Hip Thrust: Muscles Worked, Gluteus Minimus and Form

By Alex Lawrence · Updated 4 November 2026

Primary muscles: Glutes
Secondary muscles: Hamstrings, Quads, Adductors
Equipment: Barbell

The hip thrust is a glute exercise where you sit with your upper back on a bench, a barbell across your hips, and drive your hips up until your body is straight from knees to shoulders. It mainly trains the gluteus maximus. It works the smaller gluteus minimus only a little, so add side-on (abduction) work if you want to target that.

What muscles do hip thrusts work?

Hip thrusts mainly work the gluteus maximus, with the hamstrings helping and the quads and adductors keeping your knees in place. The gluteus maximus is your main hip extender, and at the top of a hip thrust your hip is fully extended against the bar’s weight.

In a study of 13 trained women, the barbell hip thrust produced more gluteus maximus and biceps femoris (hamstring) activity than the back squat, with no difference in quad (vastus lateralis) activity. The authors noted that EMG shows activity, not growth, and called for training studies to confirm it.

The squat and the hip thrust are like a car’s engine and its brakes: both matter, they just do different jobs. Most people get the best glutes from doing both.

Does the hip thrust work the gluteus minimus?

The hip thrust works the gluteus minimus only a little, because the minimus is mainly a hip stabiliser and abductor, not a hip extender. The gluteus minimus sits underneath the gluteus medius, and its main action is moving your leg out to the side (abduction) and keeping your pelvis level when you stand on one leg.

During a hip thrust it helps keep your hips steady, but the big lifting is done by the gluteus maximus. To train the minimus and medius more directly, add one of these:

Banded hip thrust: a loop band just above your knees. Push your knees out against it as you thrust.
Side-lying hip abduction: lie on your side and raise your top leg, toes pointing forward or slightly down.
Cable or machine hip abduction: move your leg out to the side against resistance.
Single-leg hip thrust: keeping your pelvis level on one leg makes the side glutes work harder.

Think of the gluteus maximus as the lorry’s engine and the minimus as the steering. Thrusting gets the engine going, but abduction work is what trains the steering.

How to do a hip thrust

Sit with your upper back against a bench, roll a padded barbell over your hips, and drive your hips up until your thighs and torso form a straight line.

Set up. Sit on the floor with the bottom of your shoulder blades against a bench about knee height. Roll the bar into the crease of your hips. Use a pad.
Feet. Feet flat, about hip-width apart, and far enough forward that your shins are vertical at the top.
Brace. Tuck your chin slightly and look forward, not at the ceiling. Tighten your trunk.
Drive up. Push through your heels and lift your hips until your body is straight from knees to shoulders.
Squeeze and pause. Hold the top for a second with your glutes squeezed and ribs down.
Lower under control. Bring your hips back down until they’re just above the floor, then go again.

Form cues that help

The cue that fixes most hip thrusts is “chin tucked, ribs down”: your lower back shouldn’t arch to finish the rep.

Shins vertical at the top. Feet too close loads your quads more; too far loads your hamstrings more.
Lock out with your glutes, not your back. Stop when your hips are straight, not when your belly points at the ceiling.
Move as one piece. Your torso and the bench pivot together, like a hinge.
Push through your whole foot, heels heavy.

Common hip thrust mistakes

The most common hip thrust mistake is arching the lower back to get the bar higher.

Mistake	What it looks like	Fix
Arching the lower back	Belly pushes up, ribs flare at the top	Tuck your chin, ribs down, finish with the glutes
Feet in the wrong place	Shins angled at the top	Move your feet until shins are vertical at lockout
Bench too high	Shoulders slip; neck strains	Use a bench around knee height
Rushing	Bouncing off the floor	Pause at the top for a second
Knees caving in	Knees drift towards each other	Push your knees out; try a loop band

Sets, reps and weight

For glute growth, 3–4 sets of 8–12 reps with a pause at the top is a sensible starting point. The ACSM position stand supports moderate loads for muscle growth.

Hip thrusts usually end up one of your heaviest lifts. Use the plate calculator to load the bar, and the 1RM calculator if you plan your sets by percentage.

Hip thrust alternatives

Any exercise where you extend your hips against resistance trains the glutes like a hip thrust.

Glute bridge: the same movement lying flat on the floor. Shorter range, easier set-up.
Hip thrust machine: the same movement without the faff of a barbell.
Single-leg hip thrust: bodyweight or a light dumbbell, one leg at a time.
Glute ham raise: trains glutes and hamstrings together.
Rack pull or Romanian deadlift: heavy hip hinges for the glutes and hamstrings.

Hip thrusts feature in our beginner workout plan. For more lower-body options, see our leg press alternatives.

Working out your weights? Put a recent set into the 1RM calculator to estimate your one-rep max for the hip thrust and get a percentage table.