hip thrusts for deadlift and squat?

[muscleman17]

Genetically I have always had weak/small glutes. My deadlift and squat have shown that my legs and lower back tend to take over in the deadlift and squat (back feels over worked compared to my PC) and that my sticking point in squat is mid way up towards lockout and same with deadlift.

I know sldls, GHRs, rdls, lunges etc etc help with glutes, but I keep pulling up articles with Bret Contreras and his hip thrust method of improving glutes and carryover into the deadlift and squat. It looks appealing to me.

what I wanted to know is what is your guys advice for strengthening glutes? would the hip thrust be the most ideal exercise to target and strengthen my glutes and improve my deadlift and squat or would you recommend something else?

I currently run a variation of 5/3/1

what exercise should I do and how many set/reps?

[swiftsloth]

Genetically I have always had weak/small glutes. My deadlift and squat have shown that my legs and lower back tend to take over in the deadlift and squat (back feels over worked compared to my PC) and that my sticking point in squat is mid way up towards lockout and same with deadlift.

I know sldls, GHRs, rdls, lunges etc etc help with glutes, but I keep pulling up articles with Bret Contreras and his hip thrust method of improving glutes and carryover into the deadlift and squat. It looks appealing to me.

what I wanted to know is what is your guys advice for strengthening glutes? would the hip thrust be the most ideal exercise to target and strengthen my glutes and improve my deadlift and squat or would you recommend something else?

I currently run a variation of 5/3/1

what exercise should I do and how many set/reps?

Introducing barbell GHR (same as a hip thrust?) to my leg and deadlift/back days has probably been one of the things helping my squats and deadlifts to the point where I've noticed the strongest part of my squat is from the bottom (my ass is 4 1/2 from the ground so pretty low)
that and the tips chris duffin mentions in his video "THE BEST Warm Up for Big Skwaats and Deadlifts (Ft. Chris Duffin)"
(can't post because post count)

and some light GHR in-between sets of squats or deadlifts just in case my glutes weren't already firing 100% has WORKED FOR ME.

[italianplaya30]

Barbell hip thrust 100% will help

[Partyrocking]

I think hip thrusts are a good way to go. I also like heavy kettlebell swings to strengthen my glutes.

[muscleman17]

thanks for reply guys I appreciate it a lot. usually on here I get bad sarcastic comments without any real help. I have been trying to improve my deadlift and I feel weak all through the deadlift in the glutes and feel most of my back doing the work. what I will start doing is concentrate on using and exploding my glutes all the way through and throw in some hip thrusts after legs day.

my two legs days a week look like
deadlift day (Tuesday):
deadlift 5/3/1 sets
BBB squats 5x5@80%TM
leg ext 3x10
ham curl 3x10
hip thrusts (reps and sets not decided)
ab work
(would I benefit more from taking ham curls out and doing a sldl or rdl?)

squat day (Friday)
LB squats 5/3/1 sets
BBB deadlifts 5x5@80%TM
leg ext 3x10
ham curls 3x10
hip thrusts (sets and reps not decided)
ab work

how could I change this to maximize my posterior chain work? how many sets and reps for hip thrusts?

[HamburgerTrain]

I'm still not convinced barbell hip thrusts have any carryover to strength in the squat and deadlift. Personally, I think its more of a mobility correction tool than anything. If your hip flexors are tight, your hip extension will be limited. Improving hip extension in the squat and the deadlift will cause higher glute activation on those lifts. Not because of the modality that improved the positioning.

Before the sh*tstorm erupts, this is all my opinion. If glut bridges transferred to strength in the lift, the people with the highest weight on glute bridges would also have the highest squats and deadlifts. Even the glute guy himself has a 500+lb glute bridge and a , what, maybe 400lb squat?

Anyway, my favorite glute exercises are band walks and sumo deadlifts for time. Try to sumo deadlift 135lbs for 5 straight minutes. If your glute don't start doing something, you probably died anyway.

[muscleman17]

I'm still not convinced barbell hip thrusts have any carryover to strength in the squat and deadlift. Personally, I think its more of a mobility correction tool than anything. If your hip flexors are tight, your hip extension will be limited. Improving hip extension in the squat and the deadlift will cause higher glute activation on those lifts. Not because of the modality that improved the positioning.

Before the sh*tstorm erupts, this is all my opinion. If glut bridges transferred to strength in the lift, the people with the highest weight on glute bridges would also have the highest squats and deadlifts. Even the glute guy himself has a 500+lb glute bridge and a , what, maybe 400lb squat?

Anyway, my favorite glute exercises are band walks and sumo deadlifts for time. Try to sumo deadlift 135lbs for 5 straight minutes. If your glute don't start doing something, you probably died anyway.

I was also looking into the sort of glute amnesia or something. what stretches would you do for tight hip flexors and pre squat/deadlift glute activation?

[Reghe88]

you must do deep squat with stop of 1 second in the lowest part of the movement, deep box squat and deficit deadlift, you'll have a very huge glutes

[scotpak1979]

Would be good to hear from people who actually incorporate them and have had success. The main problem for me is trying to fit it in to a workout which inevitably is always a bit rushed due to work/ family demands.

[melDorado]

Seriously have always done this and my DL has always been easy to get up. I do them on squat day and before my squats because I feel like it activates my glutes and I squat better if I've done some. I don't go mega heavy just 85% my DL. I used to be embarrassed doing them but now I train at an oly lifters gym and they all do them!

[NattyAmerica]

Haven't seen too many strong guys use it in their routine. Chris Duffin actually has a video on stop going heavy on them because you essentially can't achieve true hip extension I believe.

I think the only strong guys I've seen use it is Pete Rubish occasionally and same with Bryce Lewis occasionally.

My right knee tends to buckle in when I squat but that's because my right foot is more externally rotated I believe and hundreds of thousands of OLY lifters Squat w/ their knees coming in and I doubt anyone would say they have weak glutes.

[adamsz]

I think there are better glute accessory movements that have a more carry over to squats/DLs:

tips chris duffin mentions in his video "THE BEST Warm Up for Big Skwaats and Deadlifts (Ft. Chris Duffin)"
(can't post because post count)

and some light GHR in-between sets of squats or deadlifts just in case my glutes weren't already firing 100% has WORKED FOR ME.

great glute activation & squat/DL warmup

[Jisoku]

Pete rubish swears by hip thrusts. I've never done them myself so idk, my weaknesses seem to be in other areas than lockout.

[blue9steel]

I like hip thrusts, I definitely get good glute activation doing them and I feel it helps my squat and deadlifts. Whether or not they fit in your training routine depends on your current weak spots and how much training room you have. In your particular situation it sounds like they would make sense.

[Partyrocking]

I believe and hundreds of thousands of OLY lifters Squat w/ their knees coming in and I doubt anyone would say they have weak glutes.

This can actually be a mechanical advantage. The knee twitches and comes it but as they finish the squat, the knee turns back out. This is different from when beginners squat and their knees cave- that’s typically due to a weakness

[isaku900]

Would be good to hear from people who actually incorporate them and have had success. The main problem for me is trying to fit it in to a workout which inevitably is always a bit rushed due to work/ family demands.

anecdote...I know of a gym where the coach programs 1rm barbell hip thrusts. they have THREE guys that can do 800+, and one guy can do 900lbs on a hip thrust.

those three guys all pull less than 600lbs.

anecdotally....not worthwhile.

i'm with hamburgertrain on these. good for developing glutes (having my gf do them as she wants a bigger booty) don't really think they carryover to the powerlifts.

[GetHimABodyBag]

Quit obsessing over glutes and hamstrings.

Squat as deep and upright as you can, in whatever bar position is comfortable, get those quads as big and strong as you can. Lots of volume in 65-85% range. Quality reps and as much force as you can. Add some pause sets, front and back.

Hamstring/Glute work is just assistance. Don't over think it.

[adamsz]

Quit obsessing over glutes and hamstrings.

Squat as deep and upright as you can, in whatever bar position is comfortable, get those quads as big and strong as you can. Lots of volume in 65-85% range. Quality reps and as much force as you can. Add some pause sets, front and back.

Hamstring/Glute work is just assistance. Don't over think it.

This is pretty dumb advice for powerlifting...

for oly lifting this might be true, but in PLing you don't get extra points for squatting deeper than necessary as according to the rulebook.

And if you think your quads are more important than your posterior chain for the powerlifts I've got some bad newz brah...

[davisj3537]

I did them as my main lower movement for several months (for posture) and hit numerous work sets upwards of 7 plates and afterwards my squat did noticeably improve despite not having squatted or worked quads for a LONG time; HOWEVER, it is much more likely that my stronger squatting was due to having significantly improved posture. I had some pretty bad APT and it negatively affected my squat.

In retrospect shooting for 5RM and 3RM's for a lift designed for posture is just dumb. Sure you get a ton of looks and congrats from gym regulars for thrusting 750 for sets of 5, but most guys who are familiar with the lift and actually know think it is silly. That's like shooting for 1RM PRs with face pulls. I legit feel dumb now for having done it.

[kaleida]

I tried them and got good glute hypertrophy especially in the upper gluteus maximus - but my max stayed about the same. I have a "try anything twice" attitude about strategies that don't work for me though...maybe the timing wasn't right.

[GetHimABodyBag]

This is pretty dumb advice for powerlifting...

for oly lifting this might be true, but in PLing you don't get extra points for squatting deeper than necessary as according to the rulebook.

And if you think your quads are more important than your posterior chain for the powerlifts I've got some bad newz brah...

Deep squats strengthen the glutes and hams, you are not getting out of the hole unless they are strong, OP issue will take care of itself by deep squatting. The OP never mentioned being a competitve PL btw.

When it comes to the squat, the Quads are more important. They also play a role in strength off the floor. Glute/hamstring obsession is from Louie/Westside/Geared, well intentioned but misplaced for general strength, athletes, and raw lifters.

Try some fronts, high bar, pause fronts, pause high bar work. In fact you can do these variations everyday. Ed Coan and Dan Green have similar views on the importance of quads.
I do back work every training session btw, big and strong back=strong everything.

[kaleida]

I think some people are drawn to a more quad-dominant squat than others because of body proportions. Seems normal to me for different people to think different muscles are the most important in their squat....they probably have different body proportions too.

[Jwilliams2]

If you want to become better at squatting, practice squatting, if you want to be better at deadlifts...practice deadlifts

[FFailed]

Haven't seen too many strong guys use it in their routine. Chris Duffin actually has a video on stop going heavy on them because you essentially can't achieve true hip extension I believe.

I think the only strong guys I've seen use it is Pete Rubish occasionally and same with Bryce Lewis occasionally.

My right knee tends to buckle in when I squat but that's because my right foot is more externally rotated I believe and hundreds of thousands of OLY lifters Squat w/ their knees coming in and I doubt anyone would say they have weak glutes.

Pete rubish mentioned in his new video after trying hip thrusts they have no carry over to strength in squat/deadlift and are a worthless excersie for strength but could be good for glute hypertrophy.

[samsont]

This is pretty dumb advice for powerlifting...

for oly lifting this might be true, but in PLing you don't get extra points for squatting deeper than necessary as according to the rulebook.

And if you think your quads are more important than your posterior chain for the powerlifts I've got some bad newz brah...

maybe you squat more than 4 hundo if you worked your quads more, just saying', no hate i just don't understand why you would think posterior chain so much more important than quads

[NeverDeload]

If you want to become better at squatting, practice squatting, if you want to be better at deadlifts...practice deadlifts

Lol, this.

[adamsz]

maybe you squat more than 4 hundo if you worked your quads more, just saying', no hate i just don't understand why you would think posterior chain so much more important than quads

It's actually rather quite the opposite: the reason my squat is so low is actually because I UNDERESTIMATED the importance of the glutes in powerlifting.

For my first 2 years of lifting I had no idea how to activate my glutes at all. As a result all of my DLs were essentially SLDLs and my squats were primary all quads and lower back. This lead to me tearing my groin in a meet in 2013. I met with a well-respected sports chiro here (same guy who Duffin has used for all of his rehabs after every major injury) after and conducted a battery of tests, which is when I learned I had minimal to no glute activation at all. The chiro explained that the reason I got injured in the first place was because I was hyper-compensating with all the smaller muscle groups in the area (e.g. groin muscles) because I didn't know how to use my glutes.

After tearing my pec at the end of that year I took most of 2014 off training, and came back this year and learned how to activate my glutes by working with a PT. Doing this I fixed my deadlift form and it has been increasing by leaps and bounds. As for my squat, despite over 2 years passing, whenever I start squatting again my groin quickly acts up again, and I back off and just decide to focus on my bench and DL. My weak squat is NOT the result of weak quads, but rather a lack of knowing how to activate my glutes in the past and it being relatively untrained compared to my other 2 lifts. I really do need to work with a PT again to sort out the chronic groin issue, but I haven't gotten around to it yet due to financial constraints and, self-admittedly, laziness.

TL;DR - I never said that the quads aren't vastly important for powerlifting, but to say they're more important than your posterior chain is dumb IMO.

[308smk]

Hip thrusts are stupid and mostly useless for powerlifting but then again I know an Asian kid who did them religiously and had ridiculously strong glutes as a result. Squatted 500, pulled 600, benched 195 at 170 pounds bodyweight. Ugliest technique ever but goddamn did he have serious hip extension strength.

Pretty much everything works if you do it 110%.

[rdferguson]

They're a good glute exercise, but I don't think it's made any difference to my squat or deadlift numbers when I have them in my program vs when I leave them out. They have definitely improved the quality of my squats and deadlifts, though.

[TheOrb87]

They are good to do if you want to fuk like a jackhammer in bed, but for squats or deadlifts? Never found any significant difference by adding them.

I would just focus on the sticking points in both movements and work from there. Use any means possible, chains, bands, blocks, etc.

That should be able to be enough to carry over on both exercises.