What is Hip Thrust?
The Hip Thrust is a glute exercise designed to improve your gluteal strength, speed, and power by teaching optimal hip extension. It's all about the power in your glutes, which are among the most powerful muscles in your body. The glutes are designed to extend the hip or pull the leg behind the body.
What are Hip Thrusts Good for?
Hip thrusts build strength and size in your glutes in a way many other exercises cannot, and experts agree that they provide benefits for many people, from athletes to older adults over age 65. Glute strength is important for the stabilization of your core, pelvis, and lower body.
Do Hip Thrusts Without Fitness Equipment
Hip Thrust is a glute exercise you can do without any fitness equipment to lift, tone, and round your butt.
Hip Thrust is not as well known as squats or lunges, but it is one of the best glute exercises around.
The hip thrust is a super effective butt lifting exercise that strengthens your glutes (butt). Both squats and hip thrusts are excellent butt exercises, but if you have a weak back and knees, the hip thrust is a preferred choice.
While squats are very functional and one of the best lower body exercises for working the glutes, hamstrings, and thighs, it requires more balance, coordination, and core strength to perform than hip thrust. Your squats can also be limited by your back strength, which is not the case with hip thrusts.
According to a post on Squats vs Hip Thrusts by Eric Cressey. The hip thrust is a much more stable exercise and simpler to perform and generally limited by glute strength, meaning that the set reaches failure when the glutes can no longer raise the ups off the ground.
The bottom line is if you’re new to working out and your goal is to develop larger glute muscles, start with the hip thrust then move on to the squat as you build more strength in your butt and hamstrings.
How to Perform a Hip Thurst:
A. Sit in front of a bench, knees bent and feet flat on the ground, lean your upper back, shoulders against the edge of the bench.
B. Clenched Your butt and push through your heels to raise hips off the floor to form a straight line from your knees to shoulders, with your upper back completely resting on a chair, bench or couching.
C. Pause 2-3 seconds, then slowly lower your hips and butt to return to the start. Do 10 reps for 3 sets.
How Long Does It Take to See Results From Hip Thrusts?
Wickham says you should notice a benefit within two weeks if you do 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps every other day. Runners, in particular, struggle to activate their glutes. "Many runners get knee and hip pain because those parts of the body are compensating for sleepy glutes," says Wickham.