Before I tell you about the Hip Thrust, just want to remind everyone that our current XTrain pre-sale prices will end Oct 30th. Now, let me tell you about perhaps the best exercise you can do for your glutes and best of all – you can do it at home.
The Glutes are an area that a lot of you’re interested in strengthening and toning up. There are lots of exercises you can do for your glutes, but if you could only do one exercise for your glutes research shows that one of the best exercises you could select is a barbell Hip Thrust and that is why I have included this amazing exercise as one of my XTrain’s 100 rep challenges. Don’t get me wrong, you need to do other exercises for this muscle group besides just a barbell hip thrust, but a barbell hip thrust certainly ranks as one of the best exercises you can do. When combined with a 100 rep challenge, the barbell hip thrust will leave no doubt that you have worked your glutes to the max!
I first became aware of the barbell hip thrust after reading a lot of research that Bret Contreras, MA, CSCS had done on glute training. Bret is the author of Advanced Techniques in Glutei Maximi Strengthening and is currently working on his PHD and is known in the fitness world as “the glute guy”. Bret has done a tremendous amount of research on which exercises work the glute muscles most effectively and has done a lot of EMG studies on various glute exercises. From his studies the hip thrust seems to stand out as the “rock star” of all the glute exercises ranking much higher than squats and lunges. If you would like to learn more about Bret’s research on glute training you can visit his website at http://bretcontreras.com/ or purchase his ebook: Advanced Techniques in Glutei Maximi Strengthening.
In XTrain I asked Amanda to help demonstrate the barbell hip thrust. We don’t use a barbell in any of the regular XTrain workouts (only dumbbells), but if you really want to work your glutes, nothing is better than a barbell hip thrust and that’s is why we’re using a barbell for this challenge. The hip thrust can also be done without any weight, but if you want to continue to progress you will need to use a barbell to further challenge your glutes as they are very strong muscles. You can also do hip thrusters unilaterally, but for the XTrain 100 rep challenge we use both legs.
Here is how you do an XTrain 100 rep challenge for the hip thrust. Firstly, Amanda uses a 44 pound barbell with a barbell pad for comfort for her 100 rep challenge. You will need to select a weight that is appropriate for you. According to Contreras this moves works best with two or three risers on each side of your step. To align yourself properly on the step lean your body against the step with your outstretched arms resting along the front edge of the step. You should position your barbell so that it rest just above your pubic bone on your lower abs and hip flexors. A barbell pad, like Amanda uses in XTRain can help to make this more comfortable. You can also fold up a yoga mat and place it under your bar for comfort.
Secondly, Point your feet so that they flare slightly outward. Keep your head and neck neutral. Keep your Torso rigid while doing a hip thrust and try not to hyperextend your spine. Always bend at your hips and push through your heels. Start with your butt on the ground and your barbell resting on your hip flexors. Then raise the barbell off the ground by extending your hips upward until your body’s torso is about parallel to the floor and even with your shoulders. Your feet and knees should not move. At the top of the move pause briefly and tighten your glutes, then slowly lower your butt back to the floor still not moving your shoulders, knees and feet.
Finally, with all 100 rep challenges your goal is to get somewhere around 30 to 35 reps on your first set. If you’re getting less than 25 you should lower your weight the next time you do this challenge. Do as many sets as it takes to do a total of 100 reps for this exercise. Try to keep your rest to 30 seconds, but if you need more recovery time – take it!
We look forward to sharing the barbell hip thrust and all of the other XTrain 100 rep challenges with you soon.
*Pre-Sale prices end Oct 30th. You can learn more or Pre- order XTRAIN now at: Click Here
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