If you have been following FitnessRx for Women for any amount of time, chances are you have seen Bret Contreras’ articles talking about the effectiveness of using the hip thrusts to grow your glutes! Well, I love hip thrusts and usually do them one to two times a week, because they are one of the best exercises for really isolating the glute muscles. But whenever I post about doing hip thrusts on my social media, I always get questions about the set-up!
I almost always train alone on a day-to-day basis and I like it— it’s kind of my “quiet time,” if you will. But that means that I have mastered doing almost every exercise without a spotter, and I have to say, the hip thrust can be one of the more confusing ones to figure out— especially the first few times setting it up!
Here is what I have found works for me and this is what you’ll want to do:
1. Find a Rack.
2. Get bench and set up in front of the rack, with enough room for you to take a few steps in between.
3. You will need to secure your bench, as you’ll be pushing your body against it when performing the movement. Place a couple 45-pound plates behind each side. If you cannot lift the 45s, just double up a couple of 25-pound plates behind each side.
4. This is going to depend on how much weight you are using; you may just want to use the bar (45 pounds), or add a couple 25s or 45s to the bar. Whatever you are using, don’t put all the weight on the bar, as you still need to lift it to the ground by yourself. But any one of those is a good warm-up option.
5. Safety lift/deadlift the bar to the ground.
6. Find the barbell pad in your gym. If they don’t have one, you can also roll up a yoga mat and use that as well. Fasten it to the bar.
7. Sit down on the ground and position your back against the bench you have set up.
8. Reach for the bar— depending on what you have it loaded with, you will either be able to roll it right over your legs to your hips. Or if there is nothing on it, just pick it up and put it on your hips.
9. From here, lean the upper portion of your back against the bench and slowly begin to lift your hips off the ground while securing the barbell with your hands.
10. Perform your warm-up set, roll bar back or place at end of feet, and from here you should be able to easily add whatever weight you would like!
And that’s it! If you have any more questions, please ASK. But otherwise, happy lifting!