Iron Bull Strength Advanced Squat Pad - Barbell Pad for Squats, Lunges & Hip Thrusts - Neck & Shoulder Protective Pad Support

Product Information

We’re firm believers that the hip thrust deserves a place in your weekly gym routine, not only because it’s a compound exercise that allows you to lift a lot of weight, but also because it holds the key to unlocking a plethora of strength and performance benefits. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. This block is small enough to fit in your gym bag for chest days, and solid enough to support up to 800-pounds. When you approach the top of the movement, finish the lift by contracting your glutes hard and pushing your hips forward. It is an L-shaped device with a connected platform on the floor and a padded bar on which you rest your upper back.

At Men's Health, we take great pride in providing our readers with reliable and trustworthy product recommendations.After all, you don’t want to lean against your back support only for it to go sliding across the room. Squats work the entire lower body and core while hip thrusts primarily work the glutes with some action in the hamstrings. For safety, be careful to set up your weight bench properly, especially if you plan to lift a lot of weight.

After using, the shape of the pad should bounce right back, and it doesn’t absorb your sweat, so you don’t have to worry about it holding onto moisture or odor. Perform a hip thrust by squeezing the glutes and pressing the dumbbell straight up until the hips align with the shoulders and knees. Aside from pausing at the top of the movement, you want to ensure that you're fully extending your hips.The Lxuemlu Barbell Pad comes with removable velcro straps to reduce the chances of rotation or slipping during your workout.

REP Fitness has plenty of loyal fans for its home gym equipment, and this pad is equally at home in the garage or the weight room. I love how this pad offers enough cushioning that you never feel the barbell dig into your body, but not so much that you can’t feel the weight or placement of the barbell during your lifts, so it doesn’t impair my lifts in any way. Unfortunately, many lifters struggle to feel their glutes while hip thrusting and instead feel the load on the hamstrings or the quadriceps.She does not recommend them for barbell back squats, because it takes away the proprioception of the upper back muscles, meaning "it inhibits their ability to respond and adapt to the loading treatment,” she says. Outside of squats, lunges and step-ups, you need to think about how you’re challenging and developing your posterior chain. I don’t know if it’s the increased frequency of training or the hip thrusts but I actually gained leg mass, not just glute muscle, since using your template from SC.