How to do the hip thrust
The hip thrust loads the glutes hardest at the top, where a squat and a deadlift load them least. That makes it a useful complement rather than a replacement, and it is easy to progress because the setup is so stable.
- Type
- Lift
- Level
- Beginner
- Equipment
- Barbell, Bench, and Barbell pad
- Works
- Glutes
- Also worked
- Hamstrings, Quadriceps, and Abdominals
- Also called
- Barbell Hip Thrust and Glute Bridge
Set up
- Sit on the floor with your upper back against a bench roughly at the bottom of your shoulder blades.
- Roll a padded barbell over your hips so it sits in the crease.
- Plant your feet flat, about shoulder-width apart, close enough that your shins are vertical at the top of the rep.
- Tuck your chin and look at a point between your knees.
The rep
- Brace your abs, then drive through your heels and push your hips up.
- Finish with your torso parallel to the floor and your knees, hips and shoulders in a line.
- Squeeze the glutes hard for a second at the top without arching your lower back.
- Lower under control until the plates almost touch the floor, then go again.
Cues that help
- Ribs down, chin tucked — the movement is at your hips, not your spine.
- Push the floor away with your heels.
- Stop at parallel. Higher is not further, it is just lumbar extension.
Common mistakes
Arching the lower back at the top
If your ribs flare, your spine finished the rep instead of your hips. Keep the chin tucked and the abs braced.
Feet too far away
Shins should be vertical at lockout. Feet too far forward turns it into a hamstring exercise.
Skipping the pad
A loaded bar on the hip bones is not something to tough out. Use a pad or a folded mat.
How to progress it
The hip thrust tolerates a lot of load and progresses quickly. Work in the 8 to 15 rep range and add weight whenever you can hit the top of the range with a full one-second squeeze on every rep.
How to track it
Log sets, reps and bar weight. Because the numbers climb fast, this is one of the exercises where a monthly chart shows a satisfying, clearly real line.
Log your hip thrust
Opens the lift form with Hip Thrust already filled in. Free account, no card.
Hip Thrust questions
How high should the bench be?
The bench edge should land at the bottom of your shoulder blades. Too high and you cannot lock out, too low and you lose the range.
Hip thrust or squat for glutes?
Both, for different reasons. Squats load the glutes at length under a deep stretch; hip thrusts load them at the shortened, locked-out end.
Do I need a barbell?
No — a single heavy dumbbell across the hips or a resistance band works to start with. The barbell just lets you keep progressing past the point where those run out.