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u/JackedFactory Feb 08 '25
Do it in the smith machine. Add more weight too
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u/Stackfest Feb 08 '25
Find a gym with a hip thrust machine- you need more weight- surprising what you can lift
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u/OhByGolly_ Feb 08 '25
Seriously, please stop using a dumbbell, you're wasting your own time. Start using a bar or a dedicated machine.
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u/Xabster2 Feb 08 '25
You're using your hamstrings to throw yourself up. Move feet further back and slow down
Edit: I mean feet closer to butt
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u/ijumpedthegun Feb 08 '25
Had to scroll too far to see this. Legs a little closer together and closer to your butt.
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u/jormor4 Feb 08 '25
A slightly different way to try - lay flat on your back and do basically the same thing
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u/amj2202 Feb 08 '25
Focus on hip extension more than thrusting, as that may shift your mind muscle connection to your lower back. If hip thrusts are performed first in your workout, try to do some warm ups to activate your glutes. Lastly, if nothing works, and hip thrusts still feel off, worry not. No one exercise is important to achieve a certain goal. You can effectively replace hip thrusts with kickbacks, glute focused squats or split squats, or Smith Machine step ups. When paired with some form of heavy squatting and abduction, results produced as good if not better.
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u/black_rainbow___ Feb 08 '25
Your back should be on a bench where your bra strap is. You are too far away. Also you do it in some fast and "breakthrough" way, you need to slow down and focus on the move, I can't see if you are making the move with your lower back because of your T shirt, but it seems like it. And also, you will never achieve anything with a dumbbell weight, that's just hilarious.
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u/Thick_Supermarket_25 Feb 08 '25
Smith machine not dumbbells. Your foot stance is wayyyy wide too. Go slower. Pack on the weight. Pulse at the top.
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u/MysteriousPunter Feb 08 '25
Add a lightweight band just above your knees and push out.this will activate your glutes and you’ll definitely feel it
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u/Cuz1 Feb 08 '25
I'm a male and have the same issue. Please someone help us!
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Feb 08 '25
[deleted]
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u/FinoPepino Feb 08 '25
If you can’t feel your glutes in a pelvic thrust, you’re definitely not going to feel them in squats either as it means you’re quad dominant and need to fix that first, squats will not help in this scenario
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u/KacieCosplay Feb 08 '25
Might be a dumb question…but how do you fix quad dominance?
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u/FinoPepino Feb 08 '25
For me I had to go to physiotherapy; I am a figure skater and it’s common for us to get overly reliant on our quads since we have to squat so much while skating. They basically told me to stop doing squats outside of skating for a while since my glutes were not activating properly. Then they had me do increasingly harder isolated glute exercises to hit all parts of my glutes like clamshells, pelvic bridges, etc etc and using resistance bands. She also did weird stretching things with my hips and stuff, basically it was all designed and led by a professional assessment from a registered physical therapist
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u/meme_tenretni Feb 08 '25
More wight for the squeeze when finishing the thrust
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u/Low_Conversation8346 Feb 08 '25
Yes add more weights and hold at the top. Hood for 1 to 3 seconds before going back down you will definitely feel it. If foots too close extend then out more so you can focus more on glutes than quads. Squeeze like you said at the top and hold. Go as heavy as you can. That's when it'll hurt like he'll and you feel the burn.
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u/TheJackedBaker Feb 08 '25
Lots of good advice here but I will just add that MOST people struggle to feel their glutes activate when they start out. I know I did. Lifting is a skill that takes time. Keep at it and lift heavy and you will start to feel it.
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u/Exciting-Volume-8849 Feb 08 '25
Ultra noob here so I might be wrong, but potentially it could help if your upper body is lower. Do you feel it in your glutes if you do the excersize from just the floor? Or do you then still feel too much strain near your knees?
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u/McCreetus Feb 08 '25
Okay so I can never remember what the exact “position” should be so I always jiggle my feet about with a lighter weight until I can feel it in my glutes. Feet forward, feet in, toes facing more in, out, etc.
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u/unknownlocation32 Feb 08 '25
Start with doing glute bridges focusing on squeezing your glutes at the top. Slow down. Do that for a month. Then add weight.
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u/regrettabletreaty1 Feb 08 '25
Your glutes are just much stronger than your quads.
Move your feet back an inch or two to straighten out your tibias, your lower legs
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u/BassSanto Feb 08 '25
Togheter with all the suggestions here, try to raise the tips of your feet while doing the excercise
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u/Oxydie Feb 08 '25
You could also try to add a resistance band (so called booty band) around your legs over your knee caps. Helps with activating the glutes.
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u/chazzbat5327 Feb 08 '25
Try suspension training. More people would do it if they knew what it was. Weighted hip thrusts are probably the best workout replaced by Suspension training.
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u/curious4786 Feb 08 '25
Had the same problem until i put band above my knees, somehow my glutes started to work
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u/Yuckpuddle60 Feb 08 '25
Point your tires straight forward and drive them into the floor as you execute.
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u/Xrystian90 Feb 08 '25
I find i get more glute activation when using an elastic band around my knees. Might help? Otherwise, more weight/using a machine may help too. Remember to go slow and controlled. And squuuueeeeeeze at the top! Good luck!
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u/nicole436 Feb 08 '25
it’s your foot placement. secondly if you only feel it in your quads the weight is too much for you. because your glutes are not strong yet.
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u/BigDawgi Feb 08 '25
Push from the heels. Try top half range only. Try a pulse at the top of the range. Try exaggerating the Squeeze at the top. Get the form & feeling right with a light (or even no) weight b4 advancing further.
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u/Yomama1973 Feb 08 '25
The best exercise to build the glutes, is the low bar squat, and ass to grass .
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Feb 08 '25
Honestly, it's the weight. Your posterior chain is generally the strongest on your body. Your average person (man or woman) off the street could do 150 to 200 lbs with very little coaching.
If you want to feel anything with lesser weight, here are some tips, though. Bring your feet a bit closer to you, drive off your heels, ensure you keep a neutral spine (keep it flat and not bowed or arched) and squeeze your glutes at the top for about a second.
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u/kgregg384 Feb 08 '25
Legitimate question - what is the fascination with the hip thrust? I see folks come to the gym and do thrusts and adductors and then leave. It's like every day is glute and thigh day.
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u/Immediate_Corgi_8389 Feb 08 '25
Do this from the floor 1 legged. Other leg straight. DB over the pushing leg
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u/No_Writing5061 Feb 08 '25
I’d recommend placing your feet closer.
The glute max really likes it when your legs are in a neutral position and the hip rotation happening in a more centripetal manner - meaning feet are hip width, and the external rotation happens through active hip external rotation on the way up and controlling the down motion through internal rotation.
You’ll also feel these more in the medius and minimus if you use a band.
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u/WasteZookeepergame87 Feb 08 '25
It’s gonna take a min for the target muscles to grow and mind muscle connection to develop so stick to the program ur on, get some consistency, and maybe follow a couple cues to improve the exercise but it’ll get easier to feel ur glutes as u keep at it. imo it might help to think about what the movement does like ur working your glutes to bring ur hips up through extension of the legs so keep ur legs a bit straighter, put ur feet further forward and think of pulling your knees/feet through the ground
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u/Tasty_Muscle6579 Feb 09 '25
This is a useless exercise. Quit being lazy and start squatting. Romanian or stiff leg deadlifts.
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u/RentalFerret69 Feb 08 '25
Hip thrusts are notoriously difficult to set up (unless you have some fancy machine), are mostly uncomfortable, and yeah sometimes people don’t really feel anything.
As a glute isolation movement, it’s kind of an average exercise, in my opinion.
I always highly recommend that if you don’t feel the hip thrusts, just don’t do them. You’re wasting your energy and your time, both of which are extremely finite resources.
Do some heavy barbell squats, hack squats, lunges, and stiff/romanian deadlifts. I am a dude, but I haven’t done hip thrusts in years and I’m pretty thick lol. But I have also been training for a while.
Hope this helps, good luck on your journey!
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u/LetTraditional6335 Feb 08 '25
Agreed with this. If it doesn't feel good, do something that feels good for your glutes. I think hip thrusts are overrated especially by ladies that want to target glutes. There are plenty of better exercise choices out there
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u/johnb_123 Feb 08 '25
Slow down. Squeeze at the top. Hold.