How to do the hip thrust
The most direct way to load your glutes heavily. Easy to learn, gentle on your knees and back, and a strong pick for anyone who wants bigger, stronger glutes.
The Helthy team · Updated · 6 min read
- Works
- Glutes
- Also works
- Hamstrings, Quads
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Level
- Beginner
If you squat and deadlift but still don't feel your glutes doing much, the hip thrust is the fix. Your upper back rests on a bench, a barbell sits across your hips, and you drive your hips up until your body is flat. Unlike a squat, the glutes are hardest at the top, where they're fully squeezed, and there's barely any load on your spine or knees. It's also one of the easiest barbell lifts to learn, so beginners can push it hard within a few sessions.
How to do a hip thrust
- Sit on the floor with your upper back against a bench. The edge of the bench should sit just below your shoulder blades. Put the bench against a wall or rack so it can't slide back.
- Roll the bar over your legs until it sits in the crease of your hips. Use a pad or folded mat on the bar. Full-size plates make this much easier, because they lift the bar high enough to roll over your thighs.
- Set your feet so your shins are vertical at the top. Feet flat, about hip width, toes turned out slightly. For most people that's about a foot (30 cm) in front of their butt. Test it with an empty-bar rep and adjust.
- Grip the bar just outside your hips and tuck your chin slightly. Eyes forward, not up at the ceiling. Take a breath at the bottom and brace your abs.
- Drive through your heels and push your hips up. Keep going until your torso and thighs form a straight line, parallel to the floor, with your knees bent about 90 degrees. Your upper back pivots on the bench; your head and torso move together as one piece.
- Squeeze your glutes hard and pause for a second. Breathe out as you reach the top. You should feel it almost entirely in your glutes, not in your lower back or hamstrings.
- Lower until your butt is just above the floor. Keep the same chin position and control the descent, then drive straight into the next rep.
Cues that help
"Ribs down." Keeping your ribcage pulled down toward your hips stops your lower back from arching at the top. If that doesn't click, try "lead with your belt buckle" and think of your pelvis tilting up toward your chin.
"Eyes follow your knees." As your hips rise, keep your gaze on a point just over your knees. It keeps your head in line with your torso and stops you from throwing your head back or crushing your chin into your chest.
"Heels through the floor." Pushing through your heels keeps the work on your glutes. If you feel your toes gripping, your weight is too far forward and your quads are taking over.
"Knees slightly out." Pushing your knees gently outward at the top gets a little more out of your glutes and stops your knees caving in on heavy reps.
Common mistakes
Arching your lower back at the top. Your hips reach the top and you keep going by bending your lower back, so your ribs flare and your chest points at the ceiling. It feels like extra range but it's your spine moving, not your hips, and it's where the lower-back aches come from. Stop when your torso is flat, and use the ribs-down cue.
Pushing through your toes. When your weight shifts to the balls of your feet, your quads take over and your glutes do less. Usually your feet are too close to the bench. Move them out a little and think about your heels. If your hamstrings cramp instead, your feet are too far away; move them back in.
Tucking your chin too hard. A light tuck is useful, but pinning your chin to your chest strains your neck and makes it harder to pivot on the bench. Keep your eyes forward over your knees. The opposite problem, looking up at the ceiling, usually comes with an arched back.
Stopping short of lockout. Heavy weights tempt people into half reps that stop with the hips still bent. The top position is the whole point of the lift. If you can't reach flat and pause for a second, it's too heavy.
Letting the bench move. A sliding bench wrecks the pivot and makes every rep feel different. Wedge it against something solid before you load the bar.
Sets, reps and how much weight to use
Hip thrusts work well across a wide range of reps. For most people, 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 is the sweet spot, with a 1-second pause at the top. Heavier sets of 6 to 8 are fine too, and high-rep sets of 15 to 20 at the end of a session are a good finisher. Pick a weight you could do 2 or 3 more reps with, and rest 2 minutes between heavy sets. Put it first on a glute-focused day or after your squats or deadlifts on a leg day, twice a week.
A short warm-up is enough: a set of 10 bodyweight glute bridges on the floor, then the empty bar for 10, then a set at about half your working weight. If you're working with 185 lb (85 kg), a warm-up of 95 lb (45 kg) for 8 is plenty.
Hip thrusts tend to progress fast. Beginners can often add 10 lb (5 kg) a week for the first couple of months. When that slows, add reps first, then weight. Keeping a log in Helthy is useful here because the weight climbs quickly, and you'll want to see your jumps session by session.
Here's roughly what people lift for their normal working sets:
| Bodyweight | beginner | intermediate | advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 130 lb (59 kg) | 50 lb (23 kg) | 105 lb (48 kg) | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| 160 lb (73 kg) | 65 lb (29 kg) | 130 lb (59 kg) | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| 190 lb (86 kg) | 75 lb (34 kg) | 150 lb (68 kg) | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| 220 lb (100 kg) | 90 lb (41 kg) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 285 lb (129 kg) |
| 250 lb (113 kg) | 100 lb (45 kg) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 325 lb (147 kg) |
These are conservative. Once you've trained it for a while, the hip thrust is often one of your heaviest lifts, sometimes heavier than your deadlift. Don't worry if you're above these numbers; just make sure you're reaching full lockout.
If the bar hurts your hips, it's usually the pad, not you. A thicker pad or a folded mat under it solves most of it.
Variations and alternatives
- Glute bridge: the same movement with your back on the floor. Shorter range and a bit easier, so it's a good way to learn the pattern or train at home.
- Dumbbell hip thrust: one dumbbell across your hips. Easier to set up and good for high reps, though you'll outgrow it quickly.
- Single-leg hip thrust: one foot on the floor, bodyweight or a light dumbbell. Great for evening out sides, and hard enough that you won't need much weight.
- Hip thrust machine: skips the awkward bar setup. If your gym has one, it's a fine swap for the barbell version.
- Romanian deadlift: trains your glutes and hamstrings under a stretch rather than a squeeze. Doing both covers the full range.
- Bulgarian split squat: a single-leg option that hits the glutes hard if you don't have a bench and bar free.
Hip thrust questions
Is the hip thrust better than squats for glutes?
Not clearly. A 9-week study in untrained men and women compared the two and found similar glute growth, while squats also trained the quads at the same time. It was short and in beginners, so it's not the final word. We'd do both: squats for your whole lower body, hip thrusts to add glute work without much extra fatigue.
How high should the bench be?
A standard flat bench, roughly 16 to 18 inches (40 to 45 cm) high, works for most people. Shorter lifters sometimes prefer something a little lower. What matters is that the edge sits just under your shoulder blades.
Why do I feel hip thrusts in my hamstrings?
Your feet are probably too far from the bench. Move them closer until your shins are vertical at the top. If you feel it in your quads, move them further away.
Why does my lower back hurt?
You're likely arching your back to finish the rep. Stop when your body is flat, keep your ribs down and lower the weight. If your back still hurts after a week or two of lighter, cleaner reps, get it looked at.