Glute Kickback: Muscles Worked and How to Do It
TL;DR
Glute kickbacks isolate your glutes, which extend your hip as you lift your leg back and up from a kneeling position. Your hamstrings assist, extending the hip alongside the glutes, especially as your leg straightens near the top of the movement.
- Primary muscle:
- Glutes
- Secondary muscles:
- Hamstrings
Muscles worked
Your glutes are the prime mover in a glute kickback. Extending your hip to lift your leg behind you, while keeping the 90-degree knee bend, isolates the glutes more directly than a hip extension performed with a straight leg.
Your hamstrings assist the glutes in extending your hip, contributing more as your leg straightens out toward the top of the kickback.
Log Glute Kickback in PR Streak
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How to do it
- Kneel 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.
- As 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.
- Go back to the initial position as you inhale and now repeat with the left leg.
- Continue to alternate legs until all of the recommended repetitions have been performed.
Form tips
- Keep the same knee bend throughout the movement instead of straightening or bending your leg as you lift it.
- Lift with your glute, not your lower back; stop before your back starts to arch to compensate.
- Pause and squeeze at the top of the movement for a second before lowering.
- Move slowly on the way down instead of letting your leg drop back to the floor.
- Once bodyweight kickbacks feel easy, progress to hip thrusts for heavier glute loading.
Exercise details
| Equipment | Bodyweight |
|---|---|
| Level | Beginner |
| Mechanic | Compound |
Used by lifters following PPL, 5x5, upper/lower, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do glute kickbacks actually work?
Yes, for glute isolation. Keeping the knee bent at 90 degrees focuses the hip extension on the glutes rather than spreading the work across the hamstrings and lower back, which makes kickbacks a useful finishing exercise after bigger lifts like squats or hip thrusts.
How many reps of glute kickbacks should I do?
As a bodyweight isolation exercise, higher reps generally work well: 12 or more per leg for endurance, or add a resistance band and drop to 6-12 reps for more muscle-building stimulus.
More glutes exercises
Exercise instructions and photos come from the free-exercise-db library, public domain, the same library used inside the PR Streak app.
