We all know squats, lunges and donkey kicks can do wonders for our butt. But there are many other effective and great glute building exercises!
First, let’s talk a bit of mechanics:
Our glutes (which are made of three major muscles) originate at our hip bone and insert underneath our hamstrings at the femur (aka the thigh bone!). This means our glutes are most active in exercises requiring movement from the hip like hip abduction, hip hyperextension and hip external rotation.
Now most commonly prescribed booty building exercises like squats and lunges actually do not require much movement from the hips. This means some of these exercises (in their traditional form) do not recruit the glutes all that much. Does this mean you should stop doing these exercises? NO! It just means if you are looking for stronger, bigger glutes you should incorporate some exercises that load the hips.
So what are some great glute building exercises? Here is a list of 6 you may be missing out on! (hint: most of them require movement from the hip!)
- Heavy lying hamstring curls on a machine: This exercise is the one that may surprise you most! You may be surprised to know that our glutes are VERY active in this exercise! Why? Because our glute originate from our pelvic bones and so do our hamstrings! And for hamstrings to work, they need assistance from the glutes, especially in heavy lying curls. If you do not use this exercise make sure to add this exercise to your workout.
- Single leg hip thrusters: We all know hip thrusters do wonders for the glutes, but have you ever tried a single leg version of this exercise? It is definitely more challenging! This exercise does a great job isolating each glute and can even be use as an activation exercise.
- Standing glute kickbacks: While donkey kicks and lying straight leg kicks get a lot of love, STANDING glute kick backs don’t! Doing this exercise standing opens up your hip range allowing for a bigger range of motion. Make sure to kick back and slightly to the side. Also ensure you flex your glutes at the end of the motion and slowly bring your leg back in
- Booty band lying hip abduction: The machine version of this exercise does an awesome job loading the glutes! The booty band version is equally kick-ass. It allows for a slightly different position of the resistance, making it a great alternative to machine abduction. This exercise is specially useful as a warm up before heavy lifts or as a finisher to an awesome leg workout! Best part you can do these in the ease of your home!
- Weighted Glute Bridges: This is a classic exercise that is often done without weights. A weighted glute (aka hip) bridge can add an additional challenge. Its a great exercise to build strength with as the glutes are fully loaded.
- High Pulley Cable Kicks: This is a signature exercise in my glute building program! I prefer these with a cable station but you can perform this exercise at home with ankle weights or with your body weight. Start with the cable station pulley about halfway, pick a light load, attach an ankle strap.
Add these 6 great glute building exercises to your workout and see how much stronger your glutes get. If you are looking for more awesome booty building tips make sure to check out my Glute Activation techniques and get on my newsletter!
