Banded pull-through

1. 1

   Loop a long band around a sturdy post at ankle height, face away from it and hold the band with both hands between your legs.

2. 2

   Walk forward until the band is taut and set your feet a little wider than your hips.

3. 3

   Push your hips back with soft knees and a flat back, letting your hands travel back between your thighs, until your hamstrings stretch.

4. 4

   Drive your hips forward and squeeze your glutes to stand tall, arms straight, without leaning back.

• Mistake

  Bending your knees deep and squatting instead of pushing your hips back.

  How to fix it

  Keep your shins nearly still and send your hips back, as if you were closing a car door with your glutes.

• Mistake

  Standing too close to the anchor, so the band goes slack when you stand up.

  How to fix it

  Take another step forward until the band still pulls at the top. If you can't control it there, switch to a lighter band.

• Mistake

  Leaning back and arching your lower back to finish the rep.

  How to fix it

  Finish with your hips under your shoulders and your glutes squeezed, in a straight line. Going past that only moves your lower back.

Reps in reserve: how many more reps you could still do with good form when you end the set.

• Cable pull-through

  At the gym, a rope on the low pulley gives you a load that's easy to set and increase.

• Kettlebell swing

  The same hip hinge, done explosively with the kettlebell swinging between your legs.

• Dumbbell Romanian deadlift

  The same hip hinge, with the dumbbells lowering in front of your legs.

• Dowel hip hinge

  No load, with a dowel along your back, to practice the hip movement before using the band.

• At home: banded pull-through at home

  Loop the band around the leg of a heavy piece of furniture, like a bed or a cabinet, or use a door anchor near the floor. Give it a hard tug before your first rep to make sure it holds.

• Prefer more stability? Glute bridge

  Prefer to lie down with your back supported? In the glute bridge your hips rise and lower with your feet on the floor, and you squeeze your glutes at the top the same way.

• Cable pull-through

  Gluteus maximus · Cable

  Beginner

• Dumbbell Romanian deadlift

  Gluteus maximus · Dumbbell

  Beginner

• Kettlebell swing

  Gluteus maximus · Kettlebell

  Intermediate

• Hip hinge with dowel

  Gluteus maximus · Dowel

  Beginner

• 

  Gluteus maximus

  56 exercises

• How to grow glutes

  What the science says about sets, exercises and how long it takes.

• Sets and reps

  Currier BS, D'Souza AC, et al. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2026;58(4):851-872.

  Full textPubMedDOI

• Variations

  Lopes JSS, Machado AF, et al. Effects of training with elastic resistance versus conventional resistance on muscular strength: A systematic review and meta-analysis. SAGE Open Med. 2019;7:2050312119831116.

  Full textPubMedDOI

• Muscles worked

  Martín-Fuentes I, Oliva-Lozano JM, et al. Electromyographic activity in deadlift exercise and its variants. A systematic review. PLoS One. 2020;15(2):e0229507.

  Full textPubMedDOI

• Muscles worked

  Delgado J, Drinkwater EJ, et al. Comparison Between Back Squat, Romanian Deadlift, and Barbell Hip Thrust for Leg and Hip Muscle Activities During Hip Extension. J Strength Cond Res. 2019;33(10):2595-2601.

  PubMedDOI