Muscles worked
The glutes on your working leg do most of the work, with help from the hamstrings, while your quads hold the knee at the right angle. Your front foot takes a small share of the load and mainly helps with balance. That makes the B-stance a halfway house: your working leg gets more load than in a two-legged hip thrust with the same dumbbell, yet you are steadier than on one leg alone, so you can go heavier. The muscles on the side of your hip keep your pelvis level.
Common mistakes
- The dumbbell slides. A dumbbell rolling towards your stomach or thighs distracts you from the lift. Hold it with both hands at the ends, and put a towel or pad underneath if it presses on your hip bones.
- Your pelvis tilts. If the hip on your front foot's side drops, the weight is usually too heavy for the working leg. Keep both hips at the same height throughout the set, and pick a lighter dumbbell if you cannot.
- You arch at the top. Bending back through your lower back looks like higher hips but gives your glutes no extra work. Keep your chin slightly tucked, look towards your knees and stop when your body is straight.
Variations and alternatives
- The dumbbell hip thrust, with both feet flat, when you want to lift heavier with both legs.
- The single leg hip thrust is the next step, where the support from your other foot goes completely.
- The barbell hip thrust suits you once the dumbbells are no longer heavy enough.
Sets and reps
Three sets of 8 to 12 reps per leg suit most people looking to build muscle, and 12 to 15 works with a lighter dumbbell. Do all the reps on one leg, switch, then rest for around a minute. Place your feet the same way on every set so the numbers in your log can be compared. The guide to sets and reps walks you through the choice.
Move to a heavier dumbbell once you reach the top of the range on both legs in every set. Dumbbells usually go up a couple of kilos at a time, a sensible jump here. Each of those jumps is progressive overload.