Smith Machine Hip Thrust

intermediate · hinge

Setup

Set a bench crosswise under the Smith bar, against a wall or otherwise blocked so it cannot slide, with its edge across your upper back once you sit on the floor. Pick a low hook notch so the bar sits at hip height, load the plates and lock them with collars, and pad the bar with a thick mat or rolled towel right at your hip crease before you rotate it off the hooks.

Execution

Sit on the floor with your upper back against the bench edge, the padded bar right at your hip crease, feet flat on the floor.
Rotate the bar off the hooks, exhale, and drive through your heels to push your hips up until your body is a straight line from shoulders to knees.
Squeeze the glutes hard at the top, without hyperextending the lower back.
Inhale and lower your hips under control, keeping the bar from rolling off your hip crease.
At the end of the set or if you run out of strength, lower your hips all the way to the floor before rotating the bar back onto the hooks and standing up.
If your lower back starts to complain, lower your hips to the floor, rotate the bar back onto the hooks and switch to a floor glute bridge for the day.

Breathing

Exhale as you drive your hips up, inhale as you lower. Do not hold your breath to move a heavier weight; if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, a hernia or you are pregnant, never hold it at all, lighten the load and exhale on the drive.

Quick cues

Pad the bar before you start.
Drive through your heels, not your toes.
Stop at a straight line, don't hyperextend.
Hips to the floor before you stand up.

Common faults

Fault: Skipping the padding, the bar digging straight into the hip crease
Fix: Always pad the bar with a mat or towel before loading plates.
Fault: Hyperextending the lower back at the top
Fix: Stop where the body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees, squeezing the glutes instead of arching.
Fault: The bar rolling off the hip crease mid-set
Fix: Keep the hips stable without swaying sideways, and reset the bar's position between reps if needed.
Fault: Pushing through the toes, causing the knees to cave in
Fix: Shift the weight through the heels and drive the knees out toward the little toes.

Equipment

smith_machine, bench

Muscle groups

glutes, legs