Smith machine hip thrust

1. 1

   Place the bench crosswise inside the Smith machine and sit on the floor with its edge just below your shoulder blades and the padded bar over your hips.

2. 2

   Set the safety stops at the lowest point of the movement and place your feet hip-width apart.

3. 3

   Lift your hips slightly and rotate the bar to unhook it, with both hands on the bar.

4. 4

   Drive through your heels until your torso lines up with your thighs and your shins are vertical, then squeeze your glutes for 1 second.

5. 5

   Lower under control until your hips almost touch the floor. At the end of the set, lift and rotate the bar back onto the hooks.

• Mistake

  Bench in the wrong spot, so the bar comes down on your belly or thighs.

  How to fix it

  Before loading, lower the empty bar and see where it lands. Move the bench until it lands on your hips.

• Mistake

  Arching your lower back at the top to push the bar higher.

  How to fix it

  Stop when your torso lines up with your thighs. Keep your ribs down and look toward your knees at the top.

• Mistake

  Starting the set without setting the safety stops.

  How to fix it

  Set the stops before your first set. If you run out of strength mid-set, just lower your hips and let the bar rest on them.

Max strength (3 to 6 reps) only once your form is solid, always with 2 to 3 reps in reserve.

Reps in reserve: how many more reps you could still do with good form when you end the set.

• Free barbell

  The bar has no track, so you control its path. It takes a bit more practice to set up.

• Machine

  Fixed back pad and belt, no bar or bench to set up. The quickest one to adjust.

• Dumbbell

  One dumbbell on your hips and your shoulder blades on a bench. For lighter loads or when the Smith machine is taken.

• At home: couch hip thrust

  Shoulder blades on the edge of a sturdy couch pushed against a wall, with a dumbbell or a weighted backpack on your hips, held with both hands.

• Prefer more stability? Floor glute bridge

  Prefer not to set up a bar or bench? In the bridge your back stays on the mat and you can rest a dumbbell on your hips.

• Barbell hip thrust

  Gluteus maximus · Barbell

  Intermediate

• Hip thrust machine

  Gluteus maximus · Machine

  Beginner

• Dumbbell hip thrust

  Gluteus maximus · Dumbbell

  Beginner

• 

  Gluteus maximus

  56 exercises

• How to grow glutes

  What the science says about sets, exercises and how long it takes.

• Sets and reps

  Currier BS, D'Souza AC, et al. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2026;58(4):851-872.

  Full textPubMedDOI

• Muscles worked

  Neto WK, Soares EG, et al. Gluteus Maximus Activation during Common Strength and Hypertrophy Exercises: A Systematic Review. J Sports Sci Med. 2020;19(1):195-203.

  Full textPubMed

• Exercise choice

  Plotkin DL, Rodas MA, et al. Hip thrust and back squat training elicit similar gluteus muscle hypertrophy and transfer similarly to the deadlift. Front Physiol. 2023;14:1279170.

  Full textPubMedDOI

• Variations

  Collazo García CL, Rueda J, et al. Differences in the Electromyographic Activity of Lower-Body Muscles in Hip Thrust Variations. J Strength Cond Res. 2020;34(9):2449-2455.

  PubMedDOI