📖 Static demo — read-only snapshot

You’re browsing a static build of the Body IQ knowledge graph, so everything loads with no backend. A few things that need the live server are turned off here:

  • Global search (sidebar) is disabled — it queries the API.
  • The JSON API and the API “Try it” playgroundaren’t included.
  • The data is a snapshot — it refreshes only when the demo is rebuilt, not live from the database.

Everything else — the body map, progression ladders, coverage heatmap, exercise finder, and all anatomy/exercise/source pages — works fully. The full app (live search + API + database) runs from the source on GitHub.

Cook Hip Lift (Single-Leg Bridge with Contralateral Hip Flexion)

Draftmotor-control80%intermediate⬤ moderate evidence
View FHIR resourceFHIR R4 ActivityDefinition — the interoperable form of this exercise

Positions & Range of Motion

Start
supine with both knees bent and feet flat, then one knee pulled firmly to the chest with both hands to lock that hemipelvis
End
hips lifted by pressing through the grounded heel toward a straight knee-hip-shoulder line, pelvis kept level with no rotation
Range of Motion
limited hip extension from the floor — a low partial bridge kept short of the point where the pelvis would tilt or the hamstring cramps

How to Perform

Supine, both knees bent. Pull one knee firmly toward chest with both hands (this locks the opposite hemipelvis). Press through the heel of the foot still on the floor to lift the hips. Bilateral pelvis stays level — no rotation.

Watch on YouTube↗

Opens a YouTube search for “Cook Hip Lift (Single-Leg Bridge with Contralateral Hip Flexion)”

Starting position: supine

Coaching Cues

  1. 1

    Pull the held knee to chest hard enough to feel the back lengthen

    (tactile)
  2. 2

    If the lifting leg cramps in the hamstring, you've gone too high — lower the hip

    (verbal)

Evidence-Based Dosing & EMG Data

Recommended Dosing

2 × 8–10 reps each side.

Muscles Involved (12)

Primary Movers

Gluteus Maximus— Prime mover extending the stance (heel-on-floor) hip to lift the pelvis. The maximal contralateral knee-to-chest lock flattens the lumbar spine and shortens hamstring range, deliberately biasing the prime-mover load onto the glute rather than the hamstrings.

Stabilizers

Quadriceps Femoris— Isometrically stabilizes the flexed knee of the loaded leg as the hip extends (marginal but not incorrect).
Quadratus Lumborum— Resists lateral pelvic drop and keeps the pelvis level on the single-leg base.
Iliopsoas— On the held leg, isometrically sustains hip flexion that locks the opposite hemipelvis and helps maintain the posterior tilt.
Gluteus Medius— Keeps the single-leg pelvis level and prevents drop/rotation during the lift.
Gluteus Minimus— Assists frontal/transverse-plane pelvic control on the stance leg.
Transversus Abdominis— Provides lumbopelvic bracing to keep the pelvis level and rotation-free.
Rectus Abdominis— Helps hold the posterior pelvic tilt, guarding against lumbar hyperextension at the top.
External Oblique— Anti-rotation control so the pelvis stays square on the single-leg base.
Internal Oblique— Anti-rotation control paired with external oblique to keep the pelvis square.

Synergists & Assistors

Hamstrings (Group)Synergist— Assist hip extension but are deliberately de-emphasized in this drill (the point of the Cook lift is glute-over-hamstring bias); hamstring cramp on the lifting leg is the cue that the hip has lifted too high.
Adductor MagnusSynergist— Posterior (ischiocondylar/extensor) fibers assist hip extension of the lifting leg.

Easier Variations ↓

1

Standard Glute Bridge

Both feet on floor; build glute activation first.

Harder Variations ↑

1

Cook Hip Lift with Band Press

Press the held knee against a band loop for added glute med activation.

Target Movements (2)

Hip ExtensionHip Joint (Coxofemoral)
Posterior Pelvic TiltLumbopelvic

Why This Exercise Matters

Everyday activities this exercise helps you do — essential means it directly trains the capacity the task needs:

Getting In and Out of BedSquat to StandPushing Up from Chair

Goals This Helps With

Rehab, performance, prevention, and mobility goals this exercise supports — essential means it's a cornerstone:

Low Back PainrehabImprove Posterior-Chain Strengthperformance

Research Notes

Isolates gluteus maximus by inhibiting hip flexors via the held-knee position (Cook 2010). Reveals lumbar/hamstring substitution patterns.