How to Do a Hip Thrust: Steps to Follow, Benefits, Variations & More

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December 31, 2021

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The quest for stronger, muscular, and rounder hips passes through rigorous glutes exercises like hip thrust. The hip thrust is the ultimate glute-strengthening exercise that focuses on giving you a rounder, stronger, and firmer butt. And while doing so, glute exercises also reduce hip flexor inflammation and lower back pain.

The hip thrust benefits don’t end here and we will discuss them later in the article. Coming back to hip thrusters, you can easily include them in home exercises or your gym workout. All you need to do is learn how to do it properly. This article can be your perfect guide to hip thrust exercise. Read on to see how:

What is hip thrust?

It is always best to learn what is hip thrust exactly before performing it. Invented by Bret Contreras, this is a famous lower body exercise that specifically targets your gluteal muscles, including the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. In simple words, a hip thrust exercise helps in strengthening the hips, lower back, and thighs.

It is an advanced version of the bridge pose. The difference lies in the use of free weights, posture, and range of motion. Hip thrusters require you to elevate your shoulder, use free weights dumbbells, barbells, chains, and bands, etc., If you are a beginner, it is best to learn how to do hip thrust from an expert before starting it on your own.

How To Do Hip Thrust

Below is a simple step-by-step guide to perform hip thrust workout without any special weights but just a hip thrust bench or sofa:

Sit comfortably against an exercise bench or a sofa. Bend your knees and keep the feet flat on the floor.
Place your arms on the hip thrust bench or the sofa, with your fingers pointing toward your lower body.
Slowly, engage your core and raise your hips toward the ceiling, such that your body forms a straight line from the shoulders to the knees. Do not raise your feet or shoulders off the floor.
Also, squeeze your butt cheeks together as you thrust your hips up.
Hold for a few seconds and then lower your hips.
Before your hips touch the floor, thrust them again.
Do 3 sets of 8 reps if you are a beginner.

Alternative For Hip Thrust

To give your body extra challenge and tone your butts faster, you can also try the following variations of hip thrust workout:

Barbell hip thrust: A barbell hip thrust exercise is quite popular among gym enthusiasts. You just have to hold a barbell on your hip bone to perform this hip thrust alternative.
Dumbbell Hip Thrust: As the name suggests, a dumbbell hip thrust requires you to use a dumbbell while raising your hips. Just hold the weights on your hip bones as you raise and lower the hips.
Hip Thrust With Resistance Band: If you want a hip thrust alternative that does not involve weights, this is a great option. All you need to do is grasp the band with both hands and pin it down on the floor as it passes through your hip bone. The resistance will make the thrust challenging and hence more effective.
Single Leg Hip Thrust: It is an advanced alternative for hip thrust and should be done carefully. To do a single leg hip thrust, you have to raise one of your legs while keeping the other one at a 90-degree angle with the floor. Refer to the online videos and images to see how to do this.

Hip Thrust Exercise Benefits

Performing hip thrust on a regular basis can have incredible impacts on your body. Some of the best hip thrust exercise benefits are as follows:

It can improve your glute strength, shape, and size.
You can also perform other glute workouts such as squats and deadlifts with more efficiency.
It can strengthen your lower back and leg muscles.
You can also improve your body posture and body stability with hip thrust exercise at home.
It can also refine leg, ankle, knee, pelvis, and hip movements.
Hip thrust benefits your muscles fibre by activating it.
It can also alleviate lower back pain and stiffness.
It also engages your core muscles and upper body strength, especially when you do barbell hip thrust exercise or add other weights.

Hip Thrust Workout – Things To Keep In Mind

Here are some important tips and things you should consider whether you are planning to do hip thrust at home or gym:

Always complete the full motion by making a 90-degree angle with your legs.
Do not arch your back excessively when you have added weight. It can cause strain or injury. To prevent this, use lighter weights during dumbbell or barbell hip thrust.
Always keep your feet flat on the ground while raising your hips.
Do not eat heavy meals at least 2 hours before and after the workout.
If you wish to do hip thrusts at home, make sure you follow all the right techniques and begin with lighter weights.
Always start the workout with a warm-up to prep your body.
Your neck position is also very important during this workout. So, make sure you tuck your chin towards the chin as you lift the hips. This will engage the core and prevent overarching of the spine.
If you have had any recent surgery or spin and back injury, avoid hip thrust exercise. Consult a doctor before starting this workout after recovery.
Pregnant women should also avoid this exercise.
Try not to make eye contact with anyone when you are hip thrusting and don’t do the same when someone else is performing the workout as it can break the focus.

Conclusion

When done the right way, hip thrusters can be an effective way to add both size and strength to your glutes. And now that you have quite a lot of information, you can also plan to do hipthrust exercise at home. To be on the safer side, do check our online videos or join a workout class to learn from the experts.

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