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How to Get the Bar Into Proper Position During Hip Thrusts

By August 26, 2014October 20th, 2016Glute Training, Glutes

On my Instagram page, I’ve been receiving a lot of questions from women asking how to get the bar into proper position during the hip thrust. I therefore decided to film a quick video on the topic, detailing the various methods. The video shows:

  • How to get the bar into proper position when using > 135 lbs (easy)
  • How to get the bar into proper position with bumper plates (easy)
  • How to get the bar into proper position with smaller plates (complicated, but doable)
  • How to get into proper position with a tall bench (complicated, but doable)

And what if you have giant thighs and struggle to roll the bar over your legs and onto your hips? Click HERE to see a solution for that problem.

Ladies, within a couple of months you should be hip thrusting at least 135 lbs for reps. When you reach this milestone, hip thrusting becomes much more comfortable.

Hip Thruster barbell band

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

17 Comments

  • Jodee says:

    How often should I do heavy hip thrusts?

  • Tanan Arnhold says:

    what about women who complain of pain in the neck? proper positioning What? For women already tend to feel greater pain in this local.Thanks

  • I use Smith machine – just easier and feel more confident using heavier weights especially if I’m working out without a partner to spot me. Or place bench in squat rack and set bar on lowest position!

  • Megann says:

    I’m short with a longer torso, and I have typically avoided hip thrusting on the higher benches even though it would be easier to set up with the bar there in my gym. When I get to full extension with my hips on the taller bench, my shoulders/chest are still more elevated than my trunk/legs. Am I right to use a lower bench, or could this setup still work? A million thanks for your work, from me, my rear, and my “ass-man” husband.

  • Marcos says:

    I have a tall bench, thanks for including that info. It seems like common sense now, but it didn’t a few minutes ago.

  • Allison says:

    with the higher bench, I’ve had to use thin bumper plates to take up the extra room, I just roll the bar up on to them like I do with block pulls, that way it’s not as hard to get my back up on to the bench…It’s kind of a pain but it works.

    • Allison says:

      oh and I’ve also used a 25# bumper plate to put my feet on when I felt like my back was too high…also a pain but anything to build that booty!

  • dee says:

    I am a 5’4-5″ female. Have been hip thrusting 3x a week for about 5, months. Started at 135 and now up to 325×4 reps. I use the shortest bench they have at my gym which is probably right under my knee. It hits me about across or right under scapulae. Is this too tall? Thanks.

  • Sandy says:

    I ended up buying some bumper plates so I wouldn’t have to deal with this issue. It was totally worth it. Rogue Hi Temps are pretty affordable if you already have a bar.

    Now I realize I’m using a bench that’s too high.

  • Gerald says:

    Hi Bret, I’m training a 45 yr old mother of two. She’s doing a total body workout with 30 seconds between each exercise. The final exercise in her workout is the hip thrust. I chose this exercise because she’s afraid of barbell squats. She’s making steady gains and she says she can see a difference. I plan on purchasing the hip thruster for my home because I think it’s safer than using a bench in the gym. I ran across this article while i was looking for a hip thrust workout. Tell me what you think. http://www.rdlfitness.com/avoid-the-hip-thrust/
    The first thing I noticed was the writer didn’t include any references with this article. To me, that makes this more of a personal opinion rather than a peer reviewed article. After reading your articles, watching your videos and actually doing the exercise, I believe this is an excellent exercise. Keep up the good work.

  • Hey Bret, I’ve been a Strength Coach down here in OZ for 18 yrs, and have found the majority of people are lacking strength in their hip extensors. Since I’ve been incorporating everything from Glute Bridges to the Hip Thrust (thanks to you) into my client programming, I’ve been getting great results. Even clients that have had LBP, anterior hip and knee pain, no longer experience this, and I’m pretty sure this is due to them increasing the strength in their glutes.
    Keep up the AWESOME work Bret, I love all your articles and research papers.
    Best,
    Gary

  • Angela Hauck says:

    I cannot thank you enough Bret for making this video! So many of my online personal training clients ask me these exact questions all of the time. Sharing this video with them has solved the problem!

    Keep on inspiring,
    Angela Hauck
    http://angelahauck.com/

  • Kiley says:

    Bret, when I use the Smith Machines for hip thrusts, I can’t get the bench close enought to the bar to get it in the position I want. Instead of resting at the top of my thighs when they bend, it sits down about two inches lower on my thighs. I can still feel glute activation, and I suppose that’s the most important thing, but will this still be as effective?

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