Why you might want to try Barbell Hip Thrusts for bigger, stronger glutes

October 8th, 2015 by

Want bigger, stronger glutes? Then you might want to try barbell hip thrusts (assuming you’re not already). Here’s why:

In a study, soon to be published in the Journal of Applied Biomechanics, researchers had 13 women with weight-lifting experience perform full squats to parallel and barbell hip thrusts on a bench 16 inches high. Before the women performed each exercise, the researchers attached electrodes to the upper and lower glutes, the biceps femoris (one of the hamstring muscles) and the vastus lateralis (one of muscles in the quads) to monitor the activity of each muscle. For each exercise the women performed 10 reps using their 10-rep max (i.e. a weight they could lift for only 10 reps).

What the researchers found was that the barbell hip thrusts elicited greater activation of the upper and lower glutes and the biceps femoris when compared to squats. Interestingly, there was no significant difference in activation of the vastus lateralis.

So does that mean you should forgo squatting for barbell hip thrusts in your quest for bigger, stronger glutes? Definitely not. You have to keep in mind that this was just one study and remember that they used a 10-rep max. Therefore, I would simply use this information to your advantage when programming your own training plan.

Contreras B., et al. 2015. A Comparison of Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, and Vastus Lateralis EMG Activity in the Back Squat and Barbell Hip Thrust Exercises. J Appl Biomech. Jul 24. [Epub ahead of print]