Is the machine hip thrust as good as the barbell version?

It is a solid substitute. Both train the same hip extension, and the machine removes the bar handling, bench bracing and pressure across the pelvis that often end a barbell set before the glutes are tired. The Barbell Hip Thrust still needs only a bar, plates and a bench, and plates on a straight bar make small, predictable jumps in load easy to plan.

Will hip thrusts build my glutes as well as squats?

A nine-week study in untrained young adults found barbell hip thrust training grew the glutes about as much as back squat training, while the squat group also gained more quadriceps and adductor size. That study used a barbell rather than this machine, but the hip extension is the same, so the hip thrust keeps the work on the glutes and running it alongside a Barbell Squat covers the thighs as well.

Why doesn't the weight match my barbell hip thrust?

On a plate-loaded machine the plates sit on a lever arm, and the machine's leverage decides how heavy they feel at each point of the rep, so the same plates can feel lighter or heavier than on a bar. Log the load and the machine you used, and compare numbers only on that machine.

Where should my feet go on the footplate?

About hip width apart, far enough out that your knees are bent about 90 degrees at the top of the rep. Feet farther out shift the work toward the hamstrings and can cause cramping, while feet tucked in close let the quadriceps take more.

Why do I feel it in my lower back instead of my glutes?

Usually because the rep is finishing with an arch rather than with the hips. Keep the ribs down and the chin tucked, stop once your torso and thighs form a straight line, and lighten the load if you cannot reach that line without the lower back joining in.

Can beginners use the hip thrust machine?

Yes. It is one of the easiest ways to load a hip thrust, since the setup takes seconds and nothing has to be balanced. If you cannot yet hold a Glute Bridge without your lower back arching, start there and with the Bodyweight Hip Thrust before adding plates.

Machine Hip Thrust

What Is the Machine Hip Thrust?

Machine Hip Thrust is a compound exercise that primarily targets the glutes and also engages the hamstrings, the adductor magnus and the quadriceps. It is a beginner-level movement performed on a plate-loaded hip thrust machine: you sit on a low seat with your back against an angled back pad, a padded roller on a lever arm rests across your hips, and your feet push against a fixed footplate as you drive the hips up and the plates with them.

It trains the same hip extension as the Barbell Hip Thrust without the parts of that lift that have nothing to do with the glutes. There is no loaded bar to roll over your legs, no bench to brace against a wall and nothing to balance across the pelvis, because the hip pad travels on a fixed arc and you hold it in place by the handles on top. The back pad supports the whole torso rather than a narrow strip under the shoulder blades, and getting in, setting the pad and changing the load takes seconds. That is why the machine is the easy place to start loading the hip thrust, and why many experienced lifters use it for higher-rep glute work that a bar digging into the hips would cut short.

The gluteus maximus does most of the work, with the hamstrings and the adductor magnus helping to extend the hip and the gluteus medius keeping the knees from caving in. Foot position on the platform decides how the rest is shared. With the knees bent about 90 degrees at the top the glutes stay in charge, planting the feet farther out shifts work toward the hamstrings, and bringing them in close lets the quadriceps take more. Machine Single-Leg Hip Thrust loads one hip at a time on a hip thrust machine, and Smith Machine Hip Thrust sits between this version and the free barbell.

It suits beginners who can already hold a Glute Bridge and a Bodyweight Hip Thrust without arching the lower back and want to add load, as well as lifters whose glute training is limited by the barbell setup or by bar pressure on the hips. In a session it usually comes after the main squat or hinge as accessory glute work, or first on a day built around the glutes, for 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 15 reps. Expect the numbers not to match your barbell lift or another brand of machine, since plates on a lever arm feel lighter or heavier depending on the machine's leverage, so compare loads only on the same machine. It has no competition or testing role.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Gluteus Maximus: Primary
Biceps Femoris: High
Gluteus Medius: High
Adductor Magnus: Medium
Semimembranosus: Medium
Semitendinosus: Medium
Vastus Lateralis: Medium
Erector Spinae: Low
Rectus Abdominis: Low
Vastus Medialis: Low

Instructions

Load plates onto the lever arm's weight horns, starting light until you know how the machine feels.
Sit on the seat with your back against the angled back pad.
Bring the hip pad down so it rests across the crease of your hips, not on your stomach or your thighs.
Place your feet flat on the footplate about hip width apart, far enough out that your knees will be bent about 90 degrees at the top.
Hold the handles on top of the hip pad with both hands, tuck your chin and brace your abs so your ribs stay down.
Drive through your heels and midfoot to push the hip pad up, keeping your back against the back pad as it tilts back with you.
Stop when your torso and thighs form a straight line and squeeze your glutes for a moment, without arching your lower back to push higher.
Lower your hips under control and stop just before the weight settles back down, then start the next rep.
After the last rep, lower the weight all the way and lift the hip pad clear before you stand up.

Common Mistakes

Hip pad on the stomach
Letting the hip pad sit on the abdomen or slide down onto the thighs instead of the hip crease, which hurts, makes bracing harder and loads the hips less directly.
Arching the lower back at the top
Flaring the ribs and arching the lumbar spine to push the hips higher once the glutes have finished, which moves the end of the rep onto the lower back.
Feet in the wrong spot
Planting the feet far out on the footplate hands the work to the hamstrings and invites cramping, while tucking them in close lets the quadriceps take over.
Tipping the head back
Pushing the head back into the pad and looking at the ceiling at lockout tends to pull the lower back into an arch and strains the neck.
Resting the weight between reps
Lowering until the weight settles back down and bouncing the next rep off it, which drops the tension the glutes were holding at the bottom.
Too much weight for full lockout
Adding plates faster than you can reach a straight line from shoulders to knees, so every rep stops short of full hip extension.

Injuries

Machine Hip Thrust is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The back pad supports the whole torso, the hip pad travels on a fixed path, and a rep you cannot finish simply lowers the lever back to its resting position, so none of the bar handling and bench sliding that come with the free-weight versions applies.

The lower back is the usual complaint, and it comes from finishing the rep with the lumbar spine once the glutes have run out of range, arching to lift the hips past a straight line with the thighs. Hamstring cramps are the second, and they almost always trace back to feet planted too far out on the footplate. The hip pad sits on the pelvis, so a pad pulled up onto the abdomen or onto the bony front of the hips can bruise and makes bracing harder, and a pinch at the front of the hip at the bottom usually means the hips are sinking deeper than that joint comfortably bends. Knees that cave in as you push load the knee in a position it handles poorly.

Seat the pad in the hip crease, keep the ribs down and the chin tucked, and treat a straight line from shoulders to knees as the end of the rep. If the hamstrings cramp, move the feet an inch or two closer, and if the front of the hip pinches, stop the lowering a little higher. Adding plates is so easy that the load tends to outrun the technique, so move up in small steps and only once every rep reaches full lockout, and put a pad or folded towel under the hip pad if pressure on the pelvis is what ends your set.

If the hips will not reach full extension without the lower back taking over, build the pattern with Glute Bridge and Bodyweight Hip Thrust, then load it with Band Hip Thrust or Dumbbell Hip Thrust. Progress with a one to two second pause at the top, heavier loads in small jumps, or Machine Single-Leg Hip Thrust to load each hip on its own. Stop the set for sharp pain in the lower back, a pinch in the front of the hip that a shorter range does not settle, or pain in the knees.

Overview

Primary Focus: Glutes
Equipment: Machine
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Beginner

Alternative Exercises

Other Names for the Machine Hip Thrust

The Machine Hip Thrust is also known as:

Glute Drive

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is the machine hip thrust as good as the barbell version?: It is a solid substitute. Both train the same hip extension, and the machine removes the bar handling, bench bracing and pressure across the pelvis that often end a barbell set before the glutes are tired. The Barbell Hip Thrust still needs only a bar, plates and a bench, and plates on a straight bar make small, predictable jumps in load easy to plan.
Q: Will hip thrusts build my glutes as well as squats?: A nine-week study in untrained young adults found barbell hip thrust training grew the glutes about as much as back squat training, while the squat group also gained more quadriceps and adductor size. That study used a barbell rather than this machine, but the hip extension is the same, so the hip thrust keeps the work on the glutes and running it alongside a Barbell Squat covers the thighs as well.
Q: Why doesn't the weight match my barbell hip thrust?: On a plate-loaded machine the plates sit on a lever arm, and the machine's leverage decides how heavy they feel at each point of the rep, so the same plates can feel lighter or heavier than on a bar. Log the load and the machine you used, and compare numbers only on that machine.
Q: Where should my feet go on the footplate?: About hip width apart, far enough out that your knees are bent about 90 degrees at the top of the rep. Feet farther out shift the work toward the hamstrings and can cause cramping, while feet tucked in close let the quadriceps take more.
Q: Why do I feel it in my lower back instead of my glutes?: Usually because the rep is finishing with an arch rather than with the hips. Keep the ribs down and the chin tucked, stop once your torso and thighs form a straight line, and lighten the load if you cannot reach that line without the lower back joining in.
Q: Can beginners use the hip thrust machine?: Yes. It is one of the easiest ways to load a hip thrust, since the setup takes seconds and nothing has to be balanced. If you cannot yet hold a Glute Bridge without your lower back arching, start there and with the Bodyweight Hip Thrust before adding plates.