For glute growth
For glute growth, Romanian deadlift and Smith machine hip thrust score the same.
Romanian deadlift gives more stretch; Smith machine hip thrust is easier on the joints.
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
Romanian Deadlift. Loads the glutes and hamstrings at the bottom of the hinge, where both are stretched. Heavy sets tax the lower back.
Smith Machine Hip Thrust. A hip thrust on rails: stable and simple to load, with the glutes working mostly at the top.
For glute growth, Romanian deadlift and Smith machine hip thrust score the same. Romanian deadlift gives more stretch; Smith machine hip thrust is easier on the joints. 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.
Smith machine hip thrust is easier: it’s easy to learn, while Romanian deadlift takes some practice.
Romanian deadlift needs a barbell, so for most people it’s a gym exercise. Smith machine hip thrust needs a Smith machine and a bench, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
Smith machine hip thrust: it rates Excellent for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric, against Good for Romanian deadlift.