ProgreviaFrog pump: proper form, muscles worked and common mistakes
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How to do it
Lying on your back with the soles of the feet together and knees splayed out, drive the hips to the ceiling and squeeze the glutes at the top. The external rotation isolates the glutes with no axial load.
Muscles worked
Main muscle: glutes. When it plans weekly volume, every set of this exercise counts in full for glutes: the generator does not split it with other muscles.
Frog pump vs X-band walk: driving the hips up or holding them steady sideways
The frog pump and the X-band walk both sit in the low-load glute category, but they do different jobs. The frog pump is hip extension lying down, with the external rotation that comes from soles together and knees out: the pelvis rises and the work lands mostly on the gluteus maximus over a short range. The X-band walk is a sideways walk on your feet with a band: it works the gluteus medius and minimus isometrically, to stabilize rather than to drive. One moves the hips upward; the other keeps them steady while you travel.
The frog pump is the pick for a warm-up before a hip thrust, for learning to feel the glute, or for a burnout of 20 to 30 reps at the end of the session. With no axial load, it is also an option when a barbell across your hips does not feel good or you have no equipment. You can add a dumbbell or a plate over the hips and a band above the knees.
One detail: bring your heels close to your glutes and pull your ribs down, so the force comes from the glute and not from the lower back. To progress, add reps first, then a two-second pause at the top, and only then external load.
Technical sheet
- Movement pattern
- Isolation
- Minimum level
- Beginner
- Technical demand
- Basic
- Fatigue it generates
- Low (0.4 out of 2.2)
- Risk if technique breaks down
- Low
These are the values the generator uses to decide where the exercise goes within the session.
Recommended sets and reps
As an isolation exercise, it works best in 3–4 sets of 10–15 reps with 0–2 RIR. Use it at the end of the session to add volume without systemic fatigue.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Arching the lower back at the top instead of extending the hips: chin tucked and ribs down keep the tension on the glutes.
- Sticking with the same version once you can do more than 20 reps: move to a harder variation or add load.
- Doing reps too fast, without controlling the eccentric (lowering) phase.
What the research says
As an isolation move, it is mostly a way to add volume to one muscle. Gentil and colleagues (2013) found that, in beginners, adding it to a multi-joint exercise gave no extra arm growth; it pays off later on, or for muscles the compounds barely reach.
On how hard to push: the meta-analysis by Refalo and colleagues (2023) found no clear advantage in going to failure over stopping just short of it. That is why the generator programs it with reps in reserve (RIR) instead of asking for failure on every set.
- Gentil P, Soares SR, Pereira MC, et al. Effect of adding single-joint exercises to a multi-joint exercise resistance-training program on strength and hypertrophy in untrained subjects. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 2013;38(3):341-344.
- Refalo MC, Helms ER, Trexler ET, Hamilton DL, Fyfe JJ. Influence of resistance training proximity-to-failure on skeletal muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Medicine. 2023;53(3):649-665.
How Frog pump compares with other glutes exercises
Of the 15 glutes exercises in the catalogue, ranked from least to most fatiguing by the values the generator uses, Frog pump is number 2 (tied with 4 others).
That makes it a good candidate for adding glutes sets at the end of a session or in heavy weeks, when you want volume without extra fatigue.
With different equipment, the same movement pattern offers 6 alternatives, such as Machine glute kickback, Hip abduction machine and Seated hip abduction.
| Exercise | Equipment | Fatigue | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machine glute kickback | machine | Low (0.3 out of 2.2) | Basic |
| Hip abduction machine | machine | Low (0.4 out of 2.2) | Basic |
| Seated hip abduction | machine | Low (0.4 out of 2.2) | Basic |
| Frog pump | bodyweight | Low (0.4 out of 2.2) | Basic |
| Cable glute kickback | cable | Low (0.4 out of 2.2) | Basic |
| X-band walk | resistance band | Low (0.4 out of 2.2) | Basic |
| Cable hip extension | cable | Low (0.5 out of 2.2) | Basic |
Bodyweight. In the trial by Kotarsky et al. (2018), four weeks of progressively harder push-ups significantly improved bench press 1RM, just like training the bench press itself. It is a strength result, not a hypertrophy one, and the condition is the word progressive: the exercise has to keep getting harder.
An isolation exercise. In the trial by Gentil et al. (2015), with untrained young men over ten weeks, the biceps curl and the lat pulldown were equally effective for gaining strength and size in the elbow flexors: isolation is not filler.
- Kotarsky CJ, Christensen BK, Miller JS, Hackney KJ. Effect of progressive calisthenic push-up training on muscle strength and thickness. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2018;32(3):651-659.
- Gentil P, Soares S, Bottaro M. Single vs. multi-joint resistance exercises: effects on muscle strength and hypertrophy. Asian Journal of Sports Medicine. 2015;6(2):e24057.
Related guide
Glute exercises: the guide to actually building them
Alternative exercises
- Cable glute kickback
- Hip abduction machine
- Cable hip extension
- Machine glute kickback
- Seated hip abduction
More isolation exercises
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Frequently asked questions
What muscles does Frog pump work?
Frog pump mainly works the glutes muscle group, plus synergist and stabilizer muscles depending on the variation.
How many sets of Frog pump should I do?
Between 3 and 5 sets per session, adjusting the total weekly volume for glutes to your level (about 10–20 sets per muscle per week).
How many frog pumps should I do per set?
Because the load is low and the range short, high reps work well, often 20 to 30, stopping when you feel the glutes burning or your form slips. There is no magic number. If you finish 30 easily, slow the tempo, add a pause at the top or put a dumbbell or a band on the hips.
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