Hip thrust
Works the glutes with your back on a bench. In a nine-week MRI trial, it grew them about as much as the back squat did.
Why it's here
The hip thrust drives the hips up from a bench-supported position, loading the glutes without a weight on your back. In a nine-week trial that measured muscle with MRI, hip thrusts and back squats grew the glutes by similar amounts. The squat grew the front and inner thigh more, so the hip thrust is the more glute-focused of the two, not a stronger glute builder [1].
The evidence
- Training study Thirty-four untrained adults (11 men, 23 women) trained twice a week for nine weeks with either hip thrusts or back squats, building from three to six sets of eight to twelve reps. Glute growth was similar in the two groups; the estimates leaned slightly toward the hip thrust but varied widely. The smaller gluteus medius and minimus grew little or not at all, and the hamstrings did not grow in either group [1].
- Training study The squat group gained more in the quadriceps and inner thigh (adductors). Each group got stronger most in its own exercise, and deadlift strength rose by the same amount in both. Two of the authors sell exercise products, and one helped fund the trial [1].
How to do it
- Sit on the floor with your upper back against a bench and the bar (with a pad) across your hips, or use a hip-thrust machine as the trial above did [1].
- Place your feet flat, about one to one and a half times shoulder width apart [1].
- Drive your hips up until your shins are vertical and your thighs level with the floor — the trial's standard for a full rep [1].
- Lower in about two seconds until the plates or your hips nearly touch the floor, then drive up again [1].
Stop an exercise that causes significant or unusual pain and have it assessed. This page describes the movement; it is not rehabilitation advice.
Making it harder over time
This is a large compound exercise in the Progressive Overload Calculator, which adds weight in steps of 2.5%–5% once every set reaches the top of your rep range, and adds reps until then.
Alternatives
- Barbell back squat — The classic lower-body lift. Squatting deeper grew the glutes and adductors more, and the quadriceps just as well.
- Stiff-leg deadlift — A hip hinge with nearly straight knees. In a nine-week randomised trial it grew the hamstrings by about 7%, most of all the semimembranosus.
- Bulgarian split squat — One leg at a time, rear foot on a bench. Needs only dumbbells or body weight, and matched the back squat for strength.
References
- Plotkin DL, Rodas MA, Vigotsky AD, et al. Hip thrust and back squat training elicit similar gluteus muscle hypertrophy and transfer similarly to the deadlift. Front Physiol, 2023;14:1279170. doi.org
How we reviewed this page
Every claim is cited to research we opened and read, and labelled with the kind of evidence behind it. Training studies, which measure muscle or strength over weeks, carry the most weight; an exercise is listed only if at least one training study or review supports it. Studies of muscle activation (EMG) can add detail but are never the reason an exercise is here. Sources were last checked on October 15, 2026.
These are five well-supported choices we list for this muscle group, not a ranked "top five" — the research rarely supports one.
Drafted with AI assistance, then edited and fact-checked by a human.
Spotted an error? Tell us — corrections are logged publicly.
General information only. This is not medical advice.