Should I Do Squats or Hip Thrusts?

Your glute muscles are the foundation for almost every activity, whether it’s leaping for a pickleball shot, hiking to a summit, or simply bending to tie your shoes. “Strong glutes are especially important if you play explosive sports or lift heavy weights,” strength coach and biomechanics researcher Bret Contreras, PhD, CSCS, has said. “They’ll help you sprint faster, jump higher, and twist more explosively — and they’ll also help prevent injury.”

Larger, well-defined butts are trendy in fitness circles and beyond. With this convergence of function and fashion, it’s no wonder many people seek advice on building a strong rear end — only to find that opinion is divided into two vocal camps: Team Squats and Team Hip Thrusts.

Squats are a full lower-body exercise targeting the glutes, adductors, and quads. Hip thrusts hit the glutes without putting as much load on the quads and adductors.

But there’s no reason to choose. Both movements have their place in a progressive strength-training plan.

Blenis says squats improve overall lower-body strength as well as mobility; hip thrusts target the glutes in a shortened position, so they’re important for sprinting and jumping.

Both can help manage recovery, he notes: Training a muscle in its fully lengthened position (e.g., squatting) tends to produce more soreness, while training a muscle in a shortened position (via hip thrusts) tends to result in less soreness.

“We want our muscles to be strong throughout their full range,” says Alec Blenis, CSCS, CES, PN2, a strength and endurance coach and ultraendurance hybrid athlete. “Squats and hip thrusts are complementary to one another.”

(For a glute workout designed by Contreras, visit “Build a Strong Butt.“ Progress your glute routine with the eight-week program at “The 8-Week Glute-and-Hamstring Workout.”)

As much as we try to pit activities or exercises against each other to find the ultimate fitness path, the real answer is that there isn’t one. To explore more exercises that are often pitted against each other, visit “Is There Really a “Best” Workout?,” from which this article was excerpted.