Barbell One Leg Hip Thrust

1. Sit on the floor with your upper back resting against a bench and a barbell positioned across your hips, using a pad for comfort.
2. Plant one foot flat on the floor with your knee bent, and extend the other leg straight out.
3. Brace your core and hold the bar steady with both hands.
4. Drive through the grounded heel to lift your hips upward.
5. Rise until your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to the knee of your grounded leg.
6. Squeeze the working glute hard at the top of the movement.
7. Lower your hips back down under control without letting them rest on the floor.
8. Complete all reps on one side before switching legs.

Common Mistakes

• Hyperextending the lower back at the top: Arching the spine instead of squeezing the glute shifts stress onto the lower back. Stop at a straight line from shoulders to knee and focus the squeeze on your glute.
• Letting the extended leg drop: Allowing the straight leg to sag toward the floor reduces stability and shifts effort away from the working side. Keep the extended leg lifted and steady throughout.
• Pushing through the toes: Weight shifting onto the toes of the grounded foot reduces glute drive and brings the quad into the movement. Keep your weight through the heel.
• Rushing the tempo: Moving too quickly through the thrust reduces time under tension and control. Lift and lower with a steady, deliberate pace.

Programming Tips

Program the barbell one leg hip thrust as a secondary glute movement on a lower body day, after your main squat or hinge and before isolation work. Use 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps per leg. It exists to build single leg glute strength and fix side to side differences that two leg thrusts hide.

Set the bench so its edge sits just below your shoulder blades and place a thick pad on the bar. Start with an empty 20 kg bar or a 20 to 30 kg loaded bar and add 2.5 to 5 kg whenever every rep on the weaker side finishes with a clear lockout. The most common fault is the hips rotating or dipping toward the lifted leg side. Fix it by keeping the extended leg only a few centimetres off the floor, pressing the bar down into the hip on the working side, and stopping the set when the pelvis will not stay level.

Common Questions

How much weight should I use for single leg barbell hip thrust?

Expect to use around 30 to 40 percent of your two leg hip thrust weight, so a 100 kg two leg thrust translates to roughly 30 to 40 kg here. Build up gradually to keep the pelvis level.

Is single leg hip thrust better than regular hip thrust?

Not better, just different: the two leg version lets you load the glutes much heavier, while the single leg version trains each hip alone and challenges the lateral hip stabilisers.

Should the free leg be straight or bent?

Straight and hovering near the floor is the standard version because it keeps the pelvis level and adds a small core demand. A bent free leg held near the chest makes balance easier and shortens the lever, which is a reasonable regression if you keep tipping sideways.