When it comes to training glutes, there is a misconception that only girls need to do so, and you probably know the reason why people think that (social media). However, there are other reasons for not training the glutes, such as the exercise movements might feel a bit awkward as most of the movements involve moving your hips, which many people feel shy about.
The glutes are a significant muscle group. When we sit, which muscle supports most of the load on our body? It is the glute muscles. Irrespective of gender, everyone should train their glutes for overall body development.
The glutes not only give a more aesthetic and complete look to the overall body but also benefit the body in many ways. Having a solid set of glutes can give you many advantages in sports, in the gym, and even in daily life.
Contents
The benefits of having a strong pair of glutes
Some of the of the core benefits of having solid glutes are:
· Helps in maintaining good posture
In recent times, most people have had lower back pain, and one of the leading causes of this is a sedentary lifestyle. Sitting for hours can weaken glute muscles.
People with weak glutes often have postural problems. They are not able to stabilize their bodies and either sit tilted or put more pressure on one side of the body, which can lead to long-term lower back pain.
By training your glutes, you can mitigate this problem almost entirely.
· Improves Performance
Strong glutes can benefit in different sports and also in performing exercises.
Glutes are considered a powerhouse that generates power, which helps us perform different exercises. Especially in compound movements, glutes play a significant role in stabilizing and generating power to complete the movement.
· Increases flexibility
A strong set of flexible glutes helps to increase the overall flexibility of the legs. When we twist or turn our glutes play a vital role in balancing out or maintaining the stability of the body.
Anatomy of the glutes
Usually, most people think that the glute is a round singular muscle, but actually, there are 3 major muscles in the glutes:
1. Glutes Maximus
The glute maximus is the most prominent and visible of the three glute muscles. It is the round, significant portion of the glutes that people know.
When you sit, you sit on this muscle. When you lift your body from the sitting position, walk, or run, the glutes and maximus get activated.
2. Glutes Medius
The central portion of the glutes medius sits under the glutes maximus. The visible portion of the glutes medius is situated on the side of our hips.
It is the stabilizer muscle that helps us maintain balance. When performing hip abduction, which is moving the leg away from the midline of the body, the glutes medius help us do that.
3. Glutes Minimus
It is the most minor glute muscle among the three. The glute muscles are layered one over the other.
The glutes medius is underneath the glutes maximus, and the glutes minimus is underneath the glutes medius.
The functions of the gluteus minimus and medius are similar. The minimus muscle provides additional support to glutes medius functions.
Top 5 butt-building exercises
Different types of isolation and compound exercises can help you develop your glutes. However, we chose the best ones, as proven by various research studies, so that you can save time on improving your glute area.
Glute Bridge/Hip Thrust
Glute bridge is one of the best exercises for developing a solid pair of hips. It isolates the glutes, so you can put more emphasis on developing it.
The only problem with this exercise is the setup if your gym does not have a specific machine for it. You can perform it with the use of a bench and barbell or even with the leg extension machine.
How to perform it:
- Set up a bench and keep some weights at the bottom so the bench does not slip.
- Keep your elbow on the bench and sit on the ground to set up the barbell. Put up the barbell beneath the waistline.
- Wrap a towel or squat padding on the bar so your legs do not get hurt.
- Push your body up and keep your back straight. It will be your starting position. Hold the bar firmly with both hands.
- From there, push the weight up using the power of your glutes. Squeeze your glutes in the top position.
- Slowly lower the weight. You do not need to go fully down; just go a little lower than the starting position.
Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
RDL is a tremendous hip-building exercise. It puts excellent stretch in your glutes and hamstrings.
The form of RDL is similar to a regular deadlift or stiff leg deadlift. It provides a great stretch on the glutes, which helps the glutes grow and also increases the glutes’ flexibility.
Performing it can be a bit tricky for new lifters, as maintaining the form is challenging. However, with some practice, you can easily perform this exercise with good form.
How to Perform:
- Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Grab a pair of dumbbells or a barbell with an overhand grip (Palm facing toward your body)
- Embrace the core.
- Bend your legs a bit and lean forward until you are parallel to the ground or until you feel you cannot go down without bending your back.
- Push your hips back while leaning forward
- Slowly raise your body by straightening your hips till you reach the standing position.
Bulgarian Split Squat
The Bulgarian split squat is a very versatile exercise that can also train the quads, hamstrings, and glutes.
By adjusting the position of the body, you can quickly shift more emphasis to the glutes. Keeping your body more upright and leaning a bit while going down will put more emphasis on the glutes.
How to Perform:
- Grab one moderate-weight dumbbell.
- Sit on the bench. Stretch one leg in front of you (keep the stretched leg at 90 degrees for more glute engagement) and place the other leg on the bench (your toes should only be on the bench).
- If you are doing the right leg first, grab the dumbbell with your left hand, and vice versa. You can grab dumbbells in both hands also.
- Keep your body upright to get more tension on the glutes.
- Slowly go down by leaning a bit forward while controlling the weight.
- Push the weight up and reach the starting position.
Squats
Squats are popularly known as the quad builder. Then why should you perform it to build strong glutes?
Though squats are mostly known for building quads, the quads are not the only muscle involved. The glutes also get engaged while performing the squat.
By taking a wider stance and keeping your knee in line with the body, you can shift more emphasis to the glutes. We recommend adding squats at the end of the glutes workout so that you pre-fatigue the glutes with the other exercises and do not need to lift heavy on squats to get growth stimuli.
How to Perform:
- At first, set the bar at your upper chest height.
- Choose a weight that is appropriate for you.
- Place the bar on your upper traps and unrack the bar.
- Take one or two steps backward.
- Arch your back and embrace the core.
- Take a wider stance with your feet (ideally, an outside shoulder width will be good for more glute engagement).
- Slowly go down at least 90 degrees. If you have more flexibility, then you go deeper.
- Your back should be straight throughout the movement. Do not round the back on the eccentric portion, as it can hurt your lower back.
- Push the weight up using your heel strength.
Cable Glute Kickback
This exercise helps to build the flexibility of the glutes as it trains them in the flexed position. As your glutes loosen up, you can move your legs more freely.
If you are new to glute exercises, you can perform bodyweight glute kickback, but to progress in this exercise, we recommend you use a cable machine. You will need an ankle cuff to perform this exercise, but it is worth the investment as it can be used in multiple exercises.
How to Perform:
- Set the cable machine to the lowest setting.
- Wear the ankle cuff and attach it to the cable ring. Use a moderately low weight for this exercise.
- Take a step back and lean a bit towards the cable.
- Grab the cable stand bar for more stabilization.
- Pull your leg back (it will look like you are kicking backward).
- Slowly bring the leg to the starting position.