glute bridge - feet or shoulders elevated?

[oregonchick76]

I've been trying to master these as I'm trying to round out my glute and hamstring routine. I have tried them with my shoulders on a bench and it feels so awkward!
So I do them flat on the ground, but I can do 155lbs for sets of 15 and it doesn't feel like it's working my glutes specifically.

I was wondering if slightly elevating my feet on a low bench would help recruit the glutes more, or is the shoulder elevated version the best one? If so, I'm just going to need to work harder to master it.

[DieselsMom]

Have you tried the shoulder elevated in the smith? Then you can focus on doing the work with the right muscles and not worry about balancing everything? Also I have used a ball instead of bench (my bench doesn't fit in my smith cage) and can get a good squeeze.

[MadCatLady]

^^^i do them on the smith too, as the above poster says it helps stabilise the bar. I also pad the bench my shoulders are on with something (usually my sweater) as it can be uncomfortable otherwise.
I'm not sure you'd get the same range of motion with feet elevated or from the ground.

[cdhussey]

I'll have to try them on the Smith. I do them flat on the ground, and while I do feel like I'm hitting the glutes pretty well, I'd like to add a little variety. Plus, my gym doesn't have dedicated barbells for deads and such, so I have to steal one from the equipment. I hate doing that.

Good Mornings are another exercise I saw on the Smith that looked promising.

[kgrrl]

I do glute bridges on the ground as well as hip thrusts, which I guess is about the same as shoulder elevated glute bridges. The most important thing to think of is to have your legs in a 90 degree angle, otherwise you'll either activate hamstrings or quads. I Love them and I've had some serious results from hip thrusting twice a week.

[oregonchick76]

I do glute bridges on the ground as well as hip thrusts, which I guess is about the same as shoulder elevated glute bridges. The most important thing to think of is to have your legs in a 90 degree angle, otherwise you'll either activate hamstrings or quads. I Love them and I've had some serious results from hip thrusting twice a week.

Ok, so then what is the difference between a glute bridge and a hip thrust?

[DieselsMom]

to me the difference is the shoulder elevation which gives a different range of motion but here is a quick video I found which gave good set up instruction too.



I have strong curves at home I can see what the glute master says about it all

[IrishLassie78]

For me, hip thrusts are the way to go to just target glutes. I've gotten great results from them. I also like feet-elevated glute bridges but those get my hamstrings a lot too, which is good but not always what I'm looking for. I'm also a fan of single leg hyper extensions for really intense glute work. Tbh, I don't get much from glute bridges with the feet flat on the ground. I think it's because the range of motion is so limited. Usually all I got from those are hamstring cramps

[Jodie10]

Hip thrusts on the smith machine. Genius move. Incorporating this tomorrow, THANK YOU!

Don't have to worry about the barbell falling off... LOL

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercise...ell-hip-thrust

[oregonchick76]

Hip thrusts on the smith machine. Genius move. Incorporating this tomorrow, THANK YOU!

Don't have to worry about the barbell falling off... LOL

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercise...ell-hip-thrust

I need one of those thick bar pads. Somehow the ones at our gym have all disappeared and I've got gnarly bruises on my hip bones from doing these the other day!

[kgrrl]

Ok, so then what is the difference between a glute bridge and a hip thrust?

I saw you already got a good answer. Bret Contreras has some great variations posted in his blog (can't link it though since I'm a newbie in the forum).
I use half a yoga mat (thin) to roll around the bar when I'm hip thrusting. The bruising gets better.