Abstract
The study compared the effects of back squat (BS) and hip thrust (HT) exercises
on muscle strength and hypertrophy in well-trained women. Twenty-two
participants were divided in two groups: BS group (n=12,
26.4±1.32 years, 171.8±3.79 cm, and
69.5±4.9 kg) performed the BS exercise and HT group
(n=10, 27.5±1.42 years, 170.8±4.4 cm,
67.5±4.7 kg) performed the HT exercise. Training was performed
for 12 weeks. Before and after the training period, participants were assessed
for quadriceps femoris and gluteus maximus muscle thickness (MT) and 1
repetition maximum (1RM) test on the BS and HT. Both groups significantly
increased hip extensors MT and HT 1RM; however, the improvements in BS group
were higher than in HT group on quadriceps femoris (12.2% for BS and
2% for HT, P<0.001) and gluteus maximus MT (9.4% for BS
and 3.7% for HT, P=0.001) and BS 1 RM (35.9% for BS and
4.3% for HT, P<0.001). BS was more efficient than HT, since it
resulted in greater muscle hypertrophy of the quadriceps femoris and gluteus
maximus, increases in BS 1RM and similar increases in HT.
Key words
strength training - muscle hypertrophy - exercise selection - isolation exercise