Men’s Health Fitness Director BJ Gaddour, C.S.C.S, didn’t get in the shape he’s in by training with reckless abandon.
“I talk to people all the time about being as risk-averse in your training as possible—so you can train for ever,” he says.
The single-leg pause hip thrust, demonstrated in the video above, fits perfectly into that mentality.
“This is a movement that’s low-impact and easy to learn, and a safe way to crush yourself and get a crazy glute pump,” Gaddour says. “It will also make you better at squatting, running, jumping, and lunging.”
The hip thrust alone is an effective move for strengthening your glutes. The single-leg version takes the intensity up a notch, as does the added pause at the top of the rep. And now, on top of that, Gaddour adds a resistance band.
“The band forces more hip flexion and a resisted hip extension to intensify the move,” he says.
Try to go for two straight minutes on each leg: Do two minutes on one leg, rest for a minute, then switch legs for another two minutes. Do three sets.
