BARBELL HIP THRUST
The barbell hip thrust is a strength training exercise that primarily targets the glutes but also works the hamstrings and lower back.
Barbell hip thrusts can be a challenging exercise, but they’re a great way to strengthen your glutes and improve your overall lower body strength. Here’s a beginner’s guide to performing barbell hip thrusts:
How to do:
Here are the steps to perform barbell hip thrust:
- Sit on the floor with your back against a bench, and position a barbell across your hips.
- Plant your feet on the ground, with your knees bent and your heels about hip-width apart.
- Roll the barbell up your legs until it is directly above your hips.
- Tighten your core and glutes, and drive your hips up towards the ceiling until your body forms a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
- Pause at the top of the movement, then lower your hips back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for your desired number of repetitions.
Tips:
- Start with a lighter weight: Begin with a lighter weight to ensure that you can maintain good form throughout the exercise.
- Position yourself correctly: Sit with your back against the bench and ensure that the barbell is positioned comfortably on your pelvic bone. Ensure that your head and neck remain in a neutral position and that your shoulders remain down and back throughout the exercise
- Keep your feet firmly on the ground: Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and ensure that your toes are pointing straight ahead.
- Engage your core and glutes: Before you lift your hips, engage your core and glutes to ensure that you’re using the correct muscles during the exercise.
- Lift your hips smoothly: Lift your hips in a smooth and controlled motion, making sure that you’re not arching your back or straining your neck.
- Squeeze your glutes: At the top of the movement, squeeze your glutes to ensure that you’re targeting them effectively.
- Lower your hips slowly: Lower your hips back down to the ground in a slow and controlled motion, keeping your core and glutes engaged throughout.
For Beginners:
When choosing the right weight for your fitness level, it’s important to start with a lighter weight and gradually increase over time as you get stronger. A good starting weight for beginners is usually around 40-50% of your one-rep max. As you become more experienced and confident with the exercise, you can increase the weight to around 80-90% of your one-rep max.
Barbell Hip Thrust: Benefits
The barbell hip thrust is an excellent exercise for building and strengthening the hip muscles. Here are some reasons why barbell hip thrusts should be part of your glute training routine:
Greater glute activation: According to research, barbell hip thrusts can activate the glute muscles to a greater degree than exercises like squats and lunges. This means that you can potentially see more progress in your glute strength and size by incorporating barbell hip thrusts into your workouts.
Improved hip extension: The hip thrust motion specifically targets hip extension, which is an important movement for activities like running, jumping, and lifting. By strengthening this motion with barbell hip thrusts, you may see improvements in your athletic performance as well.
Reduced strain on the lower back: While exercises like deadlifts and squats can be great for building overall lower body strength, they can also put a lot of strain on the lower back. Barbell hip thrusts, on the other hand, keep the back in a stable position against a bench, which can reduce the risk of injury.
Versatile exercise: Barbell hip thrusts can be done with a variety of equipment, including resistance bands, dumbbells, and kettlebells, which makes them a versatile exercise that can be modified to suit different fitness levels and goals.
Works core muscles:The target muscle group of the barbell hip thrust exercise is the hip muscles, but the barbell hip thrust exercise engages all core muscles, including the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, and obliques.
Target Core Muscles:
- Rectus Abdominis
- Transverse abdominis
- Obliques
- Multifidus
- Pelvic floor
- Quadratus lumborum
- Erector Spinae
- Hip flexor
How Barbell Hip Thrust Can Improve Athletic Performance
Barbell hip thrusts can be highly beneficial for athletes looking to improve their lower body strength and power. Strong glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps are essential for athletic performance in sports such as sprinting, jumping, and change of direction movements. By incorporating barbell hip thrusts into a strength and conditioning program, athletes can improve their lower body strength, speed, and agility, which can translate to improved performance on the field or court.
Barbell Hip Thrust: Muscles Worked
