Exercise guide · Advanced · Compound

Tire Flip: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The tire flip is a full-body, explosive strength exercise that primarily targets the glutes, with significant involvement from the hamstrings, quadriceps, and core. It requires lifting and flipping a heavy tire, demanding power, coordination, and proper technique to perform safely.

Primary muscles
Glutes
Equipment
Tire
Level · type
Advanced · Compound
Demonstration of the tire flip
Front view: muscles worked by the tire flip. Primary: glutes. Secondary: hamstrings, abs, quads and obliques.
Back view: muscles worked by the tire flip. Primary: glutes. Secondary: hamstrings, abs, quads and obliques.
Primary Secondary

How to do the tire flip

  1. Step 1: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, facing the tire.
  2. Step 2: Bend your knees and hinge at the hips, lowering into a squat position.
  3. Step 3: Reach down and grab the bottom edge of the tire with both hands, fingers facing towards you.
  4. Step 4: Engage your glutes and leg muscles, and explosively drive through your legs to lift the tire off the ground.
  5. Step 5: As the tire flips over, use your upper body strength to guide it and maintain control.
  6. Step 6: Once the tire is fully flipped, quickly step back and reset your stance.
  7. Step 7: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the tire flip by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Tire Flip alternatives

More exercises that train the glutes as their main target:

More glutes exercises

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Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.