Hip Thrust Belt For Dumbbells

Hip Thrust Belt for Dumbbells

The dumbbell hip thrust is an effective exercise for building glute strength and improving athletic performance. Here’s a deeper look at the benefits and how to properly do the dumbbell hip thruster. Dumbbell hip thrusts are one of my all-time favorite glute exercises.

Not only do they allow you to target your glutes, hamstrings, and hips, but because of the size of the dumbbell, you can place all the load squarely on your pelvis. There’s no need to balance the barbell; all you’ve got to do is keep the dumbbell on your hip thrust pad and you’re in the money.

The hip thrust works three primary muscles:

• Gluteal muscles, which include the gluteus maximus, minimum, and medium. The primary focus is on the gluteus maximus, but works all three.
• Hamstrings, which include the biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus. These muscles all work to “pull” your legs, and are critical for building lower body strength.
• Hip adductors, the muscles in your inner groin that stabilize your pelvis and facilitate leg movement.

In addition, there is also some engagement of the lower back and abdominal muscles, which helps to build core strength. In fact, greater strength in your core and pelvis is one of the best benefits of hip thrusts.

A few other benefits of hip thrusts include:

• Bigger, more powerful glute muscles. For those who care about the way they look, hip thrusts are one of the best exercises to give you those well-rounded, “thic” glutes you want.
• Enhanced explosive power in your lower body. Because this exercise targets the glutes, hips, and hamstrings, you develop more explosive power in your lower body for exercises like Sled Pushes or sprints.
• Greater squatting and lunging strength. While the primary focus of hip thrusts aren’t on your quads, they still help to increase your squatting and lunging strength by increasing the strength of the secondary muscles (glutes and hamstrings) that work with your quads throughout.
• Improve your posture. By strengthening your hips, hamstrings, glutes, and core, you improve your posture—both when sitting and standing. The fact that this exercise targets all these critical muscles can actually counteract the negative effects of spending 6+ hours per day sitting down.
• Lower injury risk. Any exercise that strengthens your core and pelvic area is an absolute winner in my books, because it drastically reduces injury risk through literally every movement. You’ll improve your balance and stability, and the core muscles that facilitate upper-and-lower-body movement will be more resilient and less likely to be damaged.

Easier than Barbell Hip Thrusts

BETTER WAY TO HIP THRUST

• One of my favorite things about dumbbell hip thrusts specifically is that they’re easier (more newbie-friendly) than barbell hip thrusts. I’ve shared this exercise with many of my new-to-the-gym buddies who want a simple yet highly effective movement they can incorporate into their training routine right away.
• What makes dumbbell hip thrusts easier than barbell hip thrusts is that you don’t have to worry about keeping a long barbell balanced in your lap. The dumbbell sits directly on your lap, with all the weight distributed directly on your hips. When you thrust, the weight stays firmly in place.
• The direct loading also makes it easier for you to focus on the weight you’re lifting, which in turn enables you to pay better attention to your form. You’ll find it’s much easier to master than barbell hip thrusts.
• Last, but certainly not least, the actual loading/getting-ready-to-lift portion of the hip thrust is much easier with a dumbbell than barbell.

With a barbell, you have to slide the weighted bar over your legs, and can be uncomfortable (and supremely annoying) to load and unload the weight.

With a dumbbell, all you’ve got to do is pick it up off the ground and place it directly on your legs—quick, easy, and hassle-free.

Durable and Comfortable

Trainer’s Tip

You may not have a workout bench handy at home, but you can use a couch, chair, or even a solid box.

Basically, you just need a roughly knee-height flat surface that won’t shift or slide when you lean all your weight on it.

Load the dumbbell in your lap (using a rolled-up towel if you don’t have a hip thrust pad) and you’re ready to go!

• Start out with a light dumbbell, and if it’s too easy, just complete a few more reps. Gradually increase the weight until you find the dumbbell that’s just right for completing the right number of reps.
• For greater glute engagement during this exercise, point your toes slightly outward and FEEL THE BURN!
• Remember to breathe! Do not hold your breath throughout this exercise, but focus on exhaling when you thrust up, and inhaling when you lower back down.
• Pause-rep hip thrusts target muscular endurance more than strength or power.
• Step the difficulty up a notch by lifting one leg off the floor. This will increase core engagement and target each of the glutes specifically.