Dumbbell Hip Thrust
Glutes and hamstrings1 dumbbell and a bench
The dumbbell hip thrust is a glute exercise where your upper back rests on a bench and you drive a dumbbell up with your hips. It trains glutes and hamstrings with one dumbbell.
How to do the Dumbbell Hip Thrust
- Sit on the floor with your upper back against the side of a bench, knees bent and feet flat, and roll a dumbbell onto your hips.
- Brace your core, tuck your chin and drive through your heels to lift your hips until your torso is parallel to the floor.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top for one second, with your shins close to vertical.
- Lower your hips until they almost touch the floor, then drive up again.
Common mistakes
- You arch your lower back at the top. Keep your ribs down and finish by squeezing your glutes, not by leaning back.
- Your hamstrings cramp. Walk your feet a little farther from the bench so your shins are vertical at the top.
- The dumbbell rolls or digs into your hips. Hold it with both hands and pad it with a folded towel.
With a bench or without
With a bench: use a stable flat bench around knee height, and push it against a wall so it cannot slide.
Without a bench: use a sturdy couch edge, or do a floor glute bridge with the dumbbell on your hips. The range is shorter but the glutes still work.
Easier and harder versions
Easier: Do it as a floor glute bridge or use a lighter dumbbell.
Harder: Use a heavier dumbbell, pause for two seconds at the top, or go one leg at a time. Stagger runs 12 reps with a 60 lb dumbbell.