The hip thrust is the go-to glute builder as a result of it develops robust, muscular glutes that look good, boosts athletic efficiency, improves squat and deadlift power, and protects the decrease again. However let’s be trustworthy—not everybody loves it, and a few lifters force-feed this train to their detriment. Enter these 5 hip thrust alternate options.
Chances are you’ll discover the setup awkward, dislike having a barbell throughout your hips, or expertise hip or decrease again discomfort, making the motion extra irritating than efficient.
The excellent news is you don’t need to depend on the hip thrust to construct the glutes of your companion’s goals. Many alternate options nonetheless hammer the glutes via full hip extension—with out the trouble of establishing a barbell.
Right here, we’ll clarify why the hip thrust is efficient—however not all the time very best for everybody—what makes an awesome various, and 5 professional alternate options to loading up a barbell.
What Makes the Hip Thrust Efficient?
The hip thrust is a superb train for concentrating on the glutes and transferring them via a full vary of movement. Not like squats and deadlifts, the place different muscle tissue share the workload, the hip thrust emphasizes the glutes and lets you go heavy with out extreme spinal compression. However as nice as it’s, it’s not the one method to construct glute power. Many alternate options provide comparable advantages with out drawbacks should you don’t take pleasure in it, really feel discomfort, or need to add selection.
Subsequent, let’s talk about what makes a very good various so you may prepare laborious and sensible.
What to Look For In A Good Different
In case you’re in search of a strong various to the hip thrust, you want actions that examine the suitable bins and ship critical glute activation. A very good substitute ought to:
Successfully Goal the Glutes: The first purpose of the hip thrust is to coach the glutes via full hip extension. Any various ought to do the identical by specializing in the hips moderately than the quads or decrease again.
Enable Progressive Overload: To construct stronger, extra muscular glutes, you want an train that lets you improve weight, reps, or resistance over time, just like the hip thrust.
Be Joint-Pleasant: If the barbell hip thrust causes ache or discomfort, a very good various ought to nonetheless problem the glutes with out unnecessarily stressing the decrease again, hips, or knees.
Assist Athletic and Power Coaching Objectives: A powerful set of glutes isn’t all about vainness—it improves deadlifts, squats, sprinting velocity, and lower-body energy. A fantastic various ought to do the identical.
Now, let’s get into 5 hip thrust alternate options that may nonetheless give your glutes the positive aspects they deserve.
5 Hip Thrust Options For Extra Muscular Glutes
If the barbell hip thrust isn’t working otherwise you want added selection, these 5 lower-body actions will nonetheless provide help to construct robust, muscular glutes with out the awkward setup.
Bulgarian Break up Squat
The Bulgarian Break up Squat is a unilateral power train emphasizing glutes and hamstrings. It helps construct lower-body power, steadiness, and mobility. Not like the hip thrust, it trains the glutes via a bigger ROM (due to the elevated rear foot) whereas enhancing unilateral power. To make this extra glute-dominant, keep a slight ahead lean to make sure the glutes keep juicy.
Programming Ideas: 3-4 units of 8-15 reps per leg.
Cable Pull-By way of
The Cable Pull-By way of is a pure hip hinge that locations fixed rigidity on the glutes and hamstrings, making it an efficient various to the hip thrust. The mixed fixed rigidity from the cable machine, giant ROM, and decrease back-friendly nature make it a wonderful glute various, however provided that you don’t make pleasant eye contact with anybody. For finest outcomes, maintain the chest up and shoulders right down to keep away from overusing the decrease again. Deal with driving the hips ahead and squeezing the glutes at lockout.
Programming Ideas:
- Units & Reps: 3-4 units of 12-16 reps.
Kettlebell Swing
The Kettlebell Swing is a ballistic hip hinge that builds explosive hip energy and strengthens the posterior chain and glute lockout power. As an alternative of a gradual, grinding, heavy hip thrust, it’s a dynamic power-based motion that trains the glutes. It additionally trains the hamstrings and core whereas enhancing cardiovascular endurance. Please keep away from utilizing your arms to swing the bell to get essentially the most out of it on your glute positive aspects; let the hips do the work.
Programming Ideas:
- Units & Reps: 3-5 units of 15-25 reps.
Resistance Band Hip Thrust
The Resistance Band Hip Thrust is a modified model of the barbell hip thrust, utilizing ascending resistance from a looped band. Because the band stretches, the stress will increase, creating a powerful contraction on the lockout, and that is its most important benefit over the barbell hip thrust. The band tightens on the high, forcing the glutes to work tougher to realize full hip extension. Make sure the band is secured accurately, and maintain your core tight to keep away from overworking the decrease again.
Programming Ideas:
- Units & Reps: 3-4 units of 10-25 reps.
Mini Band Frog Hip Thrust
The Mini Band Frog Hip Thrust is a high-rep glute isolation train incorporating hip abduction and exterior rotation. It emphasizes the glutes whereas lowering hamstring and lower-back involvement. Because of the elevated hip abduction, this trains the gluteus medius and minimus greater than a typical hip thrust for enhanced glute growth. To get the perfect out of it, maintain your ft collectively, knees pushed outward, and glutes squeezed laborious at lockout to really feel the burn..
Programming Ideas: 3-4 units of 20+ reps.
