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Exercise

Hip thrust: muscles worked and how to do it

The hip thrust mainly trains your glutes. Your hamstrings help straighten your hips and your core keeps your ribs and pelvis in line, so both work as secondary muscles. Your quads work too, holding your knees in position.

Done well, it is a bridge with your upper back on a bench and a barbell across your hips: feet flat, chin tucked, hips driven up until your body is straight from shoulders to knees, with a squeeze of the glutes at the top.

At a glance

Main muscles
Also works
Movement
Hip extension (bridge)
Equipment
Barbell, Flat bench
Type
Compound (several joints)

How to do a hip thrust

  1. Sit on the floor with your upper back against the long side of a flat bench, the edge just below your shoulder blades. Make sure the bench cannot slide; put it against a wall or a rack if needed.
  2. Roll the barbell over your legs until it sits in the crease of your hips. Use a thick bar pad or a folded mat; the bar presses directly on your hip bones.
  3. Plant your feet flat, about hip width apart, close enough that your shins are vertical at the top of the lift.
  4. Tuck your chin slightly and keep your eyes looking forward, not up at the ceiling.
  5. Brace your stomach and drive through your heels to lift your hips until your body is in a straight line from shoulders to knees.
  6. Squeeze your glutes hard for a moment at the top, without arching your lower back.
  7. Lower your hips under control until they are a few centimetres off the floor, then drive up again.

Cues that help

  • "Ribs down, chin tucked": your head follows your torso. It stops you finishing the rep by arching your lower back.
  • "Push through your heels": it keeps the work in your glutes and hamstrings rather than your quads.
  • "Shins vertical at the top": if they lean in or out, move your feet until they are straight up and down.
  • "Hold the squeeze": one second at the top is where the glutes work hardest.

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back at the top. It looks like more range, but the movement comes from your spine instead of your hips. Finish with your ribs down.
  • Feet too far away. The hamstrings take over and the glutes do less. Bring your feet closer.
  • Feet too close. Your quads take over and your heels lift. Move them out until your shins are vertical at the top.
  • Skipping the bar pad. A loaded bar directly on the hip bones hurts enough to limit your sets.
  • Bouncing out of the bottom. Control the lowering and drive up from a brief pause.

Hip thrust or squat for glutes?

The hip thrust makes the glutes work harder than the squat in the moment. Whether that builds more glute muscle over months is less clear: the training studies disagree.

Measured in 13 trained women using a weight they could lift about ten times, the hip thrust produced roughly twice the glute muscle activity of the back squat (Contreras et al., 2015). But in a 12-week study of 22 well-trained women, the squat group grew their glutes more (9.4% against 3.7% in the hip thrust group) and their quads far more (Barbalho et al., 2020). A 9-week study of 34 untrained young adults, with the number of sets matched, found similar glute growth from both, with more thigh growth from squats (Plotkin et al., 2023).

So the hip thrust is a strong glute exercise, not a replacement for squats. Doing both covers the glutes from two angles, and the hip thrust is a good option when your back or knees limit how much you can squat.

Sets, reps and weight

  • For muscle: 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps, resting 2 to 3 minutes.
  • For strength: 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps, resting 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Leave 1 to 2 reps in reserve; if you are arching your lower back to finish, the set is over.
  • Add weight when you reach the top of your rep range with a full squeeze on every rep, usually in steps of 5 to 10kg.

Variations and alternatives

  • Glute bridge: the same movement lying on the floor. A shorter range, less setup, and a good place to learn the movement.
  • Single-leg hip thrust: one leg at a time with body weight or a dumbbell. Shows left-right differences.
  • Machine hip thrust: a padded belt and a fixed path. Quicker to set up than a barbell.
  • Cable pull-through: facing away from a low cable and driving your hips forward. Trains the same hip extension standing up.
  • Romanian deadlift: works the glutes and hamstrings in a lengthened position, a good pair with the hip thrust.

Tracking your hip thrust

PushBeyond logs each set's weight and reps, estimates your one-rep max from your best set with the Epley formula, and charts the history of the lift. Its muscle map counts the hip thrust for your glutes, with hamstrings and core as secondary muscles.

Updated

Sources

  1. Contreras B, Vigotsky AD, Schoenfeld BJ, Beardsley C, Cronin J (2015). A Comparison of Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, and Vastus Lateralis Electromyographic Activity in the Back Squat and Barbell Hip Thrust Exercises. Journal of Applied Biomechanics.
  2. Barbalho M, Coswig V, Souza D, Serrão JC, Hebling Campos M, Gentil P (2020). Back Squat vs. Hip Thrust Resistance-training Programs in Well-trained Women. International Journal of Sports Medicine.
  3. Plotkin DL, Rodas MA, Vigotsky AD, et al. (2023). Hip thrust and back squat training elicit similar gluteus muscle hypertrophy and transfer similarly to the deadlift. Frontiers in Physiology.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What muscles does the hip thrust work?

Mainly the glutes. The hamstrings and core work as secondary muscles, and the quads work to hold your knee angle.

Is the hip thrust better than the squat for glutes?

It makes the glutes work harder in the moment, but training studies disagree on whether it builds more glute muscle: one found squats grew the glutes more, another found similar growth. The squat also builds the thighs, so doing both is the safe bet.

Why do I feel it in my hamstrings?

Your feet are probably too far from the bench. Bring them closer until your shins are vertical at the top.

Why do I feel it in my lower back?

You are probably arching your back to finish the rep. Keep your chin tucked and your ribs down, and stop when your body is straight from shoulders to knees.

How do I stop the bar hurting my hips?

Use a thick bar pad or a folded exercise mat, and make sure the bar sits in the crease of your hips, not on your stomach or thighs.

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