Dumbbell Hip Thrust
Trains the Glutes.
- Equipment
- Dumbbells and either a flat bench or an adjustable bench
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Sit on the floor with your upper back against the long edge of a bench, at about the bottom of your shoulder blades.
- Lay one dumbbell lengthways across the crease of your hips, on a folded towel, and hold it there with a hand on each end.
- Bend your knees and plant your feet flat, about shoulder-width apart, far enough forward that your shins will be vertical at the top.
- Tuck your chin, brace your stomach, and drive through your heels to lift your hips until your torso and thighs form one line.
- Squeeze your glutes and pause at the top, keeping the dumbbell still against your hips.
- Lower under control until your backside is just above the floor, then start the next repetition.
Common mistakes
- Letting the dumbbell roll toward your stomach as the hips rise. Both hands hold it in the crease; a dumbbell that travels up the body is a load nobody is controlling.
- Arching the lower back to finish higher. The extra height comes from the spine, not the hip; keeping the ribs down and the pelvis slightly tucked leaves the lockout to the glutes.
- Feet in the wrong place. Too close and the front of the thighs takes over; too far and the backs of the thighs do. Vertical shins at the top is the check.
- Rushing past the top. The reason to thrust rather than squat is the load on the glutes with the hip fully open, and a repetition that bounces off the top gives that away.