Single-Leg Hip Thrust

The single-leg hip thrust removes one leg entirely from the standard two-leg version, forcing one glute to generate all the hip-extension force and immediately exposing any left-right strength imbalance. Set your upper back against a bench, plant one foot flat on the floor with the knee bent, extend the other leg straight out, and drive through the planted heel to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knee, then lower under control. Because there's no second leg to compensate, the working glute has to do genuinely all the work.

1. Set your upper back against a bench, one foot planted flat on the floor with the knee bent
2. Extend the other leg straight out in front of you
3. Drive through the planted heel to lift your hips to a straight line, then lower under control

• Letting the hips rotate open toward the extended leg instead of staying square
• Using so little range of motion that the glute never gets a real stretch at the bottom

• Feet-elevated version on a low step for a longer range of motion
• Paused version holding the top position for a second before lowering