Legs · Bodyweight
Hip Thrusts
How to do the hip thrusts, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Hinge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Sit on the floor with your upper back against a bench and your feet flat on the floor. Drive through both heels to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees, then lower under control and repeat.
- 1Your glutes driving your hips up to full extension
- 2A hard glute squeeze at the top of each rep
- 3Your chin tucked and ribs down through the lift
Common mistakes
- Arching your lower back or thrusting the hips too high
- Starting the lift with your hamstrings or lower back
- Letting your knees flare out or collapse inward
Muscles worked
The hip thrusts mainly works the glutes, with the hamstrings, lower back, and quads assisting.
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- QuadsSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the hip thrusts for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More glutes exercises
- How to do the agility ladder drill
- How to do the airdyne bike
- How to do the arc trainer
- How to do the assault bike
- How to do the medicine ball atlas stone lift
- How to do the b stance hip thrust
Last reviewed June 2026.