How many reps of the frog pump should a beginner do?

Start with 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps, resting about 45 seconds between sets. Because the range is short and low-impact, you can add reps quickly, and once 25 reps feels easy with a strong squeeze at the top, add a set before you add load.

How do you make the frog pump harder or easier?

To make it easier, place a small pillow under your hips so you only need to lift a few inches. To make it harder, pause for two seconds at the top of every rep, or hold a light plate or dumbbell against your hips once bodyweight reps stop challenging you.

What is the frog pump good for?

It builds a strong glute squeeze and mind-muscle connection with very little fatigue, which makes it a good warm-up or finisher rather than a primary strength builder. Skip it as your main glute exercise if you are chasing strength or size, since the range and load are both too limited to drive real progress on their own.

Beginner

Frog Pump

The frog pump is a high-rep glute burner done on your back with the soles of your feet pressed together and knees splayed. That externally rotated position lets you extend the hips with the glutes strongly shortened while the adductor magnus assists as a hip extensor. It is a great low-fatigue finisher or warm-up that builds a strong mind-muscle connection with the glutes.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Glutes
Type: Strength
Browse by muscle: Gluteus Maximus
Browse by movement: Hinge

How to do it

1
Lie on your back and bring the soles of your feet together near your hips.
2
Let your knees fall open to the sides in a frog position.
3
Brace your core and tuck your pelvis slightly to flatten your lower back.
4
Drive through the outer edges of your feet to lift your hips.
5
Squeeze your glutes hard at the top without arching your lower back.
6
Lower under control and repeat for high reps.

Tips

Push through the outer edges of your feet to keep the knees flared.
Finish with the glutes, not by arching your lower back.
Keep the reps continuous and rhythmic for a strong glute pump.

Variations

Common mistakes

Placing the feet too far from the hips shortens the range and turns the lift into a small pulse instead of a full hip extension.
The knees stay only half open, which shifts load off the glutes and onto the hamstrings and inner thighs.
Once the rep count climbs late in the set, the top squeeze gets shorter until the hips barely pause before dropping again.
Tension creeps into the neck and shoulders as the reps add up, wasting effort that should be going into the hips.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the frog pump should a beginner do?: Start with 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps, resting about 45 seconds between sets. Because the range is short and low-impact, you can add reps quickly, and once 25 reps feels easy with a strong squeeze at the top, add a set before you add load.
How do you make the frog pump harder or easier?: To make it easier, place a small pillow under your hips so you only need to lift a few inches. To make it harder, pause for two seconds at the top of every rep, or hold a light plate or dumbbell against your hips once bodyweight reps stop challenging you.
What is the frog pump good for?: It builds a strong glute squeeze and mind-muscle connection with very little fatigue, which makes it a good warm-up or finisher rather than a primary strength builder. Skip it as your main glute exercise if you are chasing strength or size, since the range and load are both too limited to drive real progress on their own.

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