Pivot Pad

Name: Pivot Pad
Brand: AbMat
Rating: 4.27 (10 reviews)

The Pivot Pad is a foam attachment, co-designed by Dr. Kelly Starrett of The Ready State and AbMat, that snaps onto a spare Olympic barbell to turn any squat rack into a variable-height hip thrust machine. Its patent-pending keyhole design clips over the barbell shaft and rotates with the user through the movement, replicating a dedicated hip-thrust bench’s motion in an 18” x 10” x 3” pad weighing less than 6 lbs. Beyond barbell, dumbbell, and banded hip thrusts, it doubles for single-arm presses, glute marches, Copenhagen planks, and rear-elevated push-ups, and stores flat or on a barbell when not in use – unlike a fixed hip-thrust bench that permanently occupies floor space. Construction is a soft foam exterior over a rigid molded foam core, made in the USA. The tradeoff is that it requires a spare barbell and an available squat rack to use at all, and the companion Hip Thrust Pad (for resting the pad against the hips) is sold as a separate accessory.

Origin	Made in USA
Weight	Less than 6 lbs
Material	Soft foam exterior, rigid molded foam core
Use case	Turns a spare barbell + squat rack into a variable-height hip thrust station
Dimensions	18" x 10" x 3"
Manufacturer	AbMat Custom Product Innovations
Compatibility	Olympic barbells (works best with a standard men's bar; can spin more freely on thinner women's bars)

What is a Miscellaneou?

What’s in Miscellaneous

This is the catch-all for the conditioning tools and accessories that don’t fit a single equipment class — weighted vests and plate carriers, medicine and slam balls, plyo boxes, ab mats, and the odds and ends that round out a garage gym. Items land here because their job (loaded carries, jumps, core work) cuts across the categories rather than sitting neatly inside one.

Who it’s for

Anyone filling in the gaps around the big pieces. If you already have a rack, bar, and plates, this is where you find the vest for rucking and weighted push-ups, the ball for slams and wall throws, or the box for step-ups and box jumps. Match the tool to the training you actually do — a plate carrier for conditioning and rucking, plyo boxes for explosive work — rather than buying the whole shelf.

How it compares

	Pivot Pad	ROM Pad	SYL Fitness Loading Pin for 2 inch Olympic Weight Plates	Rogue Deadlift Platform
GymRadar rating	4.27/5	4.27/5	4.27/5	4.27/5
Price		$40.00		$495.00
Origin	Made in USA			Made in USA (imported tiles)
Weight	Less than 6 lbs
Material	Soft foam exterior, rigid molded foam core		Alloy Steel
Use case	Turns a spare barbell + squat rack into a variable-height hip thrust station
Dimensions	18" x 10" x 3"
Manufacturer	AbMat Custom Product Innovations		SYL Fitness	Rogue Fitness
Compatibility	Olympic barbells (works best with a standard men's bar; can spin more freely on thinner women's bars)

4.3/5 · 10 GymRadar reviews

Reviews by source

Expert	4.27/5	10 reviews
Youtube	4.8/5	3 reviews
Reddit	3.8/5	16 reviews

A patent-pending foam pad that snaps onto a spare Olympic barbell, letting any squat rack double as a variable-height hip thrust machine. Its standout dimension is versatility: beyond barbell, dumbbell, and banded hip thrusts, reviewers and owners use it for single-arm presses, glute marches, Copenhagen planks, and rear-elevated push-ups, all while storing flat when not in use – a repeated selling point over a fixed hip-thrust bench. Independent editorial coverage is uniformly strong (Garage Gym Reviews 4.45/5, ShreddedDad 4.65/5) and all three YouTube reviewers found nothing to complain about. The weakest dimension is value: at $135 it needs a spare barbell and rack to use, the companion Hip Thrust Pad is sold separately for roughly $50 more, and several r/homegym commenters flag it as pricier than rival barbell-mounted pads for what is ultimately a foam-and-core attachment. Build quality is solid (soft foam exterior, rigid foam core, USA-made), though a few reviewers note the surface could grip better and one Reddit user raised an unverified concern about a knurled barbell wearing down rack J-cups over time.

+Versatility: works for barbell, dumbbell, and banded hip thrusts plus single-arm presses, glute marches, Copenhagen planks, and rear-elevated push-ups (Garage Gym Reviews, AbMat product page)
+Functionality: patent-pending keyhole design snaps directly onto an Olympic barbell and rotates with the user for a stable, secure hip-thrust motion (ShreddedDad, AbMat product page)
+Versatility: stores flat or on a barbell when not in use, unlike a dedicated hip-thrust bench that permanently occupies rack space (YouTube: Curls in the Rack)
+Build quality: soft foam exterior over a rigid molded foam core, USA-made, held up well across three independent editorial reviews (Garage Gym Reviews, ShreddedDad)
+Functionality: three independent YouTube reviewers found no meaningful complaints, with one calling it a 10/10 they use regularly (YouTube: Dylan K Johnson)

−Value: $135 list price, and needs a spare barbell plus a squat rack to use at all -- the companion Hip Thrust Pad is a separate ~$50 purchase (Garage Gym Reviews)
−Value: several r/homegym commenters consider it expensive relative to alternatives like the BC Strength Thruster Pad Bar for only marginally more money (r/homegym)
−Build quality: pad surface is fairly smooth, and a couple of reviewers wanted more texture/grip (Garage Gym Reviews, ShreddedDad)
−Durability: one Reddit user raised an unverified concern that a knurled barbell could wear down rack J-cup UHMW faster than normal use (r/homegym)
−Functionality: on thinner (e.g. women's) barbells the pad can spin more freely than on a standard men's bar, which fits more snugly (Garage Gym Reviews)