Description
A strength exercise that targets the glutes and hamstrings, performed with a dumbbell across your hips while your upper back is supported on a bench.
How to Do Dumbbell Hip Thrust
- 1Setup
Position a flat bench behind you. Sit on the floor with your upper back against the bench, knees bent, feet flat on the floor hip-width apart.
- 2Setup
Place a dumbbell horizontally across your hips, cushioning it with a pad or towel if needed. Hold the dumbbell firmly with both hands to prevent it from rolling.
- 3
Brace your core and drive through your heels, lifting your hips off the floor until your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.
- 4
Squeeze your glutes powerfully at the top, ensuring you achieve full hip extension without arching your lower back.
- 5
Slowly and with control, lower your hips back down towards the floor, stopping just before they touch, maintaining tension in your glutes.
Tips
- Experiment with foot placement: moving your feet slightly closer to your glutes increases glute activation, while moving them slightly further away emphasizes hamstrings.
- Keep your chin tucked towards your chest and your gaze slightly forward or down throughout the movement to maintain a neutral spine and prevent neck strain.
- Ensure you achieve full hip extension at the top of the movement, squeezing your glutes hard and avoiding hyperextension of your lower back.
- Control the eccentric (lowering) phase of the movement; don't just drop the weight, as a slow descent maximizes muscle engagement and builds strength.
Common Mistakes
- ×Arching your lower back at the top puts undue stress on the spine; fix this by engaging your core and tilting your pelvis posteriorly to achieve full glute contraction.
- ×Failing to lower your hips far enough or not fully extending them at the top limits glute activation; fix this by using a lighter weight to allow for a complete range of motion.
- ×Jerking the weight up using your lower back or momentum rather than controlled glute contraction reduces effectiveness; fix this by performing the movement slowly and deliberately, focusing on glute activation.
Variations
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