6 Bridge Variations That Build Crazy Strong and Powerful Glutes
Your glutes (more commonly known as your butt) make up the largest muscle group in your body. And they’re also the muscles responsible for cranking out power in the pedals when you churn up a climb or throw down in a sprint, so it’s important to dedicate time to strengthen them specifically.
While riding emphasizes hip flexion and extension through your pedal stroke, you miss out on other essential strength movements such as abduction (drawing your leg away from your body), adduction (drawing your leg toward your body), and rotation (turning your leg inward or outward).
Going from sitting down at your office desk all day to sitting on your bike can actually lead to weak glute muscles that externally rotate your hips. And when these muscles aren’t as strong as they need to be, your knees can collapse inward toward the bike frame, potentially causing pain and a loss of power, according to Dane and Kara Miklaus of WORK Training Studio in Irvine, California.
That’s where glute bridges come in. The Miklauses put together a circuit with six variations of this exercise to focus on these muscles.
“Cyclists who sit a lot and train mostly on the bike do not have the robust neuromuscular connections (brain to muscle) to control these movements,” says Kara Miklaus. “It’s not that you need bigger muscles, you just need better coordination from your nervous system to use what you have.”
How to do it: Perform 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps (per side on single-leg exercises) as your preride warmup, or add it to a home or gym strength workout.
Glute Bridge
Lie faceup, knees bent, and feet planted on the floor. Drive through heels, contracting the glutes to send hips up toward the ceiling. Your body should form a straight line from shoulders to knees. Lower back down slowly, then repeat.
Single-Leg Glute Bridge
Lie faceup, knees bent, feet planted, arms down by sides on the floor. Lift left leg up toward the ceiling but keep both knees aligned. Engage glutes as you lift hips up, driving through right heel. Lower back to the floor, and complete the reps. Repeat on the left leg with right leg up.
Banded Glute Bridge
With mini band placed right above knees, lie faceup, knees bent, and feet planted on the floor. Drive through heels, contracting the glutes to send hips toward the ceiling. Think about driving knees outward, keeping tension on the mini band. Your body should form a straight line from shoulders to knees. Lower back down, then repeat.
Single-Leg Banded Glute Bridge
With mini band placed right above knees, lie faceup, knees bent, feet planted, arms down by sides on the floor. Lift left leg up toward the ceiling, so that both knees are aligned. Engage glutes as you lift hips up, driving through right heel. Think about driving knees outward, keeping tension on the mini band. Lower back down, then complete reps. Repeat on left leg with right leg up.
Banded Glute Bridge Abduction
With mini band right above knees, lie faceup, knees bent, and feet planted on the floor. Drive through heels, contracting the glutes to send hips toward the ceiling. Your body should form a straight line from shoulders to knees. Drive knees outward, then return to center, keeping tension on the mini band the whole time. Lower back down, then repeat.
Banded Wide-Stance Glute Bridge
With mini band right above knees, lie faceup, knees bent, and feet planted on the floor, shoulder-width apart or wider if you can. Drive through heels, contracting the glutes to send hips toward the ceiling. Think about driving knees outward, keeping tension on the mini band. Your body should form a straight line from shoulders to knees. Lower back down, then repeat.
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