For glute growth
For glute growth, hip thrust machine and Romanian deadlift score the same.
Hip thrust machine is easier on the joints; Romanian deadlift gives more stretch.
Both are good choices, and they train the glutes differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed. (Fonseca et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2021)
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Hip Thrust Machine. Puts the glutes first with a stable setup and easy loading, though most tension comes at the top, where they’re short.
Romanian Deadlift. Loads the glutes and hamstrings at the bottom of the hinge, where both are stretched. Heavy sets tax the lower back.
For glute growth, hip thrust machine and Romanian deadlift score the same. Hip thrust machine is easier on the joints; Romanian deadlift gives more stretch. Both are good choices, and they train the glutes differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed.
Hip thrust machine is easier: it’s easy to learn, while Romanian deadlift takes some practice.
Hip thrust machine needs a machine, so for most people it’s a gym exercise. Romanian deadlift needs a barbell, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
Hip thrust machine: it rates Excellent for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric, against Good for Romanian deadlift.