Exercise

March 14, 2011

Barbell Hip Thrust for a Better Butt

Want an excellent exercise to target the gluteus maximus? Consider incorporating the barbell hip thrust into your routine. The exercise was first brought to my attention by uber-trainer Bret Contreras. The benefit? As opposed to squats and other exercises, it works the glutes and other hip muscles from a horizontal vector as well as increasing muscular tension throughout the complete range of motion of the movement. Bottom line: improved glute development and potentially greater muscular power.

Here is a demonstration of the exercise as performed by Bret. If you want a better butt, give the move a try–you won’t be disappointed.

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5 Comments

  1. Using the “Sculpting Her Body Perfect” would this exercise be done for the hamstrings? (i.e. after the quads in the order of the prescribed workout?)

    Comment by Elizabeth — March 14, 2011 @ 7:50 pm

  2. Hey Elizabeth:

    This moves targets the glutes to a greater extent than the hamstrings. The hamstrings become somewhat actively insufficient, meaning they have a reduced ability to produce force. This exercise can be inserted as direct glute work–in SHBP this would depend on which phase of the program you were in.

    Brad

    Comment by Brad — March 14, 2011 @ 8:01 pm

  3. I am in phase one, getting ready to start phase 2 in a couple of weeks. ( I didn’t even look this strong in high school and I was a very athletic girl. I can’t thank you enough.) So, I would think I would do this along with the hamstrings. Do two quad exercises then (for example) stiff legged dead lifts and then this?

    I realize I am way oversimplifying this but don’t want to go into so much detail in the comment section.

    Comment by Elizabeth — March 15, 2011 @ 7:31 am

  4. A better pairing would be with a hamstring curl (i.e. leg curl). This way you target both the hamstrings and glutes independently (the stiff legged DL heavily involves the glutes).

    Brad

    Comment by Brad — March 15, 2011 @ 6:43 pm

  5. Thanks. That clarifies. I really enjoy this blog!

    Comment by Elizabeth — March 17, 2011 @ 12:40 pm

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