There are so many names for the gluteus maximus because it is such a wonderful muscle. As the powerhouse of the body, it’s no wonder that athletes worldwide focus a lot of attention on training their glutes.
Here you’ll learn moves to tone, strengthen and activate the body’s largest muscle. As an added benefit, these moves will also help you fill out those jeans in all the right places.
Squats
The squat is a key movement in developing your derriere. And for variation you can do this move with or without weight by either adding a barbell across your back or holding dumbbells in your hands.
HOW TO DO IT:
- Start with your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart and slightly turned out.
- Take a big breath in to brace the core, then send your butt back as you bend at the hips and knees.
- Keep your chest elevated.
- Stop when your thighs are parallel to the floor, or you can squat below parallel if your mobility allows.
- As you drive up through your heels, you should think of screwing your feet out and into the ground. This cue will fire your glutes so you can get the most strength out of your movement.
Front Squats
This move should be performed with dumbbells in your hand or a barbell across the front of your chest.
HOW TO DO IT:
- Start with your feet a little more than hip-width apart.
- With your core tight and your weight focused on your heels, slowly lower yourself with your glutes driving back and down.
- Depending on your mobility, you can go to or below parallel.
- Screwing your feet into the ground and squeezing your glutes, drive your knees slightly out and your elbows up as you stand up.
Lunges
Lunges are a wonderful move for the glutes because there are so many variations.
HOW TO DO IT:
- To start, stand with both feet underneath your shoulders.
- Step forward with one leg and bend both knees so that your back knee touches the floor and your front shin is completely perpendicular to the floor.
- Your front knee should be directly over your ankle and never track over your foot.
- You can alternate doing lunges in place, walk forward while doing lunges, walk backwards while doing lunges or do side lunges.
Banded Side Lunges
Building off the basic lunge, add resistance bands around your upper thighs to amp up the difficulty.
HOW TO DO IT:
- Wrap a band around your knees with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Squat down a quarter of the way and send your butt back so that you feel your glutes engage.
- Then step to the side while staying in a semi-squat position.
- Repeat this movement on the other side and feel the burn!
Banded Front & Back Walks
Another wonderful banded movement that builds strength in your hips and glutes, you can place one band around the knees with your feet shoulder-width apart.
HOW TO DO IT:
- Squat down into an athletic stance.
- Then, with control, step forward while keeping your feet facing forward, imagining that your feet have to stay parallel like train tracks.
- Walk forward for a few steps before repeating this movement and walking backwards.
Banded Clamshells
The clamshell is one of the best moves for the glutes, whether as part of your warm-up or your regular strength-training workouts.
HOW TO DO IT:
- Start by wrapping a resistance band around the outside of your knees.
- Then lay down on one side, stacking your knees on top of one another, with your hand on your hip.
- Keep your bottom leg on the floor with your knee at a 90-degree angle.
- Externally rotate your top knee open while keeping your top foot on top of your bottom foot the entire time.
- With control, continue opening and closing your knees.
Stability Ball Hamstring Curl
This is a challenging move that works not only your glutes, but also your entire posterior chain.
HOW TO DO IT:
- Lie on the ground on your back.
- Place your ankles on top of a stability ball.
- Bridge your butt up to the sky with your arms and hands placed firmly on the floor.
- With control, roll your feet in toward your butt and back out again, all while keeping your hips thrusting to the sky.