The Study
Hip thrust and back squat training elicit similar gluteus muscle hypertrophy and transfer similarly to the deadlift
This study is like a fair race between two different workouts to see which one makes your butt bigger. They randomly picked people to do one or the other, measured their muscles with a fancy scan, and found out both workouts made their butts grow about the same. So we can say: 'These two exercises are equally good for your glutes.'
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Two groups trained with either squats or hip thrusts for 9 weeks — same number of sets — to see which made their glutes bigger.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 555 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — if you want bigger glutes, either exercise works equally well; if you want bigger thighs, squats are better; strength gains are specific to the movement you train.
- 2Glutes grew the same in both groups.
- 3Squats made thighs bigger.
- 4Each group got stronger at their own exercise.
- 5Deadlift and wall push strength improved equally in both.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Frontiers in Physiology
Year
2023
Authors
Daniel L. Plotkin, Merlina A. Rodas, Andrew D. Vigotsky, Mason C McIntosh, Emma Breeze, Rachel Ubrik, Cole Robitzsch, Anthony Agyin-Birikorang, Madison L. Mattingly, J. M. Michel, Nicholas J. Kontos, Sarah Lennon, A. Frugé, C. Wilburn, Wendi Weimar, Adil Bashir, Ronald J. Beyers, Menno Henselmans, Bret M. Contreras, Michael D Roberts, Kelly Johnson, Simon Walker
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Claims (6)
When the total amount of work and effort are the same, exercises that use multiple muscle groups do not cause more muscle growth in the target muscles than exercises that focus on one muscle group.
How much your butt muscles 'fire up' during your first hip thrust or squat doesn’t tell you how much they’ll grow over time — the feeling during the workout isn’t a reliable guide to results.
Doing hip thrusts or squats for 9 weeks with the same total work builds your butt muscles just as much, even though hip thrusts feel like they work your butt harder during the exercise.
Doing squats or hip thrusts helps you get stronger at deadlifts and pushing against a wall about the same amount — neither exercise gives you a big edge over the other for these other movements.
Squats build your thigh muscles (quads and inner thighs) more than hip thrusts do, because squats involve more knee and hip movement that engages those muscles more.
If you want to get stronger at squats, you need to squat; if you want to get stronger at hip thrusts, you need to do hip thrusts. Training one doesn’t make you much stronger at the other.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.