How to build strong and well-rounded glutes (2 free workouts included)
Many women come to me wanting to build perfect glutes. And it's a great starting point. While this is a specific goal, it's also at the center of a long-term fitness journey to a stronger, more sculpted physique.
Glutes involve powerful muscles that play a crucial role in overall fitness, from supporting posture to enhancing athletic performance. In this guide, I want to share with you the secrets to unlocking the full potential of your glutes, including anatomy, function, and two of my go-to booty workouts to grow beautiful, well-rounded glutes.
Understanding the anatomy of glute muscles
Before we jump into training tips, let's look at your glutes' anatomy. The gluteal muscles, comprising the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus, form a powerhouse pivotal to various movements, from sprinting and jumping to maintaining an upright posture. These muscles attach to the ilium and sacrum, inserting into the femur. Understanding their roles in hip actions is fundamental to cultivating a robust lower body. Primarily responsible for extension, hip abduction, and external and internal rotation, the insertion of the glutes on the femur also contributes to knee extension.
The hamstrings complement the glutes in lower body dynamics and consist of the semitendinosus, semimembranosus, long-head biceps femoris, and short-head biceps femoris. They originate on the ischium and attach to the tibia and fibula. Operating in hip extension and knee flexion, the hamstrings play a crucial role in balancing the actions of the glutes, collectively ensuring a comprehensive range of movement and stability in the lower body.
The benefits of strong glutes
Your glutes aren't just there to look good or sit on; your hamstrings do much more than bending your knees. Understanding the significance of these muscles plays a pivotal role in overall health and performance.
Since the glutes and hamstrings are positioned at your body's core, they are involved in almost all lower-body movements, such as walking, jumping, and lifting. Therefore, cultivating strong glutes not only contributes to a shapelier and more aesthetically pleasing physique but also brings many benefits, ranging from improved athletic performance to decreased risk of injury and enhanced stability. Since the legs constitute the body's largest muscle group, investing time and effort in developing the hamstrings and glutes presents a prime opportunity for clients to build muscle and burn fat effectively.
Research underscores the importance of a strength-based hamstring workout in reducing the risk of injury to this muscle group, which is particularly crucial for athletes heavily reliant on their legs. According to recent medical publications, football and soccer players, in particular, face a heightened risk of hamstring injuries. Additional studies have established a link between poor glute function and low back pain, emphasizing the essential role of these muscles in maintaining spinal stability. Poor glute function increases the load on the spine and diminishes spinal stability, contributing to lower back pain.
The benefits extend beyond injury prevention to performance enhancement. Strengthening the glutes and hamstrings equips athletes with greater power, enabling them to maneuver their bodies effectively and withstand collisions with opponents. Therefore, a holistic approach to training that prioritizes these muscle groups is not just about aesthetics but serves as a foundation for overall well-being and athletic prowess.
Creating an effective glute workout routine
We covered that the key to an effective glute workout routine is understanding the strong collaboration between the glutes and hamstrings. Combining compound movements and isolation exercises is necessary to target these muscle groups effectively.
But what are isolation and compound exercises exactly? Distinguishing between isolation and compound exercises lies in the number of muscles engaged simultaneously. Compound exercises involve multiple muscles and fibers, providing a more comprehensive workout, while isolation exercises zero in on specific muscle groups.
Isolation exercises are crucial in building muscle mass in specific areas, offering a targeted approach for clients with injuries like hamstring strains. These exercises allow clients to continue their workouts while avoiding the affected areas.
On the other hand, the advantage of compound exercises lies in their simultaneous engagement of both the glutes and hamstrings, leading to a more time-efficient workout. Rather than separating glute and hamstring training, you can opt for a combined workout, harnessing the synergistic benefits of working both muscle groups simultaneously.
The best compound exercises to work strong glutes
Are you ready to work on your glutes? Then let's take a look at my favorite compound moves to create a strong and firm booty:
Barbell or dumbbell hip thrusts
Barbell or dumbbell hip thrusts are excellent glute-building exercises encouraging hip extension and effectively overload the gluteal muscles. The key is to perform this exercise with heavy weights, as it recruits more type II muscle fibers, leading to enhanced muscle growth and strength gains.
Sumo deadlift
Sumo deadlifts stand out as a preferred exercise for targeting the glutes. The pronounced bending at the hips and knees during a sumo deadlift promotes extensive hip extension. In contrast to the conventional deadlift, which primarily engages the lower back and hamstrings through a hip hinge movement, sumo deadlifts demand more hip and leg drive.
Bulgarian split squat
When executed correctly, the Bulgarian split squat can effectively overload the glutes. Position yourself in a stationary lunge with the back foot elevated on a bench, holding dumbbells at the sides. Emphasize keeping the front knee over the ankle and lowering the back knee toward the ground while maintaining an upright position. Drive through the front foot's heel to return to the starting position. Keeping the top of the back foot on the bench is crucial, avoiding pushing the toes into it to prevent quadriceps stimulation. Perform the exercise with both the right and left foot lifted to maintain muscle balance.
These compound exercises are tailored to build strength and muscle in the glutes, incorporating various muscle groups in the lower body for a comprehensive workout. Place your compound moves at the beginning of your workout since they activate multiple muscles simultaneously and, therefore, demand more energy and coordination.
The best compound moves to build strong hamstrings.
Let's move on to my favorite compound exercises focused on developing strength and muscle in the hamstrings:
Barbell or dumbbell straight leg deadlift
This exercise positions the body in a conventional or straight leg deadlift, intensifying hamstring contraction. You effectively engage the hamstrings if you focus on a minimal knee bend and a deep hip hinge. Using a barbell or dumbbells (you can use one, holding it with both hands, or one in each hand) allows for heavier loads, demanding coordinated effort from the lower back and hamstrings to lift the weight.
Kettlebell swing
The kettlebell swing involves the glutes and hamstrings, emphasizing the hip hinge movement. While glute contraction occurs at the top of the swing when the hips extend forward, the primary demand for hamstring recruitment occurs during the hip hinge phase. Proper execution and cues are essential for maximizing the benefits of this exercise.
Single-leg hip thrust
The single-leg hip thrust is another effective exercise for targeting the glutes and hamstrings, focusing on one side at a time. Begin by sitting on the ground with your back against a bench or elevated surface. Ensure your upper back is supported by the bench and your feet are flat on the floor. Place your hands on the bench for stability, with your fingers pointing toward your feet.
Lift one foot off the ground, extending it straight out in front of you. Press through the heel of the foot that's on the ground to drive your hips upward. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement to engage the muscles fully. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your extended knee. Hold the bridge position for a moment, focusing on contracting your glutes and maintaining stability. Lower your hips back down towards the ground with control. Then switch to the other leg. You can also add a dumbbell for extra resistance.
These compound exercises provide a targeted approach to developing hamstring strength, emphasizing the hip hinge movement pattern. Proper form and execution are crucial for optimal results and to ensure the hamstrings are effectively targeted throughout each movement.
Effective isolation exercises to work well-rounded glutes
Now it's time to take a look at my favorite isolation moves to create a perfectly shaped booty:
Banded clamshell
Lay in a side elbow plank position on the ground, knees bent at a 45-degree angle, and a mini band positioned above both legs. With one leg atop the other, lift the upper leg against the resistance of the band. The simultaneous rise of the knee and ankle promotes external hip rotation, isolating the glutes. This not only aids in muscle activation and stability but also contributes to compound leg exercises. Perform this movement on both sides to maintain balance and symmetry.
Monster walks
In a standing position, secure a mini band around both legs at the ankles. Slightly bend at the knees and hips and proceed to walk diagonally. Moving forward with lateral steps triggers glute activation through hip abduction and external rotation against the resistant band.
Banded hip thrusts
Lie flat on the back with a resistance band around the thighs to initiate the banded hip thrust. Elevate the pelvis off the ground, driving through the heels for hip extension. Maintain lifted hips and squeeze the glutes at the pinnacle of the range of motion. The resistance band encourages hip external rotation by prompting the "pushing the knees out" action against the band, intensifying glute activation.
These exercises are tailored to activate the glutes and are particularly beneficial if you are dealing with muscular imbalances or difficulty feeling the glutes contract during exercise. Since these moves are isolation exercises, they are designed to target the glutes while minimizing involvement from other muscles.
Effective isolation exercises to develop strong hamstrings
Let's move on to some effective isolation exercises for your hamstrings:
Good mornings
Initiate the good morning exercise with a barbell in a back-rack position or two dumbbells placed against the front of your shoulders. Your foot stance should be slightly wider than shoulder-width, with toes pointed slightly outward. Ensure engagement of the upper back and maintenance of a good arch in the lower back. When bending forward at the hips, push your buttocks back, emphasizing a slight bend at the knees. The movement continues until the torso is just above parallel, gradually returning to the starting position, engaging the glutes and hamstrings throughout.
Single-leg Romanian deadlift
Like the good morning, this exercise incorporates the hip hinge movement for hamstring activation and stability. Start by standing tall with both feet on the ground. Raise the right leg, balancing on the left, and initiate the hip hinge by shooting the hips back. The right leg remains straight as you lower the barbell or dumbbells below the knee, maintaining pelvic stability. Once your upper body is parallel to the ground, instruct them to return to the starting position, driving through the heel and extending the hips forward.
Stability ball curl
You can also isolate hamstring muscles with the stability ball curl, emphasizing knee flexion. Lie flat on their back, calves rested on the stability ball. Lift the hips off the ground and pull the ball in with their feet, flexing the knee and contracting the hamstrings. Slowly return the ball to the starting position by extending the legs, all while keeping the hips raised toward the ceiling.
These isolation exercises activate the hamstrings, focusing on the crucial hip hinge movement pattern. The hip hinge is paramount for optimal hamstring muscle recruitment, emphasizing bending at the hips with a neutral spine to stimulate the muscles in the posterior chain.
My two favorite go-to glute workout routines
Below are two of my favorite glute workout routines to help you build your dream booty.
Let's get to work and grow some glutes!
Both of these routines incorporate various compound and isolation exercises to target the glutes from different angles, emphasizing strength and endurance. Adjust the weights and repetitions based on your fitness level and goals, and track your weights to monitor your progress. You need to push yourself and create a progressive overload to grow your glutes and see results, so try to go slightly heavier each week if possible.
Remember to always warm up before starting the workout and cool down afterward.