Hey what's up guys, Sean Nalewanyj here, BodyTransformationTruth.com, and in this video I’m going to be teaching
you how to do, what is pretty widely regarded as the very best direct glute exercise available,
and that is the hip thrust, and more specifically I’ll be showing you the barbell hip thrust
variation which is the most commonly used version and the one that I typically recommend
first.
So basic lower body compound exercises like squats and deadlifts and leg presses etcetera.
these definitely do hit your glutes effectively, but for people who want to build up their
glutes to their maximum size and strength potential, you do need to be including some
direct glute training in your plan as well and that’s because the standard leg exercises
that are going to be used in most bodybuilding programs, these exercises don’t allow for
full extension of your hip joint, which is the primary function that the glutes perform.
So squatting down to parallel or performing a leg press or a set of stiff-legged deadlifts,
these do involve hip extension, but not through the full possible range of motion.
Also keep in mind that direct glute training will benefit you beyond just basic improvements
in strength and appearance, it also plays a role in boosting up your squatting strength,
improving your deadlifting lockout power, improving sprinting speed, and just all around
total-body functioning.
So, I wouldn’t say that direct glute training is mandatory, but if building up the size
and strength of your glutes is something that you’re specifically aiming for, then again,
you do need some direct work and the barbell hip thrust would be my top recommendation.
Hip thrusts put your body into the best position to allow for full hip extension and to help
you get the deepest contraction in your glutes possible.
Now these do look a little bit weird and you might feel slightly embarrassed performing
them at first, I know that I usually get at least one confused look from someone at the
gym pretty much every time that I do these, but if reaching your training goals is more
important to you than a few awkward stares, then this is the lift that you need to be
doing for your glutes.
So let’s go over the proper form and technique, because it’s very important that you do
these correctly in order to make sure that it’s your glutes that are doing the bulk
of the work, as well as to minimize the stress on your lower back as well.
So, you’re going to start by sitting perpendicular against a flat bench and rolling a loaded
barbell into the crease of your hips.
Position your feet about shoulder width apart or slightly wider, with your toes pointing
either straight head or just slightly outward.
Grab the bar using an overhand grip just outside of your hips and wedge your mid-back into
the bench.
Keep your head in a neutral position, keep your chest and your ribcage flat rather than
puffed out, and keep your lower back neutral rather than arched, and from there just press
through your heels and drive yourself up until your hips are fully extended and your torso
is about parallel to ground Really focus on engaging your glutes as much as possible on
each rep and always make sure to drive the weight up under smooth control without any
jerky movements or excessive use of momentum.
Once you reach the top of the movement, pause briefly and consciously contract your glutes
with force before lowering yourself back down again.
Now you can either go all the way down until the plates touch the floor, or you can stop
mid-air before performing your next rep.
Also keep in mind that the specific distance that you place your feet away from the bench
will depend on your individual body structure as well as your limb length, and your goal
should be to just find whatever distance causes your shins to be either vertical or just slightly
angled backward once you reach full hip extension at the top of the movement.
Now if you’re just starting out with this exercise then you’ll likely find it to be
pretty uncomfortable to have the bar directly pressing against your hips, in which case
you’ll want to place a pad or a towel around the bar to make it more comfortable, however,
just keep in mind that you'll probably find that after several weeks of consistent hip
thrusting the discomfort will decrease by quite a bit as your body gets more used to
the movement.
Also remember that everybody's body structure is different, so you’ll want to go ahead
and experiment with different foot positionings, you're going to want to try placing your back
higher or lower on the bench, as well as using a larger or smaller range of motion in order
to find the specific variation that lets you hit your glutes as hard as possible and that
is also easiest on your lower back.
If this is a new exercise for you, then always start off really light and gradually work
your way up.
If you don’t feel a strong contraction in your glutes when doing your barbell hip thrusts,
or if you can't rise up into full hip extension, then the weight is either too heavy for you
or you just aren’t doing it with proper technique.
Once you really nail down the proper form on your hip thrusts, then you’ll be able
to add weight to the exercise at a fairly quick rate, but make sure that you’re doing
it correctly right from the start so that you don’t develop any bad habits.
You can do this exercise anywhere from 1-3 times per week at the end of your leg workouts,
for 3-4 sets of anywhere from 5-12 reps.
Again, a barbell hip thrust is not a mandatory exercise that everybody has to include in
their training routine, but if direct glute training is important to you, then this one
is at the very top of the list of best glute exercises and it's the most effective way
for you to hit your glutes as hard as possible.
So thanks for watching this video lesson, I hope you found the information useful here
today.
For more useful training tips just like this one, along with science based nutrition and
supplementation information to help you maximize your muscle building and your fat burning
progress, make sure to head over to BodyTransformationTruth.com and grab my complete “Body Transformation
Blueprint” System by clicking the icon at the top of the video or by using the link
in the description box below.
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Talk to you again soon.