BIP.

Exercise library · Glutes

Barbell hip thrust

Hip extension for the glutes with a barbell.

How to do it

1 of 3

Upper back against the bench

  1. Starting position

    Rest your upper back on a bench, plant your feet on the floor and hold a padded barbell across your hips.

  2. The movement

    Lower your hips, then drive them up until your shoulders, hips and knees form a straight line.

Most common mistake

Don't overarch your back at the top, brace your stomach and finish the movement with your hips.

Watch the video larger →

Muscle group
Glutes
Equipment
Barbell
Where
Gym
Logged as
Weight × reps

Muscles worked

Your gluteus maximus does most of the work. The hip thrust loads your glutes most at the top, when your hips are fully extended. Your hamstrings and inner thighs help extend the hip, and your quads work to hold the knee angle. Your abs keep your trunk still. Foot position changes the balance: closer to your backside gives the quads more work, further away brings in more hamstrings.

Common mistakes

  • Feet in the wrong place. Too close and you mainly feel it in your quads and knees. Too far and your hamstrings take over and may cramp. Move your feet until your shins are roughly vertical at the top.
  • Only doing the top part. With a heavy bar it is easy to bob up and down a few centimetres. Lower until your hips are just above the floor, lift all the way, and go lighter if you cannot.
  • Sliding along the bench. If the edge is in the wrong place, you creep along the bench and the movement gets unstable. Put the edge just below your shoulder blades, and brace the bench against a wall or a heavy rack if it moves.

Variations and alternatives

  • The machine hip thrust is easier to set up and load.
  • The dumbbell hip thrust suits you if you are new to the exercise or train at home.
  • The B-stance hip thrust puts more of the load on one leg, giving each side more work without needing as much weight.
  • The glute bridge is done lying on the floor and is an easier step if you want to learn the movement before adding load.

Sets and reps

The hip thrust handles fairly heavy loads and fits early in a session while you are fresh. Three to four sets of 8 to 12 reps is a good standard approach for building muscle. For more of a strength focus, 5 to 8 reps works, and 12 to 15 suits lighter days. Hold the top for a second on every rep so your glutes do the work all the way up. Rest two to three minutes between heavy sets. The guide to sets and reps has more on choosing a range.

Progress in small steps. Once you reach the top of the range on every set, add 2.5 to 5 kg and start again near the bottom of the range. That is progressive overload, just as in other barbell lifts.

Also called

  • hip thrust

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

Want it in a programme?

Tell BIP your goal and your equipment, and BIP builds a week with sets, reps and rest worked out. You log your weights as you train and watch yourself get stronger. The first week is free.

Create a programme →