B Stance Hip Thrust: The Untapped Glute Builder

July 29, 2024

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Are you looking to build size and strength in your glutes but are tired of performing endless squats and feel like you should probably add another exercise to your arsenal?

If this sounds like you, then it might be worth considering adding the B Stance Hip Thrust to your exercise regime.

You may have experience with the traditional hip thrust, but this advanced B Stance movement will provide a unique stimulus the glutes haven’t seen before.

Not only is this exercise a proven glute builder, but it also offers several other benefits.

In the following article, we will look at this exercise in more detail to see how effective it is, how to perform it safely, plus some other glute-focused exercises for you to consider.

Table of Contents

What is the B stance hip thrust

B stance hip thrust muscles worked

How to perform the B stance hip thrust

B stance hip thrust benefits

B stance hip thrust drawbacks

B stance hip thrust alternatives

 

What is the B Stance Hip Thrust

The b stance hip thrust is a variation of the traditional hip thrust. It differs as instead of planting both feet on the ground while using your glutes and hamstrings to power the weight upwards; you will use a single foot instead. The second foot will be on the floor, but instead of putting load through it, it will be used just for balance.

While both exercises work your glutes and hamstrings, the fact that the load will only go through one leg means more emphasis will be placed on the glutes, and more of the glutes will be activated to provide stability throughout the movement.

 

B Stance Hip Thrust Muscles Worked

As the b stance hip thrust is a compound movement, you will work multiple muscles, including the glutes, hamstrings, core, and calves.

These are all muscles found in your posterior chain. A group of muscles that plays a critical role during your normal daily activities and especially during lower body exercises.

Research has found that strengthening your posterior chain will benefit you in many ways (1), including injury prevention.

Staying injury free means we can progress with our training, and thus progress with building muscle and losing fat – I mean improving body composition is one of the reasons we’re working out, right?

Let's look at how the b stance hip thrust will work each muscle:

 

Glutes

The gluteus maximus is the largest and most powerful muscle in your body. It is basically your butt, and while many will choose to grow their glutes for aesthetic purposes, there are plenty of other reasons why strong glutes are a good idea.

Strong glutes will help keep your pelvis aligned properly and will help support your lower back and prevent knee injuries when lifting. Again, this is key for injury prevention.

 

Hamstrings

The hamstrings are a group of three muscles found at the back of your thighs. They are needed for flexing the knee and, alongside the glutes, help with hip extension (Increasing the angle between the thigh and pelvis).

Strong hamstrings will help increase your overall leg strength, plus help relieve lower back pain while helping to increase flexibility.

 

Abductors

These are a group of muscles found on the outside of your hips and thighs. These muscles are essential as they move your legs out and away from your body.

You need strong abductors to help keep your hips and knees stable and to prevent injury during movement (2).

One of the primary abductor muscles is the gluteus Medius. This is one of the 3 glute muscles and is located at the top sides of the bum. Building up the medius will drastically improve the appearance of the upper glutes and can help create the sought after ‘Shelf’ look.

 

Adductors

These muscles are found on the inside of your thighs and perform the opposite function to the abductor's – they bring the leg back in towards the midline of the body.

 

Core

Your core is a group of muscles found in your abdomen.

A week core can lead to poor posture, lower back pain, and muscle injuries. Exercises such as the b stance hip thrust will help strengthen your core and eliminate these issues. (3)

 

How to Perform the B Stance Hip Thrust

How to:

• Load a barbell with the desired weight and place it to the side of a weights bench.
• Sit on the ground so that your shoulder blades rest against the side of the bench.
• Keeping your legs flat on the ground, roll the barbell over your legs up to the pelvis.
• Holding the bar in position with both hands, bring both of your feet about a foot closer to your bum so that your knee is in a flexed position.
• You’ll be working one leg at a time. With the chosen leg, bring the foot roughly another foot closer to your bum so that the knee is placed further into flexion. The other foot will remain where it is and will be used for balance.
• We’re now in the starting position and ready to start the movement.
• Pushing through the heel that is closest to the bum, drive the hips towards the ceiling. Keep your hands on the bar and use the trailing leg for balance.
• Once the thighs come in line with the back, you have reached the top position. Slowly lower the weight back down to the starting position.
• Complete the desired number of reps, rest, and swap legs.

 

B Stance Hip Thrust Benefits

There are various benefits to be gained from performing the b stance hip thrust. These include:

 

Excellent Posterior Chain Exercise

Strengthening your posterior chain will be a good idea if you participate in any sporting activity, including weightlifting.

Most sports disciplines involve a lot of running, jumping, kicking or throwing, and this exercise will help strengthen the muscles needed to perform to the best of your ability.

 

Lower Back Friendly

Certain exercises, such as deadlifts and squats, can put unwanted strain on your lower back.

The b stance hip thrust is a safer alternative that works your glutes and hamstrings with a lower risk of injury.

 

Increased Balance

When you compare a b stance hip thrust to a single leg hip thrust, you will see how the balance will affect how much you can lift.

Using a single leg will affect your balance, limiting how much weight you can lift. The staggered stance will allow you to add more weight to your lifts, ensuring you see more significant muscle and strength gains.

 

Unilateral Training

If you have any muscular imbalances, you are at a greater risk of injury.

An exercise such as the b stance hip thrust can help fix these imbalances, as you can train one side of your body at a time.

This will help identify these muscle imbalances and help you focus on the weaker side to iron out these problems.

 

Ability to Use Lighter Weights

If you work out at home, you may not have access to a large selection of weights. This can limit how much you can lift at any one time.

As you are essentially only lifting with a single leg, this won't be as much of an issue as you will have to work harder to lift those lighter weights – making it the perfect home glute exercise.

Related: Home hip thrust guide

 

Use Any Equipment

There is no limit to what equipment you can use to perform this exercise.

Whether you have a barbell, dumbbells, or bands at hand, you can get a good workout. You can even use a Smith Machine if you have access to a gym.

 

B Stance Hip Thrust Drawbacks

The main issue with this exercise is that you will be less stable while performing it than with a traditional hip thrust.

This is because the load will be going through just one leg, rather than them both.

Using a single leg can lead to the weight shifting into an uncomfortable position, leading to a destabilization of your knees, hips, and core. This issue could lead to injury.

This is an advanced exercise. If you’re new to hip thrusts, we would suggest starting with the traditional version, or a variation of some kind so that you can learn the movement and build up some baseline strength.

Once this strength has been established, you can then transition to the b stance hip thrust. That way we can reduce the chances of any unwanted injuries.

If you’re looking to take advantage of the B stance hip thrust benefits, it may be worth considering starting with the traditional hip thrust, or a variation of some kind; and once you’ve built up some baseline strength – then you can transition.

 

B Stance Hip Thrust Alternatives

If we’re not a fan of the b stance deadlift, or we simply want to give a different exercise a go, try these.

While many exercises target the glutes, the alternatives that we have selected all stem from the same movement – shifting the hips forward (or upwards), just like the movement pattern in the B stance hip thrust.

 

Regular Hip Thrust

The regular hip thrust is an excellent glute-building exercise.

You will have more stability from having two feet on the ground, reducing the risk of injury, and you will be able to lift a much higher weight.

With strength and size closely correlated. If we can get stronger in the glute region, then we’re likely going to grow bigger in this region too.

We have many options available to us here. We can either perform the traditional hip thrust with a barbell, opt for the dumbbell version, utilise bands, or we can use a dedicated hip thrust machine (If our gym has one!).

Either way, the movement is the same so pick the one available to you.

 

Cable Pull-Through

The cable pull-through is a lower back-friendly alternative that will give your glutes and hamstrings an intense workout due to the constant tension involved while using a cable.

If you think about the movement pattern, it’s very similar to the hip thrust but instead of being led on the floor – we’re stood up.

Plus the use of a cable allows us to benefit from constant tension throughout the entire exercise.

And as mechanical tension is a primary driver of muscle growth, constant tension can only mean good things.

 

Deadlifts

The deadlift should be one of your go-to exercises if you want to work your glutes.

This powerhouse exercise requires input from most muscles in your body whilst putting the emphasis on the posterior chain muscles.

A great deal of hip extension is required throughout the exercise to stand tall, and that’s the responsibility of the glutes.

Looking to take the deadlift a step further? Upgrade to the Romanian Deadlift variation to push the glutes to their limits.

 

B Stance Romanian Deadlift

Building on the point mentioned above, there’s another variation of the deadlift that is arguably more difficult than the Romanian deadlift.

The B stance Romanian Deadlift. Similar to the B Stance Hip thrust, this version involves putting the load through one leg and using the other leg for balance.

Again, you get to benefit from all the positive elements of training unilaterally whilst building strength and size in the lower glutes.

 

Kettlebell Swing

Consider the kettlebell swing if you want to build explosive power, strength, and muscle in your glutes.

Glute exercises such as the b stance hip thrust are often performed slowly, making them ineffective for building explosive power. The kettlebell swing is performed quickly, so power will increase.

 

Conclusion: Is the B Stance Hip Thrust an Effective Glute Builder?

The B Stance Hip Thrust is an effective glute builder that offers a range of benefits; however, if performed incorrectly, you could cause injury.

We therefore recommend building some strength by performing an alternative hip thrust variation before attempting the B Stance.

Once we’ve mastered the easier hip thrust variations, we will be able to utilise the B Stance Hip Thrust to propel the glutes to new growth.

Remember, building the glutes doesn’t happen overnight, it requires months of regular training and an appropriate muscle building diet before we can expect to see noticeable changes – but it’s worth it! 

If you're looking for a pair of gym leggings that show off the hard work you've been putting into your glute training - look no further than the Contour Scrunch Gym leggings. Not only do they enhance the rear, but they're super affordable. Once you try them, there's no going back! 

 

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