If glute-building had a king, it’d be the hip thrust — the exercise that loads the glutes better than almost anything, and that almost everyone does with sloppy, glute-robbing form. The guide: why the hip thrust is so effective, the perfect-form breakdown and how to progress and program it for real results.

The Hip-Thrust Case

Why it’s the glute king: the the-glute-loading-champion (the hip-thrust loading-the-glutes better-than-most from the build-stronger-glutes chapter — the the-glute-focus; the the-direct-glute-work), the the-peak-contraction (the top-of-the-thrust maximally-squeezing-the-glutes — the the-peak-tension; the the-glute-squeeze), the the-loadable-and-progressable (the easy-to-add-weight for progressive-overload — the the-loadable; the the-progression-friendly), the the-glute-activation-benefit (the great-glute-activation from the glute-activation chapter — the the-wake-the-glutes; the the-activation-and-strength), the the-vs-other-exercises (the complements-squats-and-hinges for complete-glute-work — the the-part-of-the-program; the the-glute-team), and the reframe (the hip thrust as the glute-building-king done-right for real-glute-results — the the-master-the-thrust; the the-glute-champion).

The Perfect-Form Breakdown

The form that builds glutes: the the-setup (the upper-back-on-a-bench, feet-planted — the the-position; the the-setup-right), the the-foot-position (the feet-placed for glute-not-quad or hamstring dominance — the the-foot-placement; the the-shin-vertical-at-top), the the-drive-through-heels (the push-through-the-heels to hit-the-glutes — the the-heel-drive; the the-glute-activation), the the-full-hip-extension (the drive-to-full-hip-extension, don’t-hyperextend-the-back — the the-full-lockout; the the-glute-not-back), the the-squeeze-at-top (the peak-glute-squeeze at the top — the the-contraction; the the-squeeze-hard), the the-neutral-spine-and-ribs (the ribs-down, neutral-spine, chin-tucked to avoid-back-arching — the the-back-safety; the the-no-hyperextension; the the-common-mistake-fixed), the the-controlled-tempo (the controlled-up-and-down, no-bouncing — the the-quality-reps; the the-control), and the the-mind-muscle (the feel-it-in-the-glutes-not-the-back-or-quads — the the-glute-connection; the the-target-check).

The Progression-and-Programming Notes

Building glutes with it: the the-progressive-overload (the add-weight-and-reps gradually — the the-progression; the the-keep-challenging; the the-glute-mistakes chapter’s must-progress), the the-rep-ranges (the varied-rep-ranges for strength-and-hypertrophy — the the-rep-variety; the the-mix-ranges), the the-variations (the barbell, dumbbell, single-leg and banded thrusts — the the-variations; the the-progress-the-movement), the the-frequency (the glutes-trained-a-few-times-weekly with recovery — the the-frequency; the the-recovery-too), the the-pair-with-compounds (the hip-thrusts-plus-squats-and-hinges for complete-glutes — the the-full-program; the the-glute-variety), the the-activation-first (the glute-activation before-the-thrust from the activation chapter — the the-prime-the-glutes; the the-wake-them-up), the the-avoid-the-mistakes (the the-glute-training-mistakes from the mistakes chapter avoided — the the-form-first; the the-common-errors), and the frame (the hip thrust through the case, the perfect-form and progression-and-programming — the glute-king done-right, with heel-drive, full-extension, squeeze and no-back-arch that builds real-glutes; the hip thrust, mastered). Drive through your heels to full extension, squeeze hard, keep ribs down, and progress the load: the hip thrust, done right.

If glute-building had a king, it’s the hip thrust — it loads the glutes better than almost anything, and almost everyone does it with sloppy, glute-robbing form. Set up with your upper back on a bench, drive through your heels to full hip extension, and squeeze hard at the top — while keeping your ribs down and spine neutral to avoid arching your back (the big mistake). Feel it in the glutes, not the back or quads, then progress the load gradually.

See It in Motion

Seen here: High Waist Printed Bootcut Yoga Pants with Pockets — shop it on bubblelime.com