Glute Bridges vs Box Step-Ups

Glute bridges, with or without a weight, are a popular exercise seen in the gym. But are they the best exercise for targeting the gluteal muscles?  

Possibly not…  

• Glute bridges have a limited range of motion, and most of the loading occurs in the later stages of the movement, rather than earlier in the exercise. 

• In addition, placing a weight on your pelvis can be uncomfortable.  

How can we improve this?  

Single-leg glute bridges are better, as less weight is needed and it is more functional/realistic to activity and sport. This technique also highlights any leg strength deficit on one side.  

For the queen of glute exercises, we'd use a 'multi-hip machine', but many gyms don't have these. The next best exercise, and one that can be done anywhere, is the simple box step-up. 

Box Step-Up  

Step up onto a box/step, then lower down and repeat on the other leg. There’s no need to swing the knee up into the air when you step up, as this doesn’t do anything more for the exercise.  

You can choose the height of the step, and how much weight to add to suit your ability.  

Box step-ups have the advantage of being functional in nature (think stairs, hill walking).   

As well as highlighting any power difference between each glute/leg, this exercise also helps you to notice any differences in control and balance. (This could be due to a deficiency or tightness of on the smaller gluteal muscles which sit under the glute maximus, such as glute medius.) 

• A recent systematic review of academic studies found step-ups, and variations of the exercise, elicit the greatest level of glute maximus activation, possibly due to the stabilisation requirement involved in the exercise.   

[Neto et al (2020),  Gluteus Maximus Activation during Common Strength and Hypertrophy Exercises: A Systematic Review  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7039033/  J Sports Sci Med. 2020 Mar; 19(1): 195–203. Published online 2020 Feb 24]