Glute Kickback

How to perform

1. 01Kneel on the floor or an exercise mat and bend at the waist with your arms extended in front of you (perpendicular to the torso) in order to get into a kneeling push-up position but with the arms spaced at shoulder width. Your head should be looking forward and the bend of the knees should create a 90-degree angle between the hamstrings and the calves. This will be your starting position.
2. 02As you exhale, lift up your right leg until the hamstrings are in line with the back while maintaining the 90-degree angle bend. Contract the glutes throughout this movement and hold the contraction at the top for a second. Tip: At the end of the movement the upper leg should be parallel to the floor while the calf should be perpendicular to it.
3. 03Go back to the initial position as you inhale and now repeat with the left leg.
4. 04Continue to alternate legs until all of the recommended repetitions have been performed.

Form cues

• —Brace your core before the first rep and keep it braced.
• —Drive through the full range — do not cut the lockout short.
• —Control the lowering phase — that is where most of the growth stimulus lives.

Common mistakes

• —Using momentum instead of the target muscle.
• —Cutting the range of motion short to add load.
• —Adding weight before the movement pattern is clean.