Banded Hip Thrusts
Banded Hip Thrusts are a lower-body strength exercise that builds glute power and tension through band resistance.
Banded Hip Thrusts
Muscles Worked: Banded Hip Thrusts
Banded hip thrusts mainly train your glutes, which drive the rep by pushing your hips up and squeezing hard at the top. Your hamstrings help with the lift, especially as you press through your feet and keep your hips moving smoothly. The band adds extra tension near lockout, so the top half of the rep asks your glutes to work even harder. If you do them well, you should feel your butt doing most of the work at the top, which lines up with research showing hip thrust variations create high glute force demands (Collings et al., 2023).
Technique and form
How to perform the Banded Hip Thrusts
- Position yourself seated on the ground with your upper back against a bench, knees bent, and feet flat on the floor hip-width apart.
- Loop a resistance band around your hips and secure it under your feet or around a sturdy anchor point at floor level.
- Place your arms on the bench with palms down for stability, keeping your wrists neutral and fingers relaxed.
- Engage your core and tuck your chin slightly to maintain a neutral spine position throughout the movement.
- Inhale deeply, then as you exhale, drive through your heels to lift your hips toward the ceiling until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
- At the top position, squeeze your glutes maximally while keeping your ribcage down and maintaining tension in the resistance band.
- Hold the contracted position for 1-2 seconds while breathing normally, ensuring your knees stay aligned with your toes.
- Inhale as you slowly lower your hips back to the starting position with control, maintaining tension in your glutes throughout the descent.
Important information
- Keep your feet positioned directly under your knees at the top of the movement to maximize glute activation and minimize stress on the lower back.
- Avoid hyperextending your lower back at the top of the movement—focus on a posterior pelvic tilt by drawing your ribs down toward your pelvis.
- If you feel this exercise primarily in your hamstrings or lower back rather than your glutes, try moving your feet slightly farther from your body.
- Select a band with appropriate resistance—you should feel tension throughout the movement but still be able to achieve full hip extension with proper form.
Is the Banded Hip Thrusts good for muscle growth?
Yes. Banded hip thrusts are a strong choice for building bigger glutes because they load the part of the rep where your glutes usually squeeze hardest, and hip-focused thrust patterns create high glute force demands (Collings et al., 2023). They are especially useful when you want hard glute work without the setup of a barbell.
- Harder lockout tension — The band gets tighter as you lift, so the top of the rep becomes the hardest part. That matters because most people lose tension near the top on lighter hip thrust setups, while the band keeps your glutes working all the way through the squeeze.
- Strong glute bias — This movement is built around hip drive, not knee bend, so your glutes stay as the main engine of the rep. Research on hip-focused exercises shows thrust-style patterns place high demands on the glutes, which is exactly what you want for muscle growth (Collings et al., 2023).
- Easy to push close to failure safely — Bands are simple to set up and easy to bail out of, so you can take sets close to failure without needing a spotter. That makes it easier to get enough hard reps, which is one of the biggest drivers of muscle growth.
- Great pairing with heavier thrusts — Banded hip thrusts work well after barbell hip thrust or instead of dumbbell hip thrust when equipment is limited. Use them for higher reps and longer squeezes to add glute volume without beating up your lower back.
Programming for muscle growth
Do 3-5 sets of 10-20 reps with 45-75 seconds rest, 2-3 times per week. Use higher reps because bands get toughest at the top and lighter at the bottom, so more total reps help keep the set challenging. Pause for 1-2 seconds at the top of each rep, and when you can hit the top of your rep range on every set with a strong squeeze, move to a thicker band or add another band.
Alternative Exercises
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FAQ - Banded Hip Thrusts
Banded hip thrusts primarily target the gluteus maximus (your largest glute muscle), while also engaging the hamstrings, hip flexors, and lower back as supporting muscles. The resistance band specifically intensifies activation at the top of the movement where your glutes are fully contracted.
Place the band just above your knees when sitting on the floor, then position yourself with your upper back against a bench, feet flat on the floor hip-width apart. Ensure the band remains taut throughout the movement, creating resistance as you drive your hips upward to full extension.
The three most common mistakes are hyperextending your lower back instead of using your glutes, failing to reach full hip extension at the top, and allowing your knees to cave inward against the band resistance. Focus on driving through your heels, maintaining neutral spine position, and actively pushing your knees outward against the band.
For optimal glute development, include banded hip thrusts 2-3 times weekly with at least 24 hours of recovery between sessions. You can program them as a primary lower-body movement on leg days or as a targeted glute activation exercise before other compound movements.
Progress by using thicker resistance bands, combining bands with barbell/dumbbell loading, elevating your feet to increase range of motion, or transitioning to single-leg variations. You can also manipulate tempo, adding a pause at the top position to increase time under tension in the fully contracted position.
Scientific References
Gluteal Muscle Forces during Hip-Focused Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Exercises.
Collings TJ, Bourne MN, Barrett RS et al. · Medicine and science in sports and exercise (2023)
Sources are peer-reviewed academic publications from PubMed.
Banded Hip Thrusts
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