FITBODY Exercise Library · Glutes
Frog Pump Exercise
The frog pump is a variation of the hip thrust that focuses on the glutes and hamstrings, and it is one of the best glute exercises you can do with no equipment at all.
What Are Frog Pumps?
The frog pump is a variation of the hip thrust exercise that focuses on the glutes and hamstrings. You lie on your back, bring the soles of your feet together, and let your knees fall open to the sides, which creates the open frog position the exercise is named for. From there you drive your hips toward the ceiling.
What makes it different from a standard glute bridge is that externally rotated hip position. It changes the line of pull on the gluteus maximus and takes a lot of the hamstring and quad involvement out, so the glutes have to do a much larger share of the work. That is exactly why I like it so much for women who feel their hamstrings taking over on every other glute exercise.
How to Do the Frog Pump Exercise
All you need is a mat, plus a weight plate or dumbbell if you are doing the weighted version.
The whole exercise lives or dies on keeping those knees pushed open. The second they start drifting toward each other, you have turned this back into a regular glute bridge and the glutes stop doing the extra work. Press the outer edges of your feet down hard and think about driving your knees apart the entire set. If you cannot hold that, drop the weight before you drop the position!
Weighted Frog Pumps
Form and execution are exactly the same with and without weight. To add load, rest a weight plate or a dumbbell across your hips and hold it steady with your hands as you press up. Start with a weight you can lift comfortably for 10 to 12 reps and increase gradually as you get stronger, which is how progressive overload should work here.
A word of caution on loading this one. Because your knees are open, adding weight makes it much harder to hold that position, so the load you can use is set by your ability to keep the knees pressed out, not by how strong your glutes are.
What Muscles Do Frog Pumps Work?
Frog pumps primarily target the gluteus maximus, and that is really the point of the exercise. The externally rotated hip position reduces how much your hamstrings and quads can contribute, so the glutes carry a bigger share of the work than they do on a standard bridge or thrust. The gluteus medius works hard to hold your knees open against gravity, and your adductors and hamstrings assist through the lift.
See the full muscle breakdown
- Gluteus maximus: the primary hip extensor and the main target. The frog position places it in a shortened, externally rotated line of pull where it produces the most force.
- Gluteus medius and minimus: work continuously to hold your knees pressed open. This is the part most women feel burning by the end of a set.
- Hamstrings: assist with hip extension, though far less than they do on a standard glute bridge, which is exactly why this variation exists.
- Adductors: lengthen as your knees fall open and control the position throughout.
- Core and erector spinae: keep your ribs down and your pelvis stable so the lift comes from your glutes rather than from arching your lower back.
Benefits of the Frog Pump
Activates your glutes. The frog pump is one of the most effective exercises for getting the glutes firing, which is why it works so well as an activation movement before heavier lower body training. Adding weight increases the resistance and the muscle activation along with it.
Builds and shapes the lower body. Frog pumps build the gluteus maximus and medius directly, and a stronger, fuller glute is what actually changes the shape of your lower body over time.
Works the area under the glutes. The area some women call the banana roll is the fold that sits just beneath the glutes. Here is the honest version, which matters because a lot of fitness content gets it wrong. You cannot spot reduce fat from one specific area. A meta-analysis of 13 studies covering more than 1,100 people found that training a specific muscle does not reduce the fat sitting on top of it. What frog pumps do is build the glute underneath, and a fuller, stronger glute genuinely changes how that whole area looks. Pair that with overall fat loss from a real nutrition plan and consistent training, which is the core of body recomposition, and that combination is what makes a visible difference.
Supports posture and lower back health. If you sit a lot, your glutes are usually underworked and your lower back picks up the slack. Strengthening the glutes and core takes pressure off the lower back and improves how you carry yourself.
Sets and Reps
Frog pumps respond well to higher rep ranges than most lower body exercises. The range of motion is short and the glutes handle volume well here, so this is one of the few movements where I am happy to see rep counts up in the twenties.
| Goal | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Glute activation before training | 2 | 20 to 25 |
| Strength and shape, bodyweight | 3 | 15 to 20 |
| Weighted frog pumps | 3 to 4 | 10 to 15 |
Rest 45 to 60 seconds between sets. Use the activation version at the start of a lower body day to wake the glutes up before you squat or deadlift, and the strength version as accessory work later in the session. Two to three times per week works well for most women. Squeeze hard at the top of every rep, because the pause is where a lot of the value is on this one.
Variations and Modifications
Bodyweight Frog Pump
The starting point for everyone. Master the position and the squeeze before you add anything to it. Most women get plenty out of this version for weeks, especially if the glutes have not been trained directly before.
Weighted Frog Pump
Rest a plate or dumbbell across your hips and hold it in place. This adds real resistance and is the most straightforward way to progress. Use a pad or folded towel under the weight if the bar or plate is uncomfortable across your hip bones.
Elevated Frog Pump
Set your upper back against a bench and run the same movement from there. The increased range of motion at the hip makes this considerably harder and it is a natural progression once bodyweight frog pumps feel easy.
Banded Frog Pump
Loop a mini band just above your knees. The band fights the open knee position, which forces the gluteus medius to work much harder to hold you there. A great option if you want more challenge without loading your hips with weight.
Frog pumps pair well with lateral lower body work like the Cossack squat, and if underactive glutes are the bigger issue, these four fixes for a flat butt are worth a read.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Letting your knees collapse inward. This is the big one. The moment your knees drift together you have lost the external rotation that makes this a frog pump at all. Press the outer edges of your feet down and keep driving the knees apart.
- Arching your lower back to get higher. Extra height that comes from your spine rather than your hips loads your lower back instead of your glutes. Keep your ribs down and stop the lift where your hips run out of range.
- Rushing the reps. Bouncing off the floor turns this into momentum. Squeeze and hold for a second or two at the top, then lower slowly and stay in control the whole way down.
- Going too heavy too soon. Your ability to hold the knees open sets your working weight, not your glute strength. If the position breaks down, the weight is too heavy no matter how the lift feels.
Frog Pump FAQs
What are frog pumps?
Frog pumps are a variation of the hip thrust that focus on the glutes and hamstrings. You lie on your back, bring the soles of your feet together, and let your knees fall open to the sides into a frog position, then drive your hips up toward the ceiling and squeeze your glutes at the top. The externally rotated hip position reduces how much your hamstrings and quads can contribute, so the gluteus maximus does a larger share of the work. They need no equipment at all, which makes them one of the easiest effective glute exercises to do at home.
What muscles do frog pumps work?
Frog pumps primarily work the gluteus maximus, which is the main target and the reason the exercise exists in this form. The gluteus medius and minimus work hard throughout to hold your knees pressed open against gravity, and that is usually where women feel the burn by the end of a set. Your hamstrings and adductors assist with the lift, and your core keeps your pelvis stable so the movement comes from the hips rather than the lower back. Compared with a standard glute bridge, the hamstrings contribute noticeably less here.
How many frog pumps should I do?
Frog pumps handle higher reps well because the range of motion is short. For glute activation before a lower body workout, 2 sets of 20 to 25 reps works well. For strength and shape with bodyweight, use 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps, and for weighted frog pumps drop to 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 15. Two to three sessions per week is plenty. Squeeze and hold for a second or two at the top of every rep, since that pause is where a lot of the benefit comes from.
Do frog pumps get rid of the banana roll?
Not directly, and it is worth being clear about why. You cannot spot reduce fat from a specific area, and a meta-analysis of 13 studies found that training a particular muscle does not reduce the fat sitting on top of it. What frog pumps do is build the gluteus maximus underneath that area, and a fuller, stronger glute genuinely changes how the fold beneath it looks. Combine consistent glute training with overall fat loss from a structured nutrition plan and that combination is what actually makes a visible difference over time.
Are frog pumps better than hip thrusts?
They are not better, they are different, and both belong in a good program. Hip thrusts let you load much heavier and are the stronger choice for building overall glute strength and size. Frog pumps place the hips in external rotation, which limits how much the hamstrings and quads can help, so the glutes work harder relative to the load. I use frog pumps for activation and higher rep accessory work and hip thrusts as the heavy strength movement, and they complement each other well.
Can beginners do frog pumps?
Yes, frog pumps are one of the more beginner friendly glute exercises because they use no equipment, require no balance, and are done lying on the floor. Start with bodyweight only and focus on keeping your knees pressed open and squeezing hard at the top. If your hips feel tight in the frog position, bring your feet slightly farther from your body and let the knees open only as far as is comfortable. Add weight only once you can hold the knee position for all your reps.
References
- Ramirez-Campillo, Rodrigo, et al. “A Proposed Model to Test the Hypothesis of Exercise-Induced Localized Fat Reduction (Spot Reduction), Including a Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.” Human Movement, vol. 23, no. 3, 2022, pp. 1 to 14, doi.org/10.5114/hm.2022.110373. Across 13 studies, localized muscle training had no effect on the fat stored over that muscle, regardless of population or program.
- Elzanie, Adel, and Judith Borger. “Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Gluteus Maximus Muscle.” StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538193.
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