Hinges, bridges and glutes

Hip thrust

Muscles worked: Glutes · hamstrings

How to do it

1. Set up. Rest your upper back against a stable padded bench, plant your feet and bend your knees. Begin with bodyweight or secure any prescribed load.
2. Move. Lift your hips until your trunk and thighs form a comfortable line. Keep your ribs down and avoid arching your lower back.
3. Finish. Lower your hips under control while your upper back remains supported. Reset your feet before the next repetition. With a barbell, roll it over your legs on to your hips with a thick pad, and if you can't finish a rep, lower your hips and roll the bar off forwards.

Form cues

• Sit with your upper back against a bench or sturdy sofa, the edge just below your shoulder blades.
• Feet flat and hip-width apart, so your shins are vertical at the top.
• Tuck your chin and keep your ribs down.
• Drive through your heels to lift your hips until your thighs and body make a straight line.
• Squeeze your glutes, then lower under control.

Muscles worked

The hip thrust works your glutes, with your hamstrings helping. Because your shoulders are raised, your hips travel further than in a floor bridge.

Easier and harder versions

Easier

• A glute bridge on the floor.
• Bodyweight only.

Harder

• A dumbbell across your hips.
• A barbell with a pad.
• Single-leg hip thrusts.

Common mistakes

• Overarching your lower back at the top.
• Feet too close or too far away, so your quads or hamstrings take over.
• The bench sliding away from you.
• Looking up at the ceiling.

Where it appears in the member plans

Hip thrusts are in Beginner Reset, Fat-Loss Foundations, Strength Builder and the 12-Week Home Plan: Dumbbells or Band (shoulders on the sofa), as well as the Run/Walk Starter Week, Cycling Fitness and Sports Fitness.

Hip thrust questions