The hip thrust has become the go-to glute exercise in most gyms, and for good reason: it puts more weight on the gluteus maximus than any other lift while leaving your back and knees out of it.

Below is which muscles it works, where it beats a squat and where it falls short, how to do it with a barbell or on a machine, the variations worth knowing, and the mistakes that send the work to your thighs or lower back instead of your glutes.

Índice

Hip Thrust Muscles Worked

The hip thrust works one muscle above all others: the gluteus maximus, the big muscle that makes up your buttock.

Here is why. Your knees stay bent the whole time, so your thigh muscles cannot do much. The only thing that can push your hips up is the muscle behind them, and that is your butt.

Everything else either helps a little or holds you steady.

Muscle	Where it is	What it does in the hip thrust
Gluteus maximus	Your buttock	Does almost all the work. Pushes your hips up and squeezes at the top
Isquiotibiales	Back of your thigh	Helps a little. Helps more if your feet are too far away from you
Adductors	Inner thigh	Helps a little at the bottom of the rep and if your feet are wide
Gluteus medius	Side of your hip, under your waistband	Stops your knees from falling inward. Only works hard with a band around your knees
Quadriceps	Front of your thigh	Holds your knee still. Takes over if your feet are too close to you
Abs	Stomach	Keep your lower back flat so it does not arch at the top

Does it really build glutes? Yes.

A study that measured muscle activity found the glutes work harder in a hip thrust than in a back squat (Neto et al., 2019).

A nine-week training study then found the two exercises grew the glutes by the same amount, but only the squat also grew the thighs (Plotkin et al., 2023).

So the hip thrust is a glute builder that leaves the thighs alone.

Where you feel it tells you what you are doing wrong.

Butt: correct.
Back of your thighs: your feet are too far from you. Move them closer.
Front of your thighs: your feet are too close. Move them farther out.
Lower back: you are pushing your hips too high and arching your back. Stop when your body is flat.

Hip Thrust Pros and Cons

Pros

Builds the glutes as well as a squat does, without building the thighs.
Easy on the back and knees. You can do it on a day when squats or deadlifts are too much.
Works with any weight. You can start with no weight at all and end up with more plates than any other lower body lift.
Easy to learn. Most people do it correctly the first time.

Contras

The barbell version is a hassle to set up. You need a bench that will not slide, a pad, and you have to roll a loaded bar over your legs before every set.
The bar digs into your hips. Without a thick pad it hurts, and even with a pad it shifts when the weight gets heavy.
The barbell is heaviest at the bottom of the rep and lightest at the top. When you squeeze at the top, the bar is not making your glutes work very hard (Brazil et al., 2021).
It only builds the back of your glutes. The side of your hip barely works unless you add a band around your knees.

A hip thrust machine fixes the first three. That is why gyms that are serious about glute training put one on the floor.

How to Do a Barbell Hip Thrust

What you need

A flat bench about knee height (40 to 45 cm), pushed against a wall or a rack so it cannot slide.
A barbell with a thick foam pad on it.
Plates big enough that the bar clears your legs: 20 kg plates, or rubber bumper plates if 20 kg is too much.

Get into position

Sit on the floor with your back against the bench, legs straight out in front of you.
Roll the bar up your legs until the pad sits on your lap, right where your thighs meet your body.
Lean back. The edge of the bench goes under the bottom of your shoulder blades, roughly bra-strap height. Not your neck, not your lower back.
Bend your knees and plant your feet flat, about shoulder width apart. Put them so that when your hips are up, your knees are directly above your ankles. If unsure, go slightly farther than feels natural; most people put them too close.
Hold the bar with both hands on either side of your hips so it cannot roll off.

Do the rep

Look at your knees, not the ceiling. Tighten your stomach as if someone is about to poke it.
Push through your whole foot and drive your hips up until your body is flat from shoulders to knees. Breathe out as you push.
Squeeze your butt at the top and hold for one second. Do not go higher than flat.
Lower slowly, about two seconds, until the plates almost touch the floor. Breathe in.
Go straight into the next rep. Do not rest on the floor.

How much weight

Start with just the bar (20 kg) for 3 sets of 10. When that feels easy, add 10 kg.

A typical working weight for a beginner is 20 to 40 kg for women and 40 to 60 kg for men.

Add 5 kg whenever you can do all your sets at the top of the rep range with your feet in the same place and your body reaching flat every rep.

Goal	Sets	Reps
Learn the movement	3	10 to 12, light
Build glutes	3 to 4	8 to 12
Build strength	4 to 5	5 to 6, heavy

How to Use a Hip Thrust Machine

The machine is easier than the barbell, not harder. The pad is already at the right height, the weight is already in place, and nothing rolls or slides. If your gym has one, start here.

Set it up

Sit with your upper back against the back pad, at the bottom of your shoulder blades, the same place the bench edge would be.
Put your feet flat on the foot platform, shoulder width apart, so your knees will be above your ankles when your hips are up.
Lower the belt or lever pad onto your lap, where your thighs meet your body, and lock it in.
Pick your weight. On a pin-loaded machine like the GT-5092 you move a pin in an 80 kg weight stack. On a plate-loaded machine like the TZ-8133 or the GC-5069 you slide plates onto the arm.

Do the rep

Tighten your stomach.
Push your hips up into the pad until your body is flat from shoulders to knees. Breathe out.
Squeeze your butt at the top for one second. On a machine the weight stays heavy at the top, so this squeeze does more than it does with a barbell.
Lower slowly for two seconds until you are almost back at the start. Breathe in.
Do not let the weight stack touch down between reps.

How much weight

Start light, do 10 reps, and add weight each set until 12 reps become hard. Then add one plate or one pin whenever you can do all your sets for 12 clean reps.

If you reach the bottom of the stack, move to a plate-loaded machine, not back to the barbell.

Hip Thrust Variations

Each version below works the same muscle, the gluteus maximus. What changes is how hard it is and which helper muscles join in.

Bodyweight Hip Thrust

Works: gluteus maximus. The easiest version, and the one to learn first.

Sit with your upper back against a bench, feet flat, knees bent.
Fold your arms across your chest.
Push your hips up until your body is flat. Squeeze for one second.
Lower slowly and repeat.

Tip: when you can do 3 sets of 15 with a clear squeeze in your butt, add weight.

Dumbbell Hip Thrust

Works: gluteus maximus. Same as the barbell, without the setup.

Set up as for the bodyweight version.
Lay a dumbbell across your lap and hold it in place with both hands.
Push your hips up until your body is flat. Squeeze for one second.
Lower slowly and repeat.

Tip: use a folded towel under the dumbbell. A 10 to 20 kg dumbbell is enough for most beginners; above that, the dumbbell gets awkward and a barbell or machine is easier.

Banded Hip Thrust

Works: gluteus maximus, plus the gluteus medius on the side of your hip. This is the one version that trains the side of your glutes.

Loop a band just above your knees.
Set up as for any hip thrust, with or without weight.
Push your knees gently outward against the band, and keep pushing the whole time.
Push your hips up until your body is flat, squeeze, lower slowly.

Tip: the push against the band should be steady, not a kick at the top. If your knees drift inward, the band is too strong.

Single-Leg Hip Thrust

Works: the gluteus maximus of the working leg, plus the gluteus medius and abs to keep your hips level. The hardest version without weight, and the one that shows up a weaker side.

Set up as for the bodyweight version.
Lift one foot off the floor and hold that knee bent at 90 degrees.
Push your hips up on one leg until your body is flat. Keep your hips level; the lifted side must not sag.
Lower slowly. Do all your reps on one side, then switch.

Tip: 10 to 15 reps per side with no weight is hard for most people. Add a dumbbell across your hip only when both sides can do 15 clean reps. If one side is weaker, do that side first.

Common Hip Thrust Mistakes

Arching your lower back at the top. You push your hips past flat, your back bends backward, and your back does the work instead of your glutes. Fix: stop when your body is flat. Keep looking at your knees; if you look at the ceiling your back will arch on its own.

Feet in the wrong place. Too close and the front of your thighs takes over. Too far and the back of your thighs does. Fix: at the top of the rep, knees straight above ankles. Find the spot once and keep it there for every set.

Not going down far enough. Each rep starts with your hips already halfway up, so you skip the hardest part. Fix: lower until the plates almost touch the floor, or the machine arm gets back to the start, every rep.

Dropping the weight on the way down. Fix: count two seconds on the way down. If you cannot control it, take some weight off.

Knees falling inward. Fix: push your knees slightly outward the whole time. A band around your knees makes this automatic and works the side of your hip as well.

Adding weight too soon. Every time you add weight, your reps get shorter or your back starts arching. Fix: get all your sets to 12 clean reps first, then add weight.

Sliding up and down the bench. Fix: keep the bench edge at the bottom of your shoulder blades for the whole set. Push the bench against something solid. On a machine the back pad holds you in place.

The hip thrust builds the back of your glutes. For the machines that build the rest, see our guide to gym machines for glutes.