Band Hip Thrust Workout for Glutes and Core
This post is all about the resistance band hip thrust, which is one of the best exercises for getting bigger glutes and a stronger core.
You may have seen people in the gym doing hip thrusts with a barbell resting on their thighs. While that’s one of the best glute building exercises you can do, using a barbell limits your options.
Not only can you do this same exercise with a resistance band, but you can also do other variations like standing hip thrust or band glute bridge. And you can do them all in the comfort of your own home, or any other venue of your choosing.
What are hip thrust resistance band exercises?
I’m not going to go into the semantics of what’s the difference between a band hip thrust and a band glute bridge.
To keep things simple, let’s just say a hip thrust is any movement which involves thrusting your hips forward. And I’m only talking about strength exercises here – not the really fun stuff!
Before we go into the exercises, let’s take a look at what kind of resistance bands you can use for doing hip thrusts.
Best hip thrust bands
Here are four different types of hip thrust bands you can use for these exercises:
#1 Pull Up Band
#4 Hip Band
Band Hip Thrust Workout
#1 Banded Glute Bridge 1
This is an easy one to warm up. Doing a glute bridge with a band around your knees doesn’t add forward resistance to the thrust movement, but it does activate your hip, thigh and glute muscles much more than without the band.
You can use the mini glute band for this, but for a more intense workout, try the ultra-high resistance hip band.
Lie on your back with the band placed just above your knees. Keep you feet together and knees bent, with a little outward pressure keeping the band taut. Now lift your hips, keeping your arms pressed down to the ground. Hold in the final position for a few seconds, squeezing your glutes.
#2 Banded Glute Bridge 2
This time you do the same movement, except using a long resistance band as shown in this video to provide forward resistance:
As you lift your hips, push down with your arms. Doing this exercise will give you a nice arm & shoulder workout as well as hitting your glutes.
You can also do this movement using the mini band looped around your waist like this:
#3 Kneeling Band Hip Thrust
Now it’s time to use a pull up band, which can provide stronger resistance for a more intense glute workout.
Using a small towel wedged into a doorway provides a secure anchor point from which to perform kneeling hip thrusts with a band. Check out this video for how to do the exercise.
#4 Standing Band Hip Thrust
This time anchor the band a bit higher up, either using a towel to wedge it into a doorway, or looping it around a fixed object. Make sure it’s securely fixed otherwise it could snap back at you and cause injury.
Facing away from the band, reach back down through your legs to hold onto it. Perform one rep by pulling the band forward through your legs until you’re standing straight.
It’s important in this exercise not to round your lower back – keep it slightly arched. You should be using mainly your glutes and lower back to pull the band, but you’ll also get a good shoulder workout with this movement.
#5 Banded Hip Thrust with Bench
Again using a pull up band, this exercise mimics the barbell hip thrusts you see people doing in the gym. You can also do this exercise without the bench, lying on the floor, but using the bench give you a greater range of motion.
To do the exercise, just hook the band around your feet and onto the top of your thighs as shown in this video:
#6 Banded Hip Thruster
This exercise makes it more convenient to use thicker bands, like the pull up band, to mimic the movement of barbell hip thrusts. This lets you use bands to lift heavy, which has many advantages over using weights.
The downside is that this movement requires specialist equipment, like a squat rack or hip thrust machine, and takes time to set up properly.
For me, that negates one of the biggest benefits of resistance bands, which is: strength training anywhere, with minimal hassle. So I’d probably use a barbell for this exercise, but that’s just me.
If you want to try it out, here’s a video showing you how:
To keep up to date with new resistance band exercises, check out our blog. And see our full range of resistance bands here.
Follow our Instagram and YouTube channels for exercise videos like this glute workout:
