5 Exercises to Strengthen Your Glutes
There are several strengthening exercises that are great if you want to strengthen your glutes. They’ll help to tone this area and help it to look better. So, it helps to lift the glutes and make them look like you’ve worked on them.
Motivate yourself to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle that allows you to practice exercises like the ones in the article daily. This won’t only contribute to your well-being but will also help you to look better.
Exercises to strengthen your glutes
If you’ve gone to the gym before, you might recognize a few of the exercises on our list. If you haven’t, don’t worry! We’ll be as detailed as possible so that you can follow the instructions at home and see the results. After that, you can even do them at the gym or before you go.
1. Squats
Squats are a classic workout and great for strengthening your glutes. If it’s the first time you’ve tried them, mind your posture. Squat as if you were sitting in a chair.
With squats, knee pain is a danger. If you have knee pain, it could mean that you’re passing over the tips of your toes. Or, it could also mean that you’re not keeping your pelvis back far enough.
When you get the hang of squatting, you can add weights to your workout. Some workouts may require a bar, but you can also use dumbbells if you have them.
As you squat, try to squat lower each time. It’s a good way to strengthen your glutes. You can also do sumo squats, where your legs are wider apart.
- Do 3 series of 10 squats.
- Rest for 2 minutes between each series.
2. Backward lunges
You already know how to do normal lunges by lightly touching the floor with your knees. However, if you want to strengthen your glutes, try backward lunges. Always keep your back straight.
There are two ways to do this exercise:
- The first is by alternating legs, lunging one leg back and then the other.
- However, the second option (the more popular one) is by completing all the repetitions with the first leg and then working on the other.
- You should do 3 series of 10 lunges with each leg.
- Rest for 1 or 2 minutes after each series.
We want to remind you again that as you get the hang of the exercise, you can add weights to your workout. You can use dumbbells or a bar for more toned glutes.
The picture above should give you a clearer idea of how you can do this kind of lunge.
3. Pelvic lifts
There are a lot of names for this exercise, but we’re just going to call it by its most simple name: “pelvic lifts.” Lay on the floor with your feet on the ground. Lift your pelvis upwards as high as you can.
You should never go on your tiptoes. Your feet should always be completely flat on the floor. You can also do this exercise by keeping your feet on an exercise ball, on the wall, or on a platform.
As you get more comfortable with the exercise, you can add weights to your workout. Put a bar or some weights on your stomach for a more intense workout.
- Do 3 or 4 series of 10 raises.
- Rest between 3 to 4 minutes between each series.
4. On all-fours
For these exercises, you’ll need to get on all-fours. This position will let you do two different exercises to strengthen your glutes. Let’s take a look at them:
1. Lateral abduction
- In the all-fours position, you’re going to work your glutes by lifting one of your legs to the side.
- The left has to be in the original position, bent. You should only be lifting it on one side (as shown in the picture above).
- Do 3 series of 10 reps with each leg.
2. Leg lifts
- The next exercise that you can do in this position involves lifting your leg upwards.
- Here, your leg should also be bent and you should tighten your glutes to raise your leg as much as possible.
- Do 3 series of 10 reps with each leg.
5. Deadlifts
This exercise might seem like it’s not doing much for you. However, you need to lift a heavy weight and lift correctly.
- To do deadlifts, keep your knees slightly bent so that your pelvis sticks out in the back a little.
- With the weight in your hands, lower your torso to the floor while looking straight forwards to keep your back straight. Start standing up straight.
- As you’re going up, push your pelvis forwards and straighten your legs.
- Remember to use your glutes to raise your body. Some people do deadlifts on a platform to start even lower for a more intense workout.
You may also be interested in: How Much Protein Should I Take if I Exercise?
Final note
Have you ever tried any of these strengthening exercises for your glutes? Do you think there’s one that works better than another?
Remember, if you don’t know how many reps to do, the magic number 10 or 12. This is especially true when it comes to exercises that use heavier weights. For the others, feel free to do more than 12 reps if you’d like. Between each series, however, you should rest for at least 30 seconds.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Distefano, L. J., Blackburn, J. T., Marshall, S. W., & Padua, D. A. (2009). Gluteal Muscle Activation During Common Therapeutic Exercises. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. http://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2009.2796
- Contreras, B., Vigotsky, A. D., Schoenfeld, B. J., Beardsley, C., & Cronin, J. (2015). A comparison of gluteus maximus, biceps femoris, and vastus lateralis electromyographic activity in the back squat and barbell hip thrust exercises. Journal of Applied Biomechanics. http://doi.org/10.1123/jab.2014-0301
- Hamstra-Wright, K. L., & Bliven, K. H. (2016). Effective Exercises for Targeting the Gluteus Medius. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation. http://doi.org/10.1123/jsr.21.3.296
