Barbell Hip Thrust
Reviewed by Bryan Cortez, MS
Peak glute tension at full lockout — ribs down, squeeze, don't arch the back.
Coaching profile
heavy glute default. This page is the practical coaching layer: use it for setup, cues, programming, pain-free adjustments, and substitutions. The complete biomechanics tier list lives on the muscle page.
How the rankings are built →Demonstration
Demonstration production queue
The written coaching card is ready. The owned video is next.
Physique Skool is filming one canonical demonstration per exercise. Until this movement is published, use the setup, execution, common errors, programming, and substitutions below.
Browse Physique Skool on YouTubeHow to do it
Setup
- Upper back on a bench, padded bar over the hips, feet flat so the shins are vertical at the top.
Execution
- Drive through the heels, squeeze the glutes to full hip extension, ribs down (no arch), lower under control.
Common Errors
- Hyperextending the lower back instead of locking the hips
- Chin and ribs flaring up at the top
- Feet too far out (hamstring takes over) or too close (quad takes over)
- Partial range with no full glute squeeze
Cues That Work
- Ribs down; drive through the whole foot; finish with the glutes, not the lower back
No-Fly Zone
under 5 reps (becomes a low-back/quad grind, not a glute move)
Programming
Sequence priority
Early
Heavy, glute-specific and loadable — early on a glute-focus day, mid-session otherwise.
Progression
Model — Double
Fallback model — Volume
Double progression: 8→15, then add 10-25 lb and reset to 8.
Best program fit
Legs, Lower
Load increments
If it hurts
Pain is information, not a challenge to push through. Stop the set if pain is sharp, worsening, or changes how you move. These are exercise-selection options, not medical diagnosis or rehabilitation advice.
Work down this list in order. Stop at the first change that removes the pain.
Step 1
Setup tweaks
Foot width and distance; turn the toes out for more glute.
Step 2
ROM / tempo / bias
Pause at lockout (1-3 sec); slow eccentric; constant-tension reps (no rest at the bottom).
Step 3
Implement swap
Machine hip thrust, glute bridge, or cable pull-through.
Substitutions
The Evidence
Builds glute mass with heavy, direct tension at lockout. Does NOT train the stretched-position glute the way deep squats/lunges do — use both.
SFR — 1.2
Put the exercise inside a system.
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