A fitness expert reveals how a straightforward floor exercise can unveil the endurance of your hips and glutes, especially if you’re over 60.
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When it comes to physical fitness, hip strength often flies under the radar, yet it plays a pivotal role in almost every movement. From the simple act of stepping down from a curb to standing up from a seated position or regaining your balance after a trip, your hips are hard at work. As you pass the age of 60, the muscles that stabilize your pelvis and support your glutes become increasingly important for maintaining mobility and independence. That’s why a basic endurance test for these muscles can be surprisingly illuminating.
Enter the single-leg bridge, a move that effectively isolates one side of your posterior chain at a time. This exercise is a quick way to assess whether your glutes, hamstrings, and pelvic stabilizers can withstand sustained tension. The beauty of the single-leg bridge is its simplicity; with no equipment required and needing only a small space, it’s an accessible way to evaluate and track your progress.
Even more compelling are the findings from recent research. A study published in 2024 in PLOS One observed that older adults living in community settings who had stronger hip abductors were significantly less likely to experience falls. This illustrates the critical role that hip strength plays in fall prevention.
To delve deeper into this topic, we consulted James Brady, CPT, a certified personal trainer with OriGym. Brady offered insights on what a robust single-leg bridge looks like beyond the age of 60, how to execute it correctly, and what your performance signifies about your hip strength in relation to others in your age group. Let’s explore further.
(Next up: Don’t miss these 4 Chair Exercises That Rebuild Hip Strength Faster Than Squats After 55.)
How Long Should You Be Able to Hold It?
“If you can maintain a controlled single-leg bridge for around 30 seconds on each side after 60, I would consider that a strong display of hip and posterior chain endurance,” says Brady. “However, I would not describe it as definitively stronger than 90% of your peers, since research has not established age-specific percentile rankings for people over 60.” In other words, a controlled 30-second hold per side is a genuinely strong result and a useful personal benchmark, but the exact percentile is not something the science can pin down. So treat it as a sign of good muscular endurance rather than a precise ranking against everyone else your age.
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How to Hold a Single-Leg Bridge
Like any exercise, form is king when it comes to getting the most out of the single-leg bridge hold. Always aim to maintain control during the hold instead of pushing yourself so hard that you compromise form just to reach a certain amount of time on the clock.
“The hold should finish when you can no longer maintain good form, rather than when you simply reach a target time,” Brady says. “If your hips start to drop or drift out of level, that’s your signal to stop and note the time.”
How to do it:
- Lie on your back with one knee bent and the same foot planted, while holding your other leg raised off the floor.
- Push through your planted foot to lift your hips.
- Bring your body into a straight line and keep your pelvis level.
- Hold the position without letting your hips gradually drop.
- Stop when your form breaks down, then note your time and repeat on the other side.
Why This Test Is Important
According to research, the single-leg bridge engages your glutes, hamstrings, and the muscles responsible for stabilizing your pelvis and trunk. “These muscles become increasingly important with age because hip strength is associated with functional tasks such as stepping and maintaining mobility in adults over 60,” explains Brady. “Being able to control your body on one leg for an extended stretch is a useful signal that those muscles are doing their job.”
If you fall short of 30 seconds, no biggie. That’s simply your starting point to improve upon. Plan to retest every few weeks, work on the bridge and other hip-strengthening moves in between tests, and watch your hold time increase as your hip strength improves. The ability to control your body on one leg for an extended period is an excellent sign of good muscular endurance.