6 hours Ago
If you want to run or , tone your backside or increase , exercises that target the the glutes are a must. The glutes are the largest muscles in the body, essential for everyday movements and vital to the balance and stability of the body. But in order to effectively strengthen and tone your butt, it's important to know what exactly the glute muscles are (there's three!) and how to best target the area.
When you think of the butt do you think of one big, round muscle? The glutes are actually made up of three different muscles, the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. These muscles play a crucial role in the movement of the hip and thigh are vital for the stabilization of the pelvis during walking and running. Strong glute muscles are important for several reasons.
Strengthening the glute muscles can lead to better physical performance, reduced risk of injury and improved quality of life. The glutes contribute to overall lower-body strength and power. This is especially important for athletes and individuals who engage in physical activities that require explosive movements.
Strong glutes also help to by maintaining proper alignment of the pelvis and lower back. This can reduce the risk of low-back pain and other musculoskeletal issues, as they support the lower back and knees, reducing the strain on these areas during physical activity. Strong glutes also and stability, which are crucial for daily activities and preventing falls, particularly in older adults.
The glute muscles are easy to target at home with no equipment. I’ve put together a list of the best butt exercises to build your backside by strengthening the glutes from every angle. Pick your favorites from the list and string them together for a killer butt workout! Start standing with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Take a long stride forward, pushing your front knee forward and back knee toward the ground. Lower into a 90-degree angle with both knees. Press down through the front foot’s heel and press up.
Then take another stride forward with the opposite side and repeat the same motion. Repeat for 5 steps with each foot. Standing with your feet as wide as your shoulders, step your right foot back behind and 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. Perform 10 reps and then switch sides.
Stand with your feet wider than the hips with your toes facing slightly outward. Bring your palms together at your chest with your elbows bent. Squeeze your abs and look forward as you push your hips backward and bend your knees.
Remember to keep your back straight as you continue to lower your butt until your hips are below your knees. Position your elbows so that they are inside your knees before pushing down through the heels to stand back up. The will help you activate your glutes before starting your work out.
Begin lying on the floor with your back on the ground and your arms at your sides. Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the ground. Using your glutes, lift your back and butt off the floor and into the air.
Make sure you’re fully engaging your glutes and not relying on any other muscles, like your legs, instead. If you allow your other muscles to take over, you’re not fully . Think about squeezing your butt to lift your body.
Start on your knees, and then extend your right leg straight out to the side. Lower your left hand down to the ground to the left of your body. Pull your abs in and relax your shoulders.
Then lift the right leg up as high as your hip, and lower it back down. Repeat for 10 reps, and then switch sides. Lying down on your stomach, open your arms and legs as wide as the mat or as wide as your shoulders.
Pull your abs in, and then lift your right arm and left leg off of the ground, squeezing your left glute. Then switch and lift the left arm and right leg off of the ground, releasing your right arm and left leg. Continue moving back and forth quickly for 30 seconds.
Lying on your right side, prop your head up with your right hand. Extend your legs out on a slight diagonal in front of you. Then lift your left leg up a few feet toward the ceiling, working the left outer glute.
Lower it back down. Repeat 10 times, then switch to the right side. Begin the same as you would with a standard glute bridge: on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor in front of you.
With this variation, start by keeping your left heel on the ground and raising your right leg straight up in the air. Squeeze the left glute and , keeping your core activated as you lift your hips. Keeping your right leg raised, slowly lower your hips back to the floor.
Repeat and then switch sides. Place a chair behind you and stand in front of it with feet hips-width apart. Push the hips backward to begin squatting slowly until your butt taps the chair.
Stand back up and repeat. The seated squat still successfully targets the muscles in your lower body while the chair serves as a safety for those who aren’t fully comfortable squatting or are still . For this exercise, you may want to , but you can also perform it with just your bodyweight! Begin standing in a half-squat position with the band around your ankles.
Take a step toward your right, then follow with your left foot. Take two steps in one direction and then two steps in the other, squeezing your glutes with each step. If you don’t have a resistance band, that’s not a problem.
With awareness, you can make sure that you’re truly squeezing your glutes with each step. This is another good exercise to help or run. This exercise fires up your glutes and then specifically targets the gluteus medius.
It also works your balance in the standing leg as you do the side leg lift. Start standing with your feet as wide as your hips. Bend your knees and reach your glutes back as if you’re sitting into a chair, then as you stand up press down through the left foot as you lift the right leg out to the right as high as the hip.
Feel the outside of the right as you lift. Then lower it back down into the standing position, repeat the squat, and perform a left side leg lift. Repeat 20 squats total; 10 side leg lifts on each side.
The clam targets your gluteus medius specifically, making it the perfect move to . The clam will also help with hip stabilization and range of motion. Lie down on your left side with your head resting on your arm or propped up on your forearm.
Bend both of your knees, stacking them on top of each other and pull them up closer to your torso. Keep the bottom leg resting on the floor while lifting the other into the air, opening your hips. Keep your feet glued together the entire time.
This should activate your right glute. After ten repetitions, flip over to lie on your right side and repeat the same process. Again, make sure you are not involving other muscles that may make this process easier.
Squeeze your glutes — and even around your thighs for extra glute activation! This exercise involves a similar type of movement as the clamshell, which means it also directly targets the gluteus medius. Start on all fours with your hands and knees on the ground. Keeping your right knee bent, lift your right leg out toward the side of your body until your leg is parallel with the floor.
Repeat this motion ten times before switching to your other leg. The donkey kick engages your glutes in a backward motion of the legs. It’s important to make sure you’re not relying on your quads for help during this exercise as it’ll hinder glute activation.
Begin on all fours. Keep your knee bent at a 90-degree angle and lift your right leg backward until your your thigh is aligned with your back, keeping your foot flexed. Think of stamping the ceiling with the bottom of your foot.
Lower your leg back down and back up in a continuous motion. Repeat ten times, then switch legs and repeat. Perform the donkey kick, reaching the right leg up toward the ceiling.
Then once you come back to center, immediately open the right knee to the side into the fire hydrant. Repeat this 10 times before switching sides. Start standing with feet hips-width apart.
Step your right foot out to the right. Bend the right knee and reach the right glute back into a side . Keep the left leg straight.
Press down through the right heel to come back to center. Perform 10 repetitions and then repeat on the left side. Start standing with feet hips-width apart.
Move the right leg out to the right, pointing the right toe and resting it on the ground. Then engage the glute and hip to lift the right leg up almost as high as the hip. Lower it down and repeat for 10 repetitions before switching sides.
Start standing straight. As you step to the right, cross the left foot behind the right to tap the ground behind the right foot. At the same time, swing your arms like an ice skater.
Then, step to the left and bring the right foot behind the left to tap the ground as you swing your arms. For an added challenge, turn the step side to side into a jump. Standing with your feet as wide as your hips, step your right foot back into a reverse .
Lower the right knee down toward the floor and bend the left knee over the left ankle. Press down through the left heel to step the right leg back to center. Repeat 10 times and then switch sides.
Start standing with the feet as wide as the hips. Then point the right leg back behind you. Lift the right leg straight up toward the ceiling, squeezing the glute, and then lower it down.
Repeat 10 times and then switch sides. 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. 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.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed forward. (As you move through the exercise, be mindful that your knees never go forward past your toes.) Keep your chest up and make sure not to tilt your head down.
Pull your navel in toward your spine to . Bend the knees while keeping your heels and toes on the floor, slowly sitting back into a squat position with your chest up, your shoulders back and abs in. Lower down until your knees are bent at as close to a 90-degree angle as possible.
Then straighten your legs by pressing into your heels to stand back up. Squeeze your glutes at the top, tilting your pelvis forward. Repeat.
Stand with your feet as wide as your hips. Put your weight into your left leg and begin to hinge at your waist, keeping your left knee soft. Place your hands on your hips for balance.
Continue to hinge forward and lift your right leg up and back until your body forms a straight line from head to toe. Ensure that your hips stay square to the ground. Pause, and then return to the starting position.
Repeat 10 times and then switch sides. Stand with your feet as wide as your hips. Bend your knees and reach your butt back.
Sink down low toward the ground in this narrow squat position and look down to ensure your knees aren’t further forward than your toes. From here. Step your right foot back into a reverse lunge, then bring it back to .
Repeat this 10 times with the right leg, then take a break. Come back into chair pose and repeat 10 times with the left leg. This strengthens the core, , glutes and low back.
Lie face down on the floor. Place your hands on top of each other with your elbows out to the sides and rest your forehead on your hands. Open your legs as wide as the hips and bend the knees, bringing the heels together with the toes apart.
Pull the naval away from the ground to engage your core. Then, activate your hamstrings and glutes as you press the bottoms of the feet up toward the ceiling and lift your quads off of the ground. Release the legs back down and repeat 10 times.
Start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Keep your neck aligned with your back while looking at the floor. Engage your core and extend your left leg out and back behind you.
Lift your leg toward the sky and create a rainbow shape with your left foot arching up and over until your foot touches the floor on the right side of your right leg. Lift your leg up and back toward the left and touch your foot to the floor. That counts as 1 rep.
Repeat. Stephanie Mansour is a contributing health and fitness writer for TODAY. She is a certified personal trainer, yoga and Pilates instructor and for women.
She hosts “Step It Up with Steph” on PBS. Join her complimentary health and weight-loss and follow her for daily inspiration on and in her ..
