As long as you have a gym membership, it is not necessary to spend any additional money in order to hip thrust. In THIS blogpost, I embedded over a hundred videos showing you how to hip thrust off of a standard bench, using smith machines, using bands, and on leg extension and leg curl machines. However, more and more coaches are seeking out ways to hip thrust on standalone units, and many individuals are interested in setting up hip thrust stations in their garages or guest bedrooms. These people want to know the best possible way to hip thrust along with the items they need to buy in order to make it happen.

I’ve now posted 3 different glute burnout videos on YouTube (THIS one in October of 2013, THIS one in November of 2014, and THIS one in March of 2015) and 5 on Instagram (HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE). Since these protocols utilize bands, I’ve been receiving numerous questions from people asking me what bands they should purchase. Furthermore, numerous individuals want to know the name of the apparatus used in the Instagram videos or the type of thick bar padding surrounding the bar.

Therefore, I felt that it was time to describe the ultimate hip thrusting station and direct readers to links where they can pick up any needed equipment. I’m excited to share the knowledge I’ve gained from 8.5 straight years of hip thrusting and prescribing hip thrusts to clients. Here are my recommendations, but you can obviously pick and choose items depending on your preference and financial situation.

The Hip Thruster is the best way to do the hip thrust – stable and versatile!

If You Own a Facility And Train a Variety of People

If you have your own studio or gym, you should consider purchasing:

1. The Hip Thruster
2. Squat Sponge (Amazon – available in red or blue – $25)
3. Two Strong Long Bands (Elitefts – Pro Strong, or Sorinex – Strong – around $30 each)
4. One Average Long Band (Elitefts – Pro Average, or Sorinex – Average – around $23 each)
5. One Light Long Band (Elitefts – Pro Light Band, or Sorinex – Light – around $19 each)
6. Hip Circle XL (Rogue – $25)
7. Resistance Loops aka Minibands (Perform Better – Heavy Blue and Heavy XL – around $3-4, also Power Systems, Gopher, SPRI, and 360 Conditioning sell them)
8. Two 1.5″ Mats (Birco sells them for just $15-20, or you might be able to make your own out of plywood, dimensions are 2′ x 2′ x 1.5″, or 24″ by 24″ by 1.5″)
9. Bumper Plates (Rogue – especially two 10 lb plates and two 25 lb plates – around $535 for 330 lb set, of course, you’ll also need a barbell and some clips)
10. Airex Balance Pad (Amazon, there are knockoffs of this product too – around $60)

* Some of you might be shocked at the total cost of my recommendations, but keep in mind that 1) everything on this list added together is still far less than a reverse hyper unit from Westside with no weights (an excellent piece of equipment but not as good of a glute builder as the hip thruster), and 2) you can buy none of this, some of this, or all of this depending on how much you like to thrust – these are just suggestions. 

If You Are a Big, Strong Guy Training Out of a Garage

If you’re a big dude, you should consider purchasing:

1. The Hip Thruster
2. Squat Sponge (Amazon – available in red or blue)
3. Two Strong Long Bands (Elitefts – Pro Strong, or Sorinex – Strong)
4. Hip Circle XL (Rogue)
5. Two 1.5″ Mats (Birco, or you might be able to make your own out of plywood, dimensions are 2′ x 2′ x 1.5″, or 24″ by 24″ by 1.5″)
6. Bumper Plates (Rogue – at least a pair of 45-lb plates…you can use other plates too but having a bumper plate to soften the impact is nice)

If You Are a Newbie, Shorter Woman Training Out of a Guest Bedroom 

If you’re a beginner woman that is short or has a shorter torso, consider purchasing:

1. The Hip Thruster
2. Squat Sponge (Amazon – available in red or blue)
3. One Strong Long Band (Elitefts – Pro Strong, or Sorinex – Strong)
4. One Average Long Band (Elitefts – Pro Average, or Sorinex – Average)
5. One Light Long Band (Elitefts – Pro Light Band, or Sorinex – Light)
6. Resistance Loops aka Minibands (Perform Better – Heavy Blue and Heavy XL, also Power Systems, Gopher, SPRI, and 360 Conditioning sell them)
7. Two 1.5″ Mats (Sorinex might be able to sell these separately, Birco looks like they sell them, or you might be able to make your own out of plywood, dimensions are 2′ x 2′ x 1.5″, or 24″ by 24″ by 1.5″)
8. Bumper Plates (Rogue – especially two 10 lb plates and two 25 lb plates…you can use other plates too but having a bumper plate to soften the impact is nice)
9. Airex Balance Pad (Amazon, there are knockoffs of this product too)

Video Explanation

If you want to listen to me elaborate, below is a video explaining the rationale behind each recommended item.