Band above the knees turns the bridge into a glute burner.
Keep pressing your knees outward the whole time so they never cave in.
Driving your hips off the floor from a bent-knee position is hip extension powered by the hamstrings and glutes together, and with the feet planted close to your hips the hamstrings pick up a serious share of the work. The band above your knees adds a second job, pressing the knees out the entire time so the outer glutes never switch off. It is floor-based posterior chain work that needs zero setup, perfect as activation before heavy lifting or as its own high-rep burner.
Your feet are probably too close to your hips, which puts the hamstrings in a short, cramped position while they work. Walk your heels out a little and drive through the heels, the cramping usually disappears.
It pulls your knees inward so you have to fight back out for the whole set. That constant outward pressure trains the exact muscles that stop your knees caving in squats and lunges.
The bridge is the floor version with a shorter range, great for beginners and warmups. The bench-elevated thrust adds range and load potential, so most people start with bridges and progress to thrusts.
