Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Health & Fitness

Fitness gurus recommend growing those glutes with the hip thrust — here’s why

Research shows the hip thrust is more effective at training the glutes for sprinting compared to the split squat or back squat.

By
Man wearing black and red sneakers in gym doing hip thrusts with weight barbell on bench
Dark Saiyaman / Adobe Stock

The hip thrust lights up your glutes and hamstrings to strengthen and sculpt these major muscles. It’s a weighted variation of the glute bridge where your back is elevated up off the floor. Fitness gurus recommend the weighted hip thrust to primarily work your gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and hamstrings while also engaging your quads, core, and adductors.

How to do the hip thrust

hip thrust
Dusan Petkovic / Shutterstock

It’s best to start by mastering the basic bridge before attempting the weighted hip thrust. Always start with lighter weights and work your way up as you develop strength over time. 

How to do a weighted hip thrust:

  1. Start with your back on an exercise bench and your glutes on the floor.
  2. Place one weight across your hips, or rest one weight on each hip.
  3. Engage your core and squeeze your glutes.
  4. Lift your hips to press the weight straight up until your hips are in line with your shoulders and knees.
  5. Squeeze your glutes at the top and hold the pose for a moment.
  6. Carefully lower your hips back down to the starting position.
  7. Repeat until you complete the set.
Recommended Videos

What are the benefits of the hip thrust?

-man barbell on ground in gym strong
Estudiopolaroid / Pexels

There are plenty of reasons to give this popular move a try, including:

Research reveals the hip thrust is more effective when it comes to activating the hip extensor muscles compared to the deadlift, the Romanian deadlift, or the barbell squat. Another interesting study showed that the hip thrust was more effective at training the glutes for sprinting compared to the split squat or the back squat.

The importance of glute strength

man doing hip thrust with barbell in gym - MIGUEL MARTINEZ FRIAS Shutterstock
Miguel Martinez Frias / Shutterstock

Building glute strength with moves like the hip thrust helps stabilize your core, lower body, and pelvis and lower your risk of knee pain, back pain, and various injuries. Stronger glutes can help you amplify your athletic abilities, including sprinting and jumping. Plus, you’ll also sculpt the derriere.

Steph Green
Steph Green
Steph Green is a content writer specializing in healthcare, wellness, and nutrition. With over ten years of experience, she…
Topics

Editors’ Recommendations

What’s aquatic HIIT and why are people taking a dip? New study reveals benefits
Aqua HIIT combines strength training and aerobic exercise, but with less stress on the joints due to the buoyancy of the water.
Aqua aerobics in water sport center, indoor swimming pool, recreational leisure

High-intensity interval training is all the rage among fitness enthusiasts everywhere, who power through hard-hitting sessions. This type of exercise is certainly high-intensity, hence the name, and it involves a series of working and rest periods, such as riding a Peloton and alternating between 30-45 seconds of work and 30 seconds of rest. The idea is to perform exercises that get your heart rate up quickly, allowing you to be efficient with your time, typically to around 80-95% of your maximum heart rate for a high-intensity workout. 

On land, shall we say, HIIT enthusiasts would power through moves like treadmill sprints, rounds of boxing, the SkiErg, rowing machine, battle ropes, and sled pulls. HIIT provides numerous benefits; for example, research indicates that a short-term interval training program enhances anaerobic metabolism, which is beneficial for weight loss. You’ll also build muscle mass, boost your cardiovascular endurance, and more. HIIT has been shown to improve cardiac function and how your heart functions, including transporting nutrients and oxygen and maintaining blood flow.

Read more
I tested the Arc’teryx Vertex Speed in the mountains — here’s what stood out
Arc'teryx Vertex Speed

Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park is a playground of rocks, roots, boulders, and dirt. There, a trail run can involve hiking, striding, and scrambling over tens of miles and thousands of vertical feet. Bear and snake sightings keep things interesting. It’s truly a place for mountain running.

With these attributes, the park was the perfect place to test Arc’teryx’s latest mountain running shoe, the Vertex Speed. It’s a shoe that blurs the lines between running and climbing, with features catering to each activity. But does the formula work? Here’s my take.

Read more
I ran in 90-degree heat in these new Saucony shoes — here’s how they held up
Saucony Ride 18 summer

Summer running can bring joy and pain. Joy in the form of sunrise (or sunset) miles, sharing a run with friends, or appreciating nature. Pain arises when the temps creep past 90 degrees, and a leisurely pace feels like a sprint through the desert. 

Saucony released the Ride 18 Summer to accommodate those highs and lows, with materials and style that match the season. I tested the shoe during a heat wave in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, and it surprised me in some ways, and left me wanting in others. Here’s my take.

Read more