Barbell Hip Thrusts - Bruising and pain across hips

Serena_Heart

Hello,

Over the past year, I've done strength training on and off. In the past 4 months, it has been regular (4 days per week, hour each session). One thing I've had trouble with, is barbell hip thrusts. I have a thick foam barbell pad, but this has not alleviated the pain. In fact, my skin feels pulled at and damaged just as much with the pad as without.

My primary goal is not to "grow my glutes", but rather to improve my main lifts and keep progressing. I've heard pretty much nothing but good things about hip thrusts, and I'm wondering if any of you utilize alternative thrust exercises (single-leg hip thrusts without added weight) to reap the benefits of the exercise.

Alternately, perhaps one or two of you have advice to avoid bruising with hip thrusts! I would really like to find a way to add the barbell variation to my routine.

Thanks!

Teabythesea_

I have a section of pool noodle with a slit down the side that I use as I have found it to be more dense than the barbell cushions. Bret Contreras sells a pad that a lot of people swear by but I haven't used it personally. I recommend going to his website or following him on social media if you want to see variations. There are several which use barbells, resistance bands, machines, etc. Theres B-stance, single leg, foot and/or shoulder elevated, and more. Additionally you can do glute bridges with lighter weight but still effective in strengthening your posterior chain.

tcunbeliever

I'm not doing them with my current routine, but in the past when I did them I used a fairly thick throw pillow as padding.

quiksylver296

I do them with the barbell pad with no issues. You have the pad centered right on your hipbones?

RMaxwell90

I've had access to a few pads of various thicknesses, frankly BB hip thrusts are uncomfortable regardless of cushion when the weight gets heavy enough. Generally you can deal with the discomfort or find a different movement to get the same training effect. There's nothing magical about the BB hip thrust but it's a good movement.

Anecdote warning, my experience is that I get more out of other movements than I ever did doing hip thrusts, but I'm working on my glutes to help improve my squat/DL.

Any weighted or resisted hip hinge will hit the glutes pretty hard. Unilateral (single leg) work does wonders for me and for most people I train with. Single leg hip thrusts can also be weighted with a KB or DB placed on the hip doing the work, and the load will be significantly less than doing it with a barbell.

Banded pull throughs, single leg stiff leg DLs, RDLs, or high box squats for time are usually my go-to exercises. If you have access to a belt squat machine then belt squat marches for time are the right kind of awful.

Hope that helps!

flowerhorsey

I push a very really hip thrust load and no discomfort.. Although I worked up to the weight.. I use a couple of the gyms work out bb cushions, double padding the bar. One of the pads is stretched out quite a bit so it works well with a slimmer pad underneath it. Hope that makes sense.

Fflpnari

I use a 33lb pound bar instead of the 45lb, its skinners and digs in less. I wrap a yoga mat round the bar. I like the pool noodle idea. I feel like that would work well

Theoldguy1

Fflpnari wrote: »

I use a 33lb pound bar instead of the 45lb, its skinners and digs in less. I wrap a yoga mat round the bar. I like the pool noodle idea. I feel like that would work well

That seems counter-intuitive since typically when weight is spread over a larger contact area the pressure on the area is reduced.

Whatever works for you though.

Chieflrg

Serena_Heart wrote: »

Hello,

Over the past year, I've done strength training on and off. In the past 4 months, it has been regular (4 days per week, hour each session). One thing I've had trouble with, is barbell hip thrusts. I have a thick foam barbell pad, but this has not alleviated the pain. In fact, my skin feels pulled at and damaged just as much with the pad as without.

My primary goal is not to "grow my glutes", but rather to improve my main lifts and keep progressing. I've heard pretty much nothing but good things about hip thrusts, and I'm wondering if any of you utilize alternative thrust exercises (single-leg hip thrusts without added weight) to reap the benefits of the exercise.

Alternately, perhaps one or two of you have advice to avoid bruising with hip thrusts! I would really like to find a way to add the barbell variation to my routine.

Thanks!

The most efficient way to improve your main lifts is either do more of your main lifts or find a varient that is very similar to the main lift as a second option.

Hip thrusts or bridges are not very useful if we are talking building a bigger squat or deadlift. They have a very limited range of motion that doesn't transfer very well.

What main lifts are you referring to?

claireychn074

Do you brace your abs and glutes before you lift (as you would with a squat or deadlift)? Bracing your abs pushes out against the bar, and for me personally it stops the bar hurting my hip bones. I don’t get bruises if I brace, but I don’t know if that will feel any better on your skin?

RMaxwell90

The most efficient way to improve your main lifts is either do more of your main lifts or find a varient that is very similar to the main lift as a second option.

Hip thrusts or bridges are not very useful if we are talking building a bigger squat or deadlift. They have a very limited range of motion that doesn't transfer very well.

What main lifts are you referring to?

I respectfully disagree, some people (those with weak hips relative to their back for example) would benefit from targeted glute work, or someone newer to deadlifting who doesn't yet properly finish a lift with their hips. Not necessarily barbell hip thrusts but accessory work targeted at weak points.

Continuing my example above, say someone with a strong back and relatively weak hips continues to only deadlift to increase their deadlift. Their back will continue to do the brunt of the work since their hips can't keep up. Eventually, they will stall and probably have some soul crushing lower back soreness almost all the time.

Beyond the novice stage, where most improvement is from learning the movement pattern and improving muscular coordination, almost everyone utilizes at least some accessory work targeted at their weak points.

Edit: attempted to fix quote

Chieflrg

RMaxwell90 wrote: »

The most efficient way to improve your main lifts is either do more of your main lifts or find a varient that is very similar to the main lift as a second option.

Hip thrusts or bridges are not very useful if we are talking building a bigger squat or deadlift. They have a very limited range of motion that doesn't transfer very well.

What main lifts are you referring to?

I respectfully disagree, some people (those with weak hips relative to their back for example) would benefit from targeted glute work, or someone newer to deadlifting who doesn't yet properly finish a lift with their hips. Not necessarily barbell hip thrusts but accessory work targeted at weak points.

Continuing my example above, say someone with a strong back and relatively weak hips continues to only deadlift to increase their deadlift. Their back will continue to do the brunt of the work since their hips can't keep up. Eventually, they will stall and probably have some soul crushing lower back soreness almost all the time.

Beyond the novice stage, where most improvement is from learning the movement pattern and improving muscular coordination, almost everyone utilizes at least some accessory work targeted at their weak points.

Edit: attempted to fix quote

The bridges and thrusts are two entire different movements and levers for that matter compared to a deadlift where you stand vertical.

Of course accessory work can and does help post novice lifters and is useful. My point is the closer the varient actually mimics the lift you are trying to improve, the more it will transfer over to the lift you are trying to improve.

Can thrusts help your squat? Yes. Is it the most useful and efficient? No. I will program 10 other movements that will help a squat before a thrust. It's about the ROI on what works the best for most people and adjust from there.

Example a thrust and bridge are very simular and would help each other more than either would help a pistol squat.

I also would add if someone isn't finishing there deadlift they need to just finish their deadlift with proper cues or if it is a strength issue then they should take some weight off the bar and practice proper load management.

I also disgree on stalling unless the program is inefficient to their needs. Stalling happens usually because lack of volume or they just take longer to recover because we are not robots and linear on progression after novice training. Accessory work isn't neccessary for novices that are actually running novice programs since a novice will gain strength every session and recover enough to lift heavier the next session.

RMaxwell90

I think we're mostly agreeing but coming at it from different angles. I took your previous post to mean that only the main lifts or near variations are worthwhile. I extrapolated your point too far, and thus many of my points were within that context.

Can thrusts help your squat? Yes. Is it the most useful and efficient? No. I will program 10 other movements that will help a squat before a thrust. It's about the ROI on what works the best for most people and adjust from there.

I would argue that hip thrusts wouldn't necessarily have the most carry over, but stronger glutes would. I agree however that there are probably better ways to go about this, I mentioned a few in an earlier post in this thread.

At time is can be beneficial to have the movements dissimilar if you're trying to re teach a movement pattern. Example: if someone doesn't utilize their glutes to stabilize their knees in a squat, they likely would do the same thing in a front squat or a pistol squat. So starting with something like a step up, and focusing on knee stability would probably be beneficial.

I also would add if someone isn't finishing there deadlift they need to just finish their deadlift with proper cues or if it is a strength issue then they should take some weight off the bar and practice proper load management.

I think this depends on the person. Not everyone exits the novice stages with good technique, and some people learn by doing. You can tell someone to finish their deadlift with their hips all day but it doesn't do any good if they can't translate that into movement. For some people they need to see it, others need to feel the right way to do it.

I see where you're coming from in regards to stalling but I think I've derailed this thread enough for one day haha.

Chieflrg

RMaxwell90 wrote: »

I think we're mostly agreeing but coming at it from different angles. I took your previous post to mean that only the main lifts or near variations are worthwhile. I extrapolated your point too far, and thus many of my points were within that context.

Can thrusts help your squat? Yes. Is it the most useful and efficient? No. I will program 10 other movements that will help a squat before a thrust. It's about the ROI on what works the best for most people and adjust from there.

I would argue that hip thrusts wouldn't necessarily have the most carry over, but stronger glutes would. I agree however that there are probably better ways to go about this, I mentioned a few in an earlier post in this thread.

At time is can be beneficial to have the movements dissimilar if you're trying to re teach a movement pattern. Example: if someone doesn't utilize their glutes to stabilize their knees in a squat, they likely would do the same thing in a front squat or a pistol squat. So starting with something like a step up, and focusing on knee stability would probably be beneficial.

I also would add if someone isn't finishing there deadlift they need to just finish their deadlift with proper cues or if it is a strength issue then they should take some weight off the bar and practice proper load management.

I think this depends on the person. Not everyone exits the novice stages with good technique, and some people learn by doing. You can tell someone to finish their deadlift with their hips all day but it doesn't do any good if they can't translate that into movement. For some people they need to see it, others need to feel the right way to do it.

I see where you're coming from in regards to stalling but I think I've derailed this thread enough for one day haha.

Thrusts are not worth the ROI on which the OP is asking if we are talking squats or deads(something that is unclear and I asked). Thrusts have there place, but it surely isn't on the end of the spectrum of making a squat or deadlift better. As I mentioned plain and simple, there are better options for to help these lifts.

A movement closer to the lift allows you not only to practice the skill of the lift, it strengthens the muscles involved at the load with specificity to the lift. One that wants to improve their bench with arm accessories efficiently typically will do either more bench at a useful intensity, dips, dumbbell work on incline bench because its more specific to the movement, not do chin ups because it works biceps.

Anything anybody practices, they will better themselves to a point where they might need coaching or better cues to understand how to progress. A thrust will not help somebody finish a deadlift better than a rack pull, pull from blocks, RDL, etc.. so why even consider them at or near the top of the list for the examples I given from the start?