Hip Thruster
The Hip Thruster is a great exercise to strengthen your glutes (butt). Having strong glutes is a big priority for athletes as it dictates starting and stopping your movement. If it isn’t a muscle you train, it should be.
Strengthening your glutes will help you to reach sprinting speeds quicker. Powerful glutes also improve your dead lift performance, which is probably the best exercise to increase your sprinting speed and to burn body fat (as it works the quads, hamstrings, glutes and the core) and is very functional because everyday we all squat and bend.
The glutes and the hamstrings work together in hip extension, which happens when standing up straight as you lock your knees. This is repeatedly done by any athlete of any sport like when you jump or squat low to start a sprint.
Remember if you have weakness in the hips, the low back has to compensate for that weakness, leading to wear and tear and soreness.
(See my other article for more on training the hamstrings: Working the Hamstrings: NFL Style)
Since the glutes are such a large muscle group they burn a ton of calories to power them. Burning calories means less body fat.
You want to stay in full control the whole time you do the hip thruster. Make sure your shoulder blades are supported by the bench and keep your head neutral (meaning do not let your head just fall back) At the top, fully hyper extend your hips – pushing them up to the ceiling, as high as you can as you squeeze your butt. This last push is known as hyper extension, and this is where all the work of the exercise is.
You can enhance the exercise by placing a barbell or a weight plate on your waist when doing this exercise. DO NOT go too heavy in the beginning because too much weight will cause you to arch your back significantly and this is how you can hurt your back. Try not to arch your back to compensate for what your glutes should be doing. Using too much weight also will inhibit your hips from hyper extending.
It is best to begin with no extra weight and master the exercise with just your body weight, until you become familiar with the correct form. This will optimize your body’s response to the exercise which means your muscles will react and grow stronger. Of course this will help you avoid injury as well!
Incorporate this in your workout:
4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
If your glutes are very strong, execute this exercise with one leg straight (like Tim Teebow in the picture)
