It’s time to improve the shape and size of your glutes with this workout
Contrary to the common assumption, glute workouts aren’t just for women, a well developed lower half is crucial to your overall physique. If you have a muscular upper body and shredded quads accompanied by some prominent hamstrings, a flat butt can really make you look awkward. Muscle symmetry and balance are important if you’re aiming for aesthetics. Of course, you could always just skip legs, but that is not ideal at all.
When people talk about leg workouts, their primary focus is quads, hams, and calves. They completely overlook training their glutes. In this post, we’ll look at the five workouts that are proven to build shape and size for glutes.
Barbell Squats – 3 Sets 12 Reps
Barbell squats are an overall leg builder, and a favorite exercise of bodybuilders like Tom Platz, who had some of the best legs on the planet. The barbell squat is a classic compound exercise which can help in developing your glutes, hams, quads, and calves. Squats should be a staple in your leg workouts. This exercise has enough variations that you can try a new one every time you perform them.
To perform the barbell squat, step into the squat rack and adjust the safety bars to a nice height that you are comfortable with. You can squat low bar, where the barbell is lower down your back, or high bar, where the barbell rests on your traps. From there, find an adequate weight and lower yourself by bending your knees, then return to starting position.
For optimal results, you need to make sure you maintain a full range of motion while performing glute exercises. Going only parallel to the floor isn’t going to do anything for your butt. ‘Ass to the grass’ is the way forward, as it allows for a deeper stretch and more muscle fiber activation in the glutes.
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Donkey Kicks – 3 Sets 12 Reps
Donkey kicks are an isolation exercise for your rear end. All the tension is placed on your glutes during this exercise. There are two versions of this exercise which you can try. The first is the bodyweight version and the second is performing it on a leg extension machine.
You can start performing this exercise with body weight and as you get better you can switch to using weights on the leg extension machine. You need to have a strict form throughout the exercise otherwise you might recruit your hamstrings.
Barbell Hip Thrusts – 3 Sets 12 Reps
Glutes are the target muscle group for barbell hip thrusts, and these can help you really incorporate progressive overload on your glutes. Lie down across a flat bench with only your shoulders on the bench and place a barbell on your thighs. Your feet should be placed flat on the floor so that your calves are perpendicular to the floor.
Try touching the floor with your butt at the bottom of the movement. Thrust your crotch upwards and try forming a bridge with your body. Hold and squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement, keep tension on it. Return to the starting position and repeat.
GHD Hyperextension – 3 Sets 15 Reps
GHD (glute ham developer) is brought into the mainstream by CrossFit. This is an incredibly effective exercise if you want to develop the back of your legs. Keep your glutes tight throughout the exercise and flex them at the top of the movement.
If you don’t have an access to a GHD at your gym, you can use a flat bench for this exercise. Place your knees at the edge of the bench and ask someone to sit on your ankles. Hold onto some weights to make this exercise harder.
Hip Abductor Machine – 3 Sets 12 Reps
Reverse abductor press focuses on the outer sides of your rear. This exercise can also improve your hip mobility. Stand while facing the seat and place your feet on the foot rests and your knees against the knee pads.
Hold onto the seat to stabilize yourself and really improve your range of motion. You need to establish a mind-muscle connection to make the most of this exercise, really envision the muscles growing and working. Don’t just go through the motions while performing the abductor presses. Hold and squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement to keep the blood in there and get a good pump.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Barbell Squats | 3 | 12 |
| Donkey Kicks | 3 | 12 |
| Barbell Hip Thrusts | 3 | 12 |
| GHD Hyperextension | 3 | 15 |
| Hip Abductor Machine | 3 | 12 |
Importance of Training Glutes and Lower Body
Aside from looking good, developing your glutes is something that can help you with other lifts and your every day quality of life. Training glutes can actually help with basic body functions such as improving posture, but also can also improve core strength, which helps out in a lot of other lifts. For example, stronger glutes can help with a lockout on heavy compound lifts such as the deadlifts and squats.
When it comes to training your lower body, this is not something you want to skip, as your lower body is the literal base of your entire physique. A strong lower half helps you get through not only your lifts, but also every day tasks such as walking around, going upstairs, standing up and sitting down, and so on.
Training legs also generates larger amounts of growth hormone and testosterone in the body, which are necessary hormones for muscle building, so training your lower body essentially helps everything else grow. That being said, do not skip your leg days.
Glute Training Wrap Up
When it comes to getting bigger, more well developed glutes, many people do not take the time of day to even train them. Skipping out on your glutes only hurts your physique and your functional strength, so be sure to hit them just as often as you do your legs.
Which is your favorite glute exercise? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
