Curtsy Lunge With Knee Raise
Start standing with your feet as wide as your shoulders. Step your right foot back behind and slightly to the left of your left foot. Bend both knees as you lower down into a lunge in this curtsy position. Then press down through your left heel to bring your right leg back to center. Repeat 10 times and then switch to the other side.
Best Exercises To Get A Bigger Butt
The best exercises for your glutes all involve hip extension, the act of fully extending your leg so your hip flexors lengthen and open up. If you’re having trouble picturing this, stand up and pull your heel to your butt. The leg you’re stretching has achieved hip extension.
To reach full hip extension, it’s impossible not to squeeze your glutes. You’ll also notice that reaching hip extension requires recruiting your hamstrings, which, when muscular, contribute to the overall appearance of the toned backside people are after.
The five exercises below are some of the best for building and strengthening your glute muscles.
Dumbbell Compound Leg Exercises
Dumbbells are another functional piece of training equipment for leg exercises because you use one or two weights at a time. Also, you have more flexibility on holding the weight in front or at your sides.
8. Goblet Squat
The goblet squat is an exercise variation where you hold a dumbbell in front of your chest. Like front squats, this weight placement shifts your center of mass forward and makes the exercise more knee dominant.
Another way to target your quads with goblet squats is by elevating your heels. With this technique, your knees bend even more, and you will feel a deeper burn in the front of your thighs.
9. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
The dumbbell Romanian deadlift is just like the barbell version, except you hold a weight in each hand. One benefit of this variation is that you have more freedom with the range of motion since you can hold the weights off to the side.
Dumbbell RDLs also require a bit more balance and stabilization, which hits your hamstrings differently. Another way to blast those hams is by elevating your toes during the exercise.
10. Bulgarian Split Squat
The Bulgarian split squat is like a lunge where you elevate your back foot on a box or bench. With this stance, you effectively increase the range of motion so you can squat deeper than a regular lunge.
11. Dumbbell Lunges
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Wide Leg Open Toe Squat With Calf Raise
Stand with your feet as wide or wider than your shoulders and turn your toes out. Pull your abs in and bend your knees out to the sides as you lower down into a wide squat. Keep your back straight and your pelvis tucked under. At the bottom, come up onto your tip toes and balance for one second. Then press the heels back down into the ground and drive up to a standing position. Start with 3-5 repetitions total and build from there.
How To Do Hip Thrusts
- Begin in a bridge position with your head resting on the ball and your butt lifted. If you want, place weights on your thighs for added intensity.
- Lower your hips to the ground. Try not to let the ball roll around.
- Squeeze your glutes to lift back to your starting position.
- Repeat for 1 to 3 sets of 8 to 16 reps. Try lifting your toes for a more intense move.
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The 6 Best Glute Exercises For Strength Power And Size
Here are 6 of the best glute exercises that should be part of any glute training program if strength, power and size is your goal.
. . .Barbell Hip Thrusts
If you want maximum bang for your buck, then the Barbell Hip Thrust should be one of your go-to’s when looking for the best glute exercises.
Several studies have revealed a slightly higher level of Gluteus Maximus activation over other similar exercises such as the back squat and split squat.
Hip thrusts are a great way to target your glutes and increase your strength, speed and power. By encouraging optimal hip extension, incorporating hip thrusts into your lower body workout will also help to improve your squats and deadlifts everyones a winner.
TIP: Don’t forget to vary rep ranges, and incorporate a unilateral element to your glute training with single-leg hip thrusts.
. . .
Implement The Right Variety Of Glutes Exercises For Best Results
So, how do you fix this? How can you maximize your glutes development? Well, the first step is to realize that they’re designed to do more than just squat and deadlift. The truth is that by implementing the right variety of glutes exercises, you can experience much more overall growth and strength in the different regions and muscles that make up your glutes. Admittedly, the best exercises for the glutes will vary individually.
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Glute Workout 1 Athletic Development
The focus with this workout is strength and power development. Thus, we wont be speeding through each exercise. Instead, challenge yourself to lift heavier with fewer reps and excellent form. Take 1-3 minutes rest between sets and exercises so youre able to give 100% effort on each one.
Perform 2 sets before moving on to next exercise. Allow 1-3 minutes rest between sets.
- Kettlebell Swings 10 RM
- Quadruped Hip Extensions 10RM per leg
- Hip Thrust 6 RM
Gluteus Maximus Exercises At Home
If you train at home without weights or you simply prefer to just do bodyweight exercises, you can still train your gluteus maximus effectively. BUT, you will need the right approach.
Just because you are training with bodyweight exercises doesnt mean progressive overload gets thrown out of the window. You just have to focus on the methods that apply to bodyweight training, which includes adding more volume to your workouts, increasing time under tension, and decreasing rest time .
It should also be noted that just because your dont have free weights at home doesnt mean you can’t increase the load. Anything can be used to add resistance to your bodyweight. For example, you could fill a backpack up with books, you could hold onto 1 gallon jugs of water, you could grab a rock from your yard, etc. Its not as easy to gradually increase the weight this way, but if you had a scale, it can be done.
Anyway, the point is, just because you dont have conventional free weights doesnt mean you cant build a stellar butt.
As with training at the gym, you need to focus on the right exercises. The following exercises will be great do building your gluteus maximus. Remember to focus on full range of motion, creating maximum tension in your gluteus maximus, and performing sets with an adequate amount of time under tension .
Single Leg Glute Bridges
Reverse Plank
Sprints
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Corrective Exercises For Better Glute Strength Reduce Injuries
Weakness in the glutes is related to a number of potential injuries, whether your client is an athlete or not . These include ACL and other knee injuries, hamstring strains, ankle sprains, lower back injuries, and femoral acetabular impingement syndrome. The latter is a type of hip injury resulting from bone rubbing against bone. It can cause a lot of pain.
Butt Exercise: Unilateral Stiff
Degree of difficulty: 3 out of 5
- Overview: The key to making this exercise target the glutes instead of the hamstrings is the stretch.
- Getready: With your feet close together, hold a dumbbell in your right hand with an overhand grip and extend your arm. Keep your head up and a tight arch in the small of your back.
- Go: Bending your right knee slightly and keeping your left leg straight and locked, hinge at the hips to lower your torso toward the floor, using the weight as a counterbalance as your left leg comes up in a straight line behind you. With contracted abs, squeeze your right glute and hamstring as you pull your torso back to vertical. Repeat for reps before switching legs.
Kims tip: Girls tend to be more flexible than guys, so do these standing on a box for a greater range of motion.
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Recommendations For A Well
As with any type of training, variety is key. Thus, dont just take one of the above exercises and beat it to death. Mix things up.
Every muscle has numerous muscle fibers that are stimulated by different movement patterns. By using a variety of glute exercise you will ensure you hit all of them.
With that, here are 4 recommendations when choosing glute exercises for your workouts. On a regular basis, ensure you:
Mistake #: Not Working Every Muscle In The Butt
As you saw in the previous section, the various gluteal muscles are responsible for several different movement patterns, and you need to train all of those movement patterns to build a world-class butt.
The mistake many people make is only working the gluteus maximus. Actually, its worse than that they only train part of the gluteus maximus. As mentioned earlier, the bottom-most fibers of the gluteus maximus are used in hip adduction. Failure to train this movement pattern is the reason so many women have butts that mostly look good, but lack muscle tone on the bottom, where the butt meets the thighs.
The fix: better glute exercise selection
Plain and simple, you need to be doing the right exercises, and you need to be doing a variety of exercises to hit each muscle.
Exercises for the main part of the gluteus maximus: Glute-ham raises. The bottom portion of back and front squats. Hip thrusts. Glute kickbacks.
Exercises for the bottom of the gluteus maximus: Standing or seated hip adduction.
Exercises for the gluteus medius: Hip abduction, but only in a standing not a seated position. The cable unilateral hip abduction, for instance.
Exercises for the gluteus minimus: Same as the gluteus maximus and minimus.
Exercises for the piriformis: Standing or seated hip adduction.
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How To Do A Reverse Lunge
Repeat 12 times on each side for three to four sets
Move : Lateral Band Walk
The lateral band walk is a fundamental strength-training exercise â and for a good reason. This move is a safe way to build beginner-level glute strength, specifically in your gluteus medius.
Many people unwittingly neglect this muscle, but it’s crucial for keeping your hips and knees stable and pain-free.
To get the most out of this move, keep your knees bent during the entire exercise, Lampa says. That helps keep your muscle under tension and working their hardest.
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The 3 Absolute Best Exercises To Build Your Glutes
Dont lie you want a nice butt. Were not judging! . In your pursuit of a perky bum, youve probably spent countless hours performing squats and donkey kicks. While those exercises definitely have their place, they wont help you build your bottom as quickly or as effectively as these three glute-boosting exercises.
How To Do The Back Squat
Set a barbell in a power rack to shoulder height. Get under the barbell, set the bar across your upper traps, or set the bar across your shoulder blades if youre performing low-bar squats. Brace your core and lift the weight out of the rack. Take small steps back one foot at a time to get yourself into position. With your chest up, squat down until the bottoms of your thighs are parallel to the floor. Drive back up by pushing your feet through the floor.
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Q: Why Are Glutes So Important
The glute muscles are important because they keep us upright and our bodies moving forward. They provide stability for the hips and help us balance.
Its important to exercise the glutes because of the pivotal role they play in maintaining the bodys strength and posture.
Strong glutes can help prevent knee and back pain. They support lower back strength by assisting with the motions of the hip, pelvis, and trunk.
Lunge To Straight Leg
You shouldnt miss doing this exercise if you want a bigger butt! Lunge variations, such as the Lunge to Straight Leg, help you effectively tone your legs and glutes.
How to do a Lunge to Straight Leg:
Step into a lunge. Bend your knees until your back knee is a few inches off the floor. At the end of this movement, your front thigh should be parallel to the floor. Press back to the starting position. Your weight should be on the heel of the front foot.
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Workout : Cable Machine Only Glutes Only
A1) Glute-ham raise, 3 sets at 70% 1RM
A2) Cable pull-through, 3 sets at 80% 1RM
B1) Cable unilateral hip abduction, 3 sets at 70% 1RM
B2) Cable glute kickback, 3 sets at 65% 1RM
Notes: The glute-ham raise should be paused 23 reps short of failure, while the pull-through, abduction and kickback should be taken to within one rep of failure. The glute-ham raise can be done on the seat of a cable machine.
This workout is ideal for building the glutes without growing your thighs.
What Are The Glute Muscles And How Do You Work Them
Here’s a quick posterior primer: Your glutes include three distinct muscles: gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. The gluteus maximus is the largest and provides most of the shape of the buttocks, says Anjorin. It also keeps you upright when sitting and standing, and acts as the lower-body power generator allowing you to run, jump, squat and extend or rotate your leg outward and backwards.
Second in command is the gluteus medius, which sits between the gluteus maximus and gluteus minimus, and its main job is to stabilize the pelvis. It also promotes movement of the hip and upper leg including hip abduction, hip external rotation, and hip internal rotation, says Anjorin.
And, you guessed it, the gluteus minimus is the smallest and located right below the gluteus medius. This muscle helps to produce several movements of the hips and legs including hip extension, hip internal rotation, and hip abduction, adds Anjorin.
If youre looking to make major booty gains, variety is key, says Anjorin. Yes, squats will always be a superstar, but incorporating new moves will help you hit all three to tighten, tone, and strengthen *all* the angles.
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How To Do The Step Down
Start with one foot close to the edge of a step up box or bench ensuring the whole foot is in contact with the surface with the other foot hanging off. Drop the foot to the ground, controlling your body weight with the opposite leg. Tap the heel of the foot to the ground and drive through the step with the working leg to return back to the starting position.
How To Front Squat
- To start, set up a barbell on the uprights of a squat rack. Youll want this right around mid-chest.
- Grab the barbell with an overhand grip just beyond shoulder width.
- As you lift the barbell off of the rack, lift your elbows in front of your torso to form a 90-degree angle at your shoulders, with your upper arms perpendicular to your torso. This is called the front rack position, and the barbell should sit nicely in the groove of your deltoid muscles.
- Loosen your grip and allow the bar to roll from your palms to your fingers. If this is difficult, you want might want to read how to improve your wrist mobility. It may seem awkward at first, but youll get used to it.
- Step back from the rack as you would for a conventional back squat, with your feet shoulder-width apart, and toes pointed forward. Make sure your elbows are high.
- Your hips will descend back and down, until your upper thighs are parallel to the floor.
- Keep your torso as upright as possible, with your lumbar curve maintained.
- Keep your heels down and the weight balanced, with your knees in line with your toes.
- Push back up to the starting position
- Push your weight into your heels, and keep your back straight
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How To Do The Cable Glute Kickback
Place a strap attached to the cable around the ankle. Keep your back in a neutral position with your abs engaged. The body will be positioned off-center with the working leg in line with the cable attachment. Tilt your body forward and kick your leg out behind you while maintaining a very slight bend in the knee. Move your leg by squeezing the glute, not arching the lower back.
