Hip extension

How to Do Hip extension

1. Start on your hands and knees in a tabletop position, with your wrists aligned directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
2. Engage your core and pull your belly button toward your spine to maintain a flat back and neutral spine.
3. Keeping your knee bent at a 90-degree angle, squeeze your glute to lift your right leg behind you until your thigh is parallel to the floor.
4. Pause at the top of the movement for one second, actively contracting your glute muscle while keeping your hips square to the ground.
5. Slowly lower your knee back to the starting position with control, stopping just before it touches the floor.
6. Complete the desired number of repetitions on one side before switching to the other leg.

Muscles worked

Form tips

• Keep your foot flexed with your sole pointing toward the ceiling to maximize glute and hamstring engagement.
• Focus on driving the movement entirely from the hip joint rather than swinging your leg or using momentum.
• Keep your gaze directed at the floor slightly in front of your hands to maintain a neutral neck alignment.

Common mistakes

• Arching the lower back at the top of the movement, which transfers the stress from the glutes to the lumbar spine.
• Rotating the hips outward to lift the leg higher, which reduces the isolation of the target glute muscle.
• Rushing through the eccentric (lowering) phase of the exercise, losing muscle tension and control.

Related Glutes exercises

Back extension gluteBarbell deadliftBarbell hip thrustBarbell romanian deadliftCable hip abductionCable kick back