The Glute Exercise That Puts Squats and Deadlifts to Shame, According to Experts

Move over, squats and deadlifts—there’s a new glute exercise in town. 

Okay, barbell hip thrusts are by no means new, but they are a lesser-known glute burner, and they pack a big punch. “It’s a powerhouse glute-building exercise—it’s probably one of the most effective exercises for glute development,” says Ani Oksayan, certified personal trainer and vice president of fitness at Chuze Fitness. “They help build strength and power in the glutes and hips, support better performance in lifts like squats and deadlifts, and contribute to overall athletic performance via hip flexion and extension.”

If you’re not familiar with the exercise, barbell hip thrusts are basically an advanced progression of a glute bridge: Instead of lying with your back on the floor, the shoulders are elevated on a bench, and as the name implies, they’re weighted with a barbell. 

“You’re really doing yourself a disservice if these aren’t in your repertoire,” says Oksayan. “It’s not a difficult exercise to do.” Here’s how to do a barbell hip thrust correctly, plus mistakes to avoid, ways to level-up, and how (and when) to incorporate it in your gym routine. 

How to do a barbell hip thrust

1. 1.
   Sit on the ground with your upper back resting against a bench, the barbell positioned over your hips, and your feet flat on the floor, with the knees bent. Use a barbell pad, if you have one. 
2. 2.
   Grip the barbell with both hands, just wider than shoulder width apart. 
3. 3.
   Drive through your heels to lift your hips, lifting until your torso is parallel to the floor. Keep your chin slightly tucked, and your spine neutral. 
4. 4.
   Pause for a moment at the top, squeezing the glutes. 
5. 5.
   With control, lower the hips back down, moving the body as one unit and keeping the core engaged. 

The benefits of barbell hip thrusts

Better glute max development

“This movement really trains your glute max muscle,” says Mathew Welch, MS, CSCS, ATC, USAW-1, an exercise physiologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. “Your glute max primarily does hip extension, and it’s the most powerful hip extension muscle you have and one of the strongest muscles in your body. It really drives the show in terms of your hip function, strength and power, so it’s a very important muscle to develop.”

Better performance in other lifts

The barbell hip thrust can be more beginner-friendly than standing glute lifts like squats and deadlifts, says Oksayan, since your shoulders are supported. That means it can help build up to more advanced exercises. “This is one of those foundational exercises that will lead to greater performance and more muscular awareness,” she says. “That will enable you to approach some of the more advanced lifts with more strength and power.”

Improved quad strength

Though barbell hip thrusts primarily train the glutes, Welch says you can also expect to strengthen the quads. “Because your shoulders are elevated, you get into knee flexion,” he says. “So you do actually recruit your quads. That’s also why you can use more weight—your quads are helping as well.” (He says it’s a misconception to think that you’re doing the exercise wrong just because you can feel your quads working.)

Common mistakes to avoid when doing barbell hip thrusts

Not using a barbell pad

The pressure on the hips from the barbell can be intense, and Welch says it’s essential to use a barbell pad. “Otherwise your hips are getting murdered with the weight of the bar, and it limits how much weight you can use,” he says. “It’s just not going to feel good as you are progressing with both reps and weight.” 

Fix it: If barbell hip thrusts are going to be a staple exercise in your routine, it’s worth it to invest in a pad, says Welch. If not, he says rolling up a yoga mat can be a quick alternative. Or, sub a barbell for dumbbells, which’ll be easier on the hips.  

Moving the hips separately from the torso

Welch says he sometimes sees people moving their hips up and down but leaving their upper body behind. “You want to think of your body as moving as one unit,” he says. “You want it to be a hip hinge, rather than the upper body being fixed and the hips moving on their own.”

Fix it: “I’ll usually cue people to bring their chest forward and their butt towards the floor in one motion,” Welch says. He also says that affixing your eyes to a point in front of you can help. 

Hitting the bench too high

Ideally, you want the edge of the bench to hit just under your shoulder blades, says Welch. But he says the benches at most gyms are going to hit most average-height people too high on their back, which Welch says can lead to sliding down the bench. “Then it’s going to become much harder for the lower back and spine to stabilize the weight.”

Fix it: If you can’t adjust the height of the bench, adjust the height of the floor, by sitting on a mat or a box that brings your shoulders up to the correct height.  

Overextending the back

“When you’re developing glute strength, it’s unfortunately too easy to compromise for the lack of strength in the glute by focusing on the lower back,” says Oksayan. “People tend to do this movement by squeezing the erectors instead of the glutes.”

Fix it: If you find yourself using your lower back rather than your glutes, drop down to a lower weight. 

Straining the neck

Even with proper form, this exercise can be tough on the neck, says Welch. Straining the neck, or holding the head in the wrong position, only makes it worse.

Fix it: Keep the neck in a neutral position, with the chin slightly tucked. 

Incorrect foot positioning

Oksayan says that having your feet in the wrong place can reduce the glute activation you’re getting. “It can also cause twinges or even potential injury in the knee or lower back,” she says. If your feet are too far forward, you’ll feel the activation more in your hamstrings, and if you’re too far back, you’ll feel it in your quads. 

Fix it: When your feet are in the right place, your shins should be vertical and your knees making a ninety-degree angle at the top of the thrust, says Oksayan. Feet should be hip-width apart, toes pointed forward or just slightly out. Practice proper foot positioning without any weight first. If you feel pain in your knees or back, you may need to adjust. 

Barbell hip thrust modifications and progressions

Barbell hip thrust modifications (how to make it easier)

• Stick with a glute bridge. Instead of using a bench, keep your upper back and head flat on the floor as you lift your hips, using either a dumbbell or no weight. 
• Use your body weight. Skip the barbell, and do unweighted hip thrusts.
• Use a dumbbell. Replace the barbell with a dumbbell or two to relieve pressure from the hips.  

Barbell hip thrust progressions (how to make it harder)

• Add an isometric hold. You should be pausing for a second or two at the top of your barbell hip thrust regardless, but you can increase the time under tension by elongating that hold by a few more seconds. 
• Play with tempo. Thrust upwards with power, then slowly lower the hips for three to five seconds to increase time under tension. 
• Ditch a leg. Advance to a single leg hip thrust, where one leg is extended in the air. (You’ll need to use a dumbbell instead of a barbell.)
• Kas glute bridge. The Kas glute bridge has a similar setup to the barbell hip thrust, but involves smaller, more targeted movements—which can put more tension on the glutes. Instead of beginning each rep from the ground, you’ll start with your hips in an elevated position, and then slowly lower and lift them a few inches. 
• Add instability. Instead of a bench, rest your back on a stability ball. 

How to add barbell hip thrusts to your routine

Because barbell hip thrusts are such a powerhouse move, they shouldn’t be a part of your everyday gym routine, says Oksayan. Instead, she suggests adding them to your lower body split every so often.

Start by just using a barbell by itself, and try to add more weight each time you revisit the exercise. Start with 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps. “You should be burned out at the end of every set,” says Oksayan. “You should have to step away and really rest. If you can just keep banging them out, you need more weight.” As the barbell gets heavier, you’ll probably want to cut down on the number of reps.