Legs · Smith Machine
Smith Frog Hip Thrust
How to do the smith frog hip thrust, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Smith Machine
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Hinge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Set the Smith machine bar low and sit with your upper back against a bench, the padded bar resting across your hips. Bring the soles of your feet together and let your knees fall open in a frog position. Drive through the outer edges of your feet to thrust the bar up, squeezing your glutes hard at the top, then lower under control.
- 1Your glutes driving the bar upward and squeezing hard at the top
- 2The frog stance shifting tension into your outer glutes
- 3Your chin tucked and ribs down keeping the load on your hips
Common mistakes
- Don't arch your lower back or push your hips past a straight line
- Avoid pushing with your hamstrings; focus on the glutes
- Don't let your knees collapse inward; keep them open
Muscles worked
The smith frog hip thrust mainly works the glutes, with the hamstrings, lower back, and quads assisting.
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- QuadsSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the smith frog hip thrust 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.