve when you adjust your stance or foot position.
- Keep your ribs stacked over your pelvis at the top of the movement. Think “lift with your hips, not your lower back.” If you feel the motion mostly in your spine, shorten the range of motion and focus on the glute squeeze.
- If your hamstrings cramp, move your foot slightly closer to your body, reduce the range of motion, or regress to a two-leg hip thrust until your glutes are stronger.
- Begin with 2–3 sets of 8–12 controlled reps per leg using only bodyweight or a light band, leaving 2–3 reps in reserve. Only increase load when you can maintain stable, pain-free form.
This guide is for general information only and does not replace personalized medical advice. If pain persists or worsens, stop the exercise and consult a qualified professional.
Single Leg Hip Thrust Common Mistake
The single leg hip thrust is a fantastic exercise for building your glutes and lower back support muscles, but a few common errors can reduce your gains and increase injury risk. Below are frequent mistakes and how to correct them.
Mistake #1: Overusing Your Elbows
Hip thrusts are meant to train your glutes and other muscles in the lower region of your body, not your arms. Many people make the mistake of pushing off their elbows. It shifts the weight away from the glutes to the arms, reducing the overall effectiveness of the exercise.
Solution:
- Relax your arms and think about “melting” your upper back into the bench so that your hips, not your elbows, drive the movement.
- If you catch yourself pressing through your elbows, cross your arms over your chest or place your hands lightly on your ribs. This forces your glutes and legs to do the work.
Mistake #2: Overextending Your Lower Back
Arching your lower back too much also reduces its effectiveness and can even result in a lower back injury.
Solution:
- Aim for a “neutral” spine. Bring your ribs slightly down toward your pelvis and keep a light tension in your abs. At the top, you should feel your hips fully extended without jamming your lower back into an exaggerated arch.
Mistake #3: Not Exerting Your Glutes
Not using glutes is another common mistake committed by many. It happens because people drive the movement from their toes instead of heels. Using your toes instead of heels, you'll feel the hip thrust working your knees and quads instead of glutes.
Solution:
- Keep most of your pressure through the mid-foot and heel, not the toes. Imagine trying to leave a heel print in the floor.
- If you tend to roll forward, gently lift your big toe inside your shoe so you cannot push off it. This cue often helps you feel the glute working more effectively.
Mistake #4: Wrong Foot Placement
There is no single, correct way to place your feet during a single leg hip thrust. What works for one might not yield results for someone else, so it is primarily a trial-and-error method. One widespread mistake is positioning your foot too forward, which starts working the hamstrings instead of your glutes.
However, also avoid tucking your feet too much into your body. It trains your quadriceps instead of your glutes, killing the purpose of the exercise.
Solution:
- Use your shin angle as a guide. At the top of the thrust, your shin should be close to vertical. If your foot is too far away, you will feel more hamstrings; if it is too close, you will feel more quads. Adjust until you feel the glutes doing most of the work.
Muscles Worked in Single Leg Hip Thrust
Single leg hip thrust is an excellent exercise for working several muscles, such as the gluteus maximus, hamstrings, quadriceps, adductors, and core.
Gluteus Maximus
It's the largest muscle in the human body and is responsible for moving and extending the hip. Single leg hip thrust engages the gluteus maximus when you lift your hip off the ground. Research indicates that the hip thrust elicits significantly higher peak activation of the gluteus maximus compared to the back squat.
Because you are working one side at a time, the single leg version makes it easier to notice and correct imbalances between your right and left glutes[2].
Hamstrings
These are located at the back of the thigh and are responsible for extending your hips and knees. These are essential in stabilizing your knees when going down in a single leg hip thrust. Strengthening your hamstring with single leg hip thrust improves athletic performance and reduces injury risks.
The hamstrings act more as stabilizers and controllers of the descent in this movement. You should feel them working, but they should not dominate the exercise; if they do, adjust your foot placement or range of motion.
Quadriceps
Quadriceps are opposite to the hamstrings on the front of the thigh and help in knee extension. However, they're not the primary target of a single leg hip thrust.
Instead, they receive secondary activation, as they help stabilize knees during downward movement. Strengthening them plays an aesthetic role, improving athletic performance and minimizing injury risks.
If you feel the exercise mainly in your quads, your foot is probably too close to your body; move it slightly forward and focus on pushing through the heel.
Adductors
Located in the inner thigh, adductors bring your legs together and stabilize the hip joint. Keeping the leg in line with your hips is important as it prevents your knees from extending outwards, and that's what adductors do.
Keeping your knee stacked over your foot and not letting it cave inward will encourage your adductors and glutes to work together to stabilize the hip.
Core
Core muscles are one of the most important muscle groups in the body that maintain alignment and stability of the lower torso during single leg hip thrust. Strong core muscles are essential for maintaining good posture, minimizing lower back pain, and boosting athletic performance.
Think of the core as your “bracing belt” that locks the ribcage and pelvis together so that the hips can move powerfully underneath a stable trunk.
Benefits of Single Leg Hip Thrust
An Easy Strengthening Exercise
Although there are many lower body exercises, single leg hip thrust is one of the simplest and most effective ones that doesn't require extensive coaching. Deadlifts and squats are great for building muscles, but many people get injured doing them, so they are riskier than single leg hip thrusts. Hip thrust reduces complexity for beginners and provides a killer workout.
You only need a bench or sturdy surface and your bodyweight to start. The fixed back support reduces balance demands compared with standing exercises, which makes it beginner-friendly while still allowing heavy loading as you progress.
Multiple Variations for Everyone
No matter what muscle group you're training, exercises that accommodate everyone from beginners to experts are the best. Single leg hip thrusts promote unilateral movements, which are great for addressing muscle imbalances and strengthening the ligaments. Moreover, you can wrap a band around your legs to increase adductor activation for maximum hypertrophy.
You can regress to two-leg hip thrusts or floor bridges if single leg work is too challenging, then progress to banded, dumbbell, or barbell variations as your strength and control improve. This makes it a long-term staple in both home and commercial gym programs.
Balances Out Quad Dominance
Squats are a great lower body exercise but mostly focus on your quads. Similarly, leg press also works out the front of your legs. Deadlifts exert your lower back but can take a toll on your nervous system and require more recovery time.
The solution to these issues is adding single leg hip thrust to your routine. It works out the glutes and lower body muscles without overwhelming your nervous system.
By emphasizing hip extension, single leg hip thrusts help “wake up” underused glutes and balance out programs that are heavy on squatting and leg pressing, which often leave lifters quad-dominant and prone to knee or back discomfort.
Maximum Glute Activation
One of the primary reasons for choosing single leg hip thrust is glute activation. It is an absolutely amazing exercise for working your glutes and strengthening them over time. Here's why:
- Both concentric and eccentric phases of single leg hip thrust ensure glute activation. So, you're engaging your glutes when you go up and come down.
- Since you do not involve your arms and back, the glutes do all the work and achieve maximum engagement.
- Similarly, your hamstrings slack when you're in the position to do single leg hip thrust. It provides maximum activation to your glutes.
Research on hip thrust variations consistently shows high levels of gluteus maximus muscle activation. The single leg version increases that demand even more because one side must handle the entire load while stabilizing the pelvis.
Athletic Performance
Single leg hip thrust is an excellent exercise for improving your athletic performance. It increases your sprint speed by increasing your horizontal power. On the other hand, squats help you go up and down more efficiently.
Most sports involve single-leg propulsion, such as sprinting, cutting, jumping off one foot, or changing direction. Single leg hip thrusts build horizontal and rotational hip power in a pattern that transfers well to these movements.
A Great Warm-up
Most people need to realize that hip thrusts can also be a great warm-up exercise. We spend most of our day resting our backs on some chair, which keeps our glutes deactivated. Single leg hip thrust is an excellent way of waking up your dormant glutes.
You can do three quick sets of 10 repetitions, each with a band or your body weight. Once you do that, you're ready to do your workout with an activated back.
Use a lighter variation and smaller range of motion in your warm-up, focusing on smooth, pain-free reps and strong glute squeezes rather than fatigue.
Variations of Single Leg Hip Thrust
Dumbbell Single Leg Hip Thrust
How you use the single leg hip thrust depends on your experience level and main goal.
Recommended Frequency
Most people do well performing single leg hip thrusts 1–3 times per week. Beginners often start with once weekly, while intermediate and advanced lifters may include them in two different lower-body or glute-focused sessions.
Sets, Reps & Load Guidelines
Use these general guidelines as a starting point:
- Strength and power: 3–5 sets of 5–8 heavier reps per leg with longer rest (90–150 seconds)
- Muscle growth (hypertrophy): 3–4 sets of 8–12 controlled reps per leg with moderate loads
- Endurance and activation: 2–3 sets of 15–20 light reps per leg, often as a warm-up or finisher
Aim to finish each set with 1–3 reps left in the tank rather than grinding to failure, especially when you are still learning the movement.
Progression Route
A simple progression path could look like this:
- Step 1: Double-leg glute bridge on the floor
- Step 2: Double-leg hip thrust on a bench
- Step 3: Bodyweight single leg hip thrust on a bench
- Step 4: Banded single leg hip thrust
- Step 5: Dumbbell single leg hip thrust
- Step 6: Barbell or landmine single leg hip thrust for advanced lifters
Only move to the next step when you can perform the current one for at least 2–3 sets of 10–12 clean, pain-free reps per side.
Sample Lower-Body Session
Here is an example of how to place single leg hip thrusts in a leg workout:
- Squat or leg press: 3–4 sets of 6–8 reps
- Single leg hip thrust: 3 sets of 8–10 reps per leg
- Romanian deadlift: 3 sets of 8–12 reps
- Core work (planks, dead bug, side plank): 2–3 sets
Barbell Single Leg Hip Thrust
Here's how to perform a dumbbell single leg hip thrust:
Step 1
Place the middle of your upper back on the long edge of a bench and walk your feet out until your knees are bent about 90 degrees.
Step 2
Tuck your pelvis slightly, squeeze your glutes, and brace your abs. Place a dumbbell horizontally across your hips, holding it firmly with both hands so it does not roll.
Step 3
Lift one foot off the floor, then drive through the heel of the grounded foot to raise your hips. Pause at the top, then lower slowly. Bring both legs back down together between reps so the dumbbell stays centered and stable. Keep the movement smooth and controlled rather than bouncing.
Single Leg Banded Hip Thrust
Step 1
With your back against the bench, place both legs on the ground and wrap a resistance band around the knees.
Step 2
Press your knees slightly outward into the band to engage your glutes. Keep one foot firmly on the ground and use the force of its heel to push your hips up while the other leg lifts toward your chest for a deeper stretch and range of motion.
Step 3
Slowly come down to the original position and repeat to complete your sets.
This variation increases tension on the glutes, especially at the top of the movement, and helps train hip stability.
Single Leg Elevated Hip Thrust
Step 1
Lie down straight with one foot on the ground and the other on the bench. Make sure you're making a 90° angle between your knee and the elevated foot.
Step 2
Engage your core and drive the other leg up in a straight line. You can also add weights, such as dumbbells, to this movement.
Step 3
Bring your body slowly to its original position to complete a repetition. Keep repeating until you have completed your set.
This floor-based variation is a good option if you do not have a sturdy bench for your upper back, or if you prefer a slightly smaller range of motion.
Landmine Single Leg Hip Thrust
Step 1
Elevate your upper back on the bench with your elbows off the elevated surface, and your chin tucked in.
Step 2
Put both feet on the ground and bend your knees. Put the landmine bar on your hips and push the other leg up.
Step 3
Keep pushing through your heel until the movement is complete. Bring yourself down to the original position to complete the rep.
The landmine adds a slightly arcing resistance path and allows heavy loading while still keeping your back supported. Be sure to pad your hips well and maintain control through the entire range.
FAQs
Q: Can I do single leg hip thrust every leg day?
A: Yes, most people can include single leg hip thrusts in every leg or glute workout as long as recovery and joint comfort are good. Start with 1–2 sessions per week, then build to 3 if your hips and lower back feel fine. Adjust sets and load if you notice lingering soreness or fatigue.
Q: How many hip thrusts should I do to build muscle?
A: There is no single magic number, but you can use this guide:
- 3–5 sets of 5–8 heavier reps per leg for strength
- 3–4 sets of 8–12 moderate reps per leg for muscle growth
- 2–3 sets of 15–20 lighter reps per leg for endurance or activation
Choose a load that lets you move with control while still feeling your glutes working hard in the last few reps.
Q: Are hip thrusts more effective than squats?
A: It depends on your goal. Hip thrusts and single leg hip thrusts are generally superior for pure glute activation and horizontal hip power. Squats are more complete for overall lower-body strength and quad development. For most lifters, combining both in a weekly program gives the best strength, muscle, and performance results.
Summary
If you want stronger, more powerful glutes, the single leg hip thrust is one of the most time-efficient exercises you can add to your routine. It requires minimal equipment, can be scaled from beginner to advanced, and helps balance your right and left sides.
By following the setup and safety tips above, using appropriate sets and reps, and progressing from bodyweight to banded, dumbbell, or barbell variations, you can build serious hip strength while keeping your lower back and knees happy. For home gyms, pairing this movement with a sturdy bench and comfortable hip padding makes training both safer and more enjoyable.
References
- Neto WK, Vieira TL, Gama EF. Barbell Hip Thrust, Muscular Activation and Performance: A Systematic Review. J Sports Sci Med. 2019;18(2):198-206. Published 2019 Jun 1.
- Contreras B, Vigotsky AD, Schoenfeld BJ, Beardsley C, Cronin J. A Comparison of Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, and Vastus Lateralis Electromyographic Activity in the Back Squat and Barbell Hip Thrust Exercises. J Appl Biomech. 2015;31(6):452-458. doi:10.1123/jab.2014-0301
