Month: February 2025

Coach Nat here, and excited to talk to you today about one of my favorite exercises – the Hip Thrust! If you’ve been at SSP for any significant length of time, I’m certain you’ve done some kind of hip thrust . We love all kinds of hip thrust variations: bodyweight, single leg, sandbag, barbell, etc. for training glute strength and hip extension! Having good hip and glute strength not only can help make you stronger overall but it can make running and hiking feel easier, ease lower back or knee pain, and help improve your overall quality of life – and the hip thrust is one of the best ways to strengthen your glutes and shows higher levels of glute max  activation than other exercises like back squats or deadlifts (Contreras et al. 2015). 

One of the reasons we love the hip thrust is that it is accessible, safe, and relatively easy to perform. However, there are some common mistakes that we see that can be easily corrected to get the most out of your hip thrust!

Mistake #1: Improper position on the bench

Often I see people set up with only the very top of their back, like their traps and shoulders, on the edge of the bench. This makes it hard to pivot around the bench and get that hip hinge that we want in our hip thrust. It also feels less stable! We can fix this by scooting up the bench a little bit and putting more of our back on the bench. We really want the corner of the bench underneath the shoulder blades – about a third of the way down your back. 

Mistake #2: Pushing through toes instead of heels

Usually this is also a result of an improper set up. If the feet get set up too close to the bench, it forces people to push up into their toes, lifting their heels off the ground. For best glute activation we want knees at about 90 degrees and to push through the heels to lift into that bridge.

If you can nail these two things you’re sure to have a great hip thrust and improve your glute strength! Want a video explanation of the most common hip thrust mistakes, check out our Instagram here!

Keep crushing it, team!
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Contreras, B., Vigotsky, A. D., Schoenfeld, B. J., Beardsley, C., & Cronin, J. (2015). A Comparison of Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, and Vastus Lateralis Electromyographic Activity in the Back Squat and Barbell Hip Thrust Exercises. Journal of applied biomechanics, 31(6), 452–458. https://doi.org/10.1123/jab.2014-0301

It’s Coach Chris. I’ll keep this one short & sweet. I just wanted to share one of my favorite member quotes from Jen: 

“SSP is the first gym I’ve been to where I have felt truly safe and welcome. I come as I am and I don’t feel like I’m wearing the wrong thing or I’m too old or too big to be here. I have made faster and more impressive gains in strength and confidence here than anywhere else. The coaches really know, I mean KNOW, their stuff and are always able to provide accommodations and are quick with encouragement. I am so thrilled to have found this small but mighty gym.”

I love reading this because it hits at the heart of our mission which is that we believe strength training is for everybody. From day one, we’ve always aimed to create a space where every member feels welcome, supported, and empowered to be themselves while becoming stronger and feeling better. 

I’ve read the news every day these past couple weeks, and I’ll be honest that I’ve found it very challenging. Seeing more and more exclusionary policies enacted—whether against transgender people or diversity equity and inclusion programs or immigrants—is something that’s affected me personally every day and I’m sure has had some effect on you as well. 

I’m not here to write a political email to you, but one thing I am here to state with confidence and certainty is that I aim (and will always aim) to create an environment of acceptance and safety at SSP. No matter who you are, how you identify, or where you are on your fitness journey, you belong here. Strength is for all of us.

Myself and the entire team are always here to meet you where you’re at so that you feel supported and part of a great community—not only when you’re in our spaces but also feeling stronger and more capable when you leave. 

We recently put up an Instagram post celebrating those who joined us one year ago in January 2024 and have been consistent in their training with SSP! 

It’s always incredible to reflect back on the journeys of all our members who celebrate their anniversaries because we remember so clearly their first few sessions. Seeing them now is like witnessing a completely different person – not only the amount of weight they’re able to lift but how much better they feel and the confidence with which they move around the gym (not to mention the friends and community they’ve made since being here!). 

Because we’re pretty geeky around here, we decided to look at a few data points and were just astounded by their progress. We’ll keep these case studies anonymous (using fake names) since it’s a little weird talking about specific weights for our members, but just know these are real people who have gained so much this past year. 

Let’s call the first person Jenny. Jenny came in that first month and was bench pressing a 15# dumbbell and deadlifting a 24kg (53#) kettlebell for 8-10 reps. At 6 months, she was up to 30# dumbbells and 125# barbell deadlift. At 1 year, she’s now bench pressing 95# on the bar with a deadlift of 175# for reps! 

Then there’s Sammy. She came to us having severe back pain and mobility restrictions. We made the decision to start with a limited range of motion on many exercises so we could build strength in the patterns while slowly increasing her ability to lift more weight with a greater range. Having started with a 14kg kettlebell deadlift on an elevated platform, she has now doubled her deadlift with the KB starting from the ground (using significantly more range without pain). She’s also increased her dumbbell row from 15# to 27.5# for 8-10 reps! 

Lastly, there’s Kate. Here’s the thing with Kate. She came in having never strength trained before in her life with the pure goal to increase muscle mass and strength. At only 6 months, Kate went from deadlifting a 16kg (35#) kettlebell to 115# on the barbell! She now squats a 40# dumbbell for 8-10 reps, and bench presses 27.5# dumbbells when she started at 7.5# back when she first came in! 

Seeing this progress is honestly incredible. It keeps me going and it shows me how much impact you can have by following a smart and progressive strength training program consistently for a year. 

Ready to see what you can accomplish in a year? 

Best,
Coach Chris