The Weighted Hip Thrust is something you will see many girls doing in the gym for buns of steel.
However, for guys and girls that want to increase their muscle mass and glute strength then this is the missing exercise you are not doing on leg day!
Researchers hypothesized that barbell hip thrusts would be better than squats for improving horizontal force production, thereby enhancing performance in athletic movements requiring a horizontal force vector, such as horizontal jumping and sprinting.
According to the study’s first author, Bret Contreras, squats poorly activate the hamstrings and do not maximally activate the glutes, which are critical muscle groups for powerful sprinting. In a squat, the glutes are fired up during the concentric action – when you explode out of the hole. Glute activation decreases near the top when the athlete is in a more upright position, which is characteristic of applying force into the ground while running.
The study was comprised of male teenage athletes and consisted of 2 training sessions per week for 6 weeks in a periodized fashion. One group performed only front squats, and another group performed only hip thrusts. Pre- and post-test performance measures included:
10-meter acceleration
20-meter acceleration
vertical jump
maximum isometric mid-thigh pull
3-rep-max front squat
and 3-rep-max hip thrust
Results showed that among teenage male athletes, hip thrusts are more effective than front squats at improving sprinting acceleration, max isometric mid-thigh pull force, and max hip thrust strength. However, front squats are more effective than hip thrusts at improving vertical jump max and front squat strength.
In addition, athletes who performed the hip thrust gained half as much front squat strength as those who only performed front squats, and vice versa. This is an important finding, as it demonstrates that hip extension exercises transfer to other lifts and points to the possibility that strength in one lift can be maintained during times of injury by performing assistance lifts.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChVak8_IyuqcErdf_jQUOHA
https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/improve-your-performance-squats-or-hip-thrusts
