The muscles that make up the glutes are crucial for avoiding injury and maintaining good posture. But how can you make them stronger? Try these 3 exercises.
There’s a range of exercises that can help boost your glutes, and they reach far further than the classic squat. We’ve rounded up three of the best moves to add to your next lower body workout, which can be done with weights or even just your own bodyweight. Be warned though; you should expect serious glute burn the next day.
Bulgarian Split Squats
8 reps each side. 3 sets.
An often underrated move, Bulgarians should be a staple in your glute workouts. Plus, done properly, they can really help strengthen your core too and they’ll offer muscle building benefits for your quads, calves and hamstrings.
- Firstly, stand in front of a bench or step. The bench or step you choose should be knee height.
- Place your left foot on the bench, and hop your right leg forward so your left foot is off the edge of the bench.
- Keeping your gaze forward, and core tight, drop down into a lunge until your right knee is at a right angle and your left knee is just off the ground. You might want to wiggle into a better position at this point as it’s important to ensure your right knee doesn’t go past your right toes when in the lunge position.
- Pushing through your right front heel, drive yourself back to the start position. That’s one rep!
You can do this with a set of dumbbells, one held down either side of your body, or, you can stick to bodyweight. Technogym dumbbells are designed for strength and functional training and they allow you to do endless variations of standing and floor exercises, thanks to the hexagon shape and knurled grip.
Hip Thrusts
8-12 reps. 3 sets.
This exercise is also perfect for toning the glutes and lower body. It can be performed either free-body or using a stand, ideally at knee height, in this case adding a barbell or a resistance band placed just above the knees.
- To begin, sit with your upper back against your chosen stand, with the barbell positioned above your hips and your feet resting on the floor with your knees bent. It is best to use something soft to rest the barbell on your body when doing this exercise.
- Squeezing your abdominal muscles and pushing from your heels, lift your hips with the barbell in place. At this point your upper back will press against the top of the bench. Make sure you keep your shoulder blades on the bench and avoid sliding forward.
- Squeeze your glutes and push your hips as high as you can and as far as you can.
- Return to the starting position by lowering yourself slowly, avoiding sudden movements that could cause damage to your lower back.
Forward Lunges with Dumbbells
20 reps; 10 each leg. 3 sets.
Lunges are a great move to work the lower body, however, if you want to really target the glutes, then a wide stance lunge could be the secret!
- Holding a dumbbell in each hand, stand upright, arms down by your side. Take your left leg forward and slightly out to the left side.
- Drop down so your left knee is at a right angle and your back, right knee is hovering just above the ground.
- Pushing up through the left heel, come back up to standing, then go straight into the next lunge, this time taking your right leg forward and slightly out to the side, and again dropping down so the right knee is at a right angle and the back, left knee is governing just above the ground. Once you’ve completed the set number of reps, take a breather.
