The bridge with ball squeeze adds an inner thigh squeeze to a normal glute bridge. You hold a small soft ball between your knees, press it together, then lift your hips. The buttocks do the lifting, and the muscles on the inside of your thighs (adductors) keep working the whole time.

How to do the bridge with ball squeeze

Lie on your back on a mat with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, about hip width apart. Lay your arms on the mat beside you.
Place a small soft ball between your knees. A firm pillow folded in half works if you have no ball.
Gently tighten your stomach, then squeeze the ball with your knees.
Keep the squeeze going, push through your heels and lift your hips until your shoulders, hips and knees form a straight line.
Hold at the top for a few seconds and keep breathing. Do not let the ball go.
Lower your hips slowly back to the mat, still squeezing, then relax before the next one.

What you should feel

Your buttocks and the inside of your thighs should do most of the work, with some effort in the back of the thighs. Your lower back should not be the part that aches.

Common mistakes

Letting the squeeze fade as the hips lift, so the ball slips.
Arching the lower back to push the hips higher.
Holding your breath while your hips are up.
Dropping back to the mat instead of lowering slowly.

How often

Many programs start with 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, holding each lift for 3 to 10 seconds. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain in the groin, or over the pubic bone at the front of the pelvis.
Back pain rather than buttock and thigh work, even when you lift less high.
Pain, numbness or tingling that spreads down the leg.

From the clinic

Doing the lift and the squeeze together takes some practice. If it feels like too much at first, work on each part on its own with the adductor ball squeeze and the glute bridge, then put them back together. Cramp in the back of the thighs is a common complaint. Walking your feet a little closer to your bottom can take the strain off.

After hip, knee or back surgery, your surgeon's protocol decides when bridges can start, so ask before you begin. Squeezing the inner thighs puts effort through the joint at the front of the pelvis. If you are pregnant or have pain over that area, check with your physio first, and past the first three months of pregnancy ask them about lying flat on your back too.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-25.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Bridge with ball squeeze