Hip Thrusts - Do you REALLY need them?

Should you do hip thrusts? How about glute bridges? Is one better than the other?

The answers to these questions all depend on YOUR goals. What are you trying to accomplish in your movement and fitness practice?

If you want to build bigger glutes then hip thrusts are one of the best exercises out there to accomplish this.

On the other hand, if you’re more interested in mobility or simply moving better then hip thrusts might not be worth your time and energy.

In this article, I’ll explain what a hip thrust is, how to do them properly and whether it makes sense for you to add them to your workouts.

Read on, hipster.

What are hip thrusts?

A hip thrust is an exercise that builds strength in hip extension, which is a weak movement pattern for many people.

Hip extension is the exact opposite of hip flexion which is what we do all day when we sit behind a desk.

There are many ways to load the hip thrust. You can use a barbell, dumbbells, a kettlebell or bands.

The set up will vary slightly depending on the type of load you use but the way you do the movement should not change all that much.

You can even do hip thrusts unloaded but this would start looking more like a glute bridge.

Glute bridge vs hip thrust

The difference between a glute bridge and a hip thrust is the set up and range of motion. In both positions, you're extending your hips but in the hip thrust, you're going lower on the eccentric, or the descent. 

Glute bridges are performed off of the ground so the lowering or eccentric phase ends once you come back to the ground. Hip thrusts on the other hand are done with your back on a bench so you go lower in the eccentric phase. 

This eccentric portion of an exercise provides a strong muscle-building stimulus. This is why if your main goal is building muscle, hip thrusts are superior to the glute bridge. 

Anytime you add more range of motion, especially to the eccentric portion of an exercise, you will create a greater muscle building effect. But you can also do the glute bridge with more range of motion, and you can do the hip thrust with less range of motion. 

There is no clear line where a glute bridge becomes a hip thrust, and vice versa.  They are both simply tools that you can modify and experiment with to get the training effect you're looking for. 

Muscles worked in the Hip Thrust

The main muscles worked in the hip thrusts are the glutes. If you want bigger, stronger and more resilient glutes, there probably isn’t a better exercise out there.

Since the hip thrust is a compound exercise, other muscle groups like the hamstrings, abs, lower back and quads will also have a positive training effect.

But these secondary muscle groups likely won’t get much work unless you’re loading the movement with some heavy weight. When you lift heavy weights, you will get stronger in your whole body. 

This is true for just about any exercise out there. If you can barbell curl 100lb for reps, you’re probably pretty damn strong in your whole body, not just your biceps.

How to do Hip Thrusts

To nail down the proper technique for the hip thrust, I will demonstrate a bodyweight variation first. You likely don’t need to spend too much time with this unloaded version so once you get the general form down, I would start loading the movement. 

The exercise is not that complex but there are some general cues to be aware of. The first is the universal principle of keeping good posture during exercise.

This is true for any exercise. If you train with poor posture, you will reinforce whatever poor postural habits you have engrained in your nervous system.

Don’t over-arch your low back. The movement should be coming from your hips for the whole exercise. Once you can’t extend your hips any further, that is the end range.

Be mindful of your neck and head. For many people, there is an urge to shrug the shoulders and/or protrude the head forward. This is usually a protective mechanism from the nervous system to avoid feeling tension in weak muscles.

The hip thrust is an explosive movement from one of the strongest muscle groups in the body. They are meant to be done forcefully. So once you feel confident about your form, load the movement and explode to the top position.

Hip Thrust Exercise – Barbell and Dumbbell Variations

The magic from hip thrusts come from volume. It’s a strength and power movement that is not that complicated to perform. This is what makes it such a great exercise - you can just keep adding weight and getting stronger. 

Despite this, you still want to take it slow and progress mindfully. If you’re not sore at all after a training session then this means it’s time to add some weight.

If you’re very sore after a workout, you should reduce the weight a bit or stick with the same weight until the post exercise soreness goes down. 

Dumbbell Hip Thrusts

I recommend starting with the dumbbell hip thrusts. If you don’t have access to dumbbells, you can use kettlebells too.

A barbell is 45lb and to set up a barbell hip thrust, you need at least 5-10 lb bumper plates on each side. This means you’re looking at a starting load of 55-65lb.

This can be too much for a beginner. With dumbbells, you can start as low as you need. I always like to start with lower weights and build confidence in my technique.

I also prefer to recover quicker than be sore for a week because I loaded a new exercise with more load than my body was prepared for.

Barbell Hip Thrusts

The barbell hip thrust is the staple. This is the variation that will promote the most gains in your hip extension and glute strength.

The set up for the barbell version can be a bit burdensome. You’ll need a pad, a stable bench that is secure and of course, a barbell with bumper plates.

It’s not for everyone and personally, I never had the desire to go through all the trouble to set up this exercise in my home gym.

This is because I have other more desirable fitness goals I want to pursue. I wouldn’t hate stronger and larger glutes but I’d rather conserve time and energy on physical pursuits that interest me.

But you might want to. If you’ve always dreamed of a bigger badankadonk then do you! Spend time on what excites you and the rest will take care of itself.

Alternatives to hip thrusts

If you don’t have access to the necessary equipment, you can focus on glute bridges. As I explained before, glute bridges train the exact same movement pattern as the hip thrust – hip extension – so you will get a similar training effect.

You’re going to want to eventually find a way to load the movement. The glutes need resistance to grow so you shouldn't do this bodyweight version forever.

Once you can do about 15 reps of unloaded glute bridges with perfect form, you should start thinking about how you’re going to progress the exercise.

Again, this is all about what your goals are. You don’t need to add volume if you don’t want to but you’re just going to waste precious workout time by performing an exercise that no longer has much of a training effect.

If you’re a modern-day adult with an office job, I suggest you shift your attention to more dynamic full-body movements like the back bridge.

The back bridge is essentially just a more advanced version of the hip thrust and glute bridge. You go into even deeper hip extension but also challenge your back and shoulder mobility.

It’s not all about bodybuilding and strength, even though that’s what seems to be the most popular these days.

Unless you have some specific aesthetic or performance goals, or you’re a professional athlete, you don’t really need to do the hip thrust. 

If you want to, that’s great! But it shouldn’t feel like you have to in order to be normal or to be functional. The first priority is that fitness should be fun and enjoyable. The second is to think about what things you want to be able to do with your body.

Programming a Hip Thrust Workout

The hip thrust should be programmed similar to other strength training exercises. This means 3-4 sets for 4-12 reps, 1-2x a week.

I personally prefer to be in the 6-10 rep range for building strength. If you’re focusing on form, then getting up to 15 reps is completely fine too as long as the weight is not too heavy.

Progressive overload is key here. This simply means adding more intensity each week. You can add more reps, weight or other variables like rest time and isometric hold. To keep it simple, I recommend just focusing on reps and weight in the beginning.