10+ Best Bodyweight Glute Exercises For Muscle & Strength

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Training the glutes is essential for lower-body strength, stability, mobility, and aesthetics. Body weight glute exercises are one of the most effective methods to strengthen, tone, and lift the muscle. Luckily, you don't need any equipment to perform these exercises. They can be done wherever you are most comfortable. The exercises in this guide are ideal for use in conjunction with gluteus minimus exercises, as the muscle group is frequently overlooked. All you have to do is use the proper techniques as recommended in our comprehensive guide. Let’s dive in!

Best Bodyweight Glute Exercises

All Bodyweight Glute Exercises

The glute exercises listed below are great for training the glutes because they focus on the main functions of these muscles, like extending the hips, moving the legs outward, and stabilizing the pelvis. These movements target the gluteus maximus for power, the gluteus medius for balance, and the gluteus minimus for stability, helping you build strength and shape in the entire glute area. They also encourage proper muscle activation, which is important for maximizing glute engagement during workouts and preventing other muscles from taking over. These exercises are simple yet effective, making them perfect for strengthening the glutes and improving overall lower-body performance.

A-Z

Analysis

Discussion

Glute Bridge

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Glutes

  1. Begin by lying on a mat with knees bent and feet flat, hip-width apart. Your arms should be resting by your side.
  2. Make sure your knees are aligned with your hips. Inhale and engage your core to flatten your lower back against the ground and stabilize your hips... Read more

Side-Lying Hip Abduction

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Glutes

  1. Find a suitable mat or padded area. Lie down on your side with your torso slightly forward. Bring the arm closest to the floor to a right angle and rest your head on your hand.
  2. Bring your top leg forward slightly and straighten it at an angle. Your bottom leg should be at a right angle resting against the floor. Place your free hand on the floor so you’re on your side... Read more

Clamshells

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Glutes

  1. Lie on your side with your legs stacked and knees bent at an approximately 90-degree angle. Rest your head on your lower arm to support your neck.
  2. Engage your core to stabilize your body and prevent your hips from rotating as you move your top leg... Read more

Knee Hug Glute Stretch

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Glutes

  1. Lie flat on your back with your legs extended straight and arms relaxed at your sides.
  2. Bend one knee and bring it up towards your chest. Use both hands to hug the knee... Read more

Reverse Plank

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Glutes

  1. Sit down on the floor or mat with your hands slightly behind you and a bit wider than shoulder-width apart. Your fingers should point forward.
  2. Lift your butt off the floor until your body forms a straight line from the heels to your head... Read more

Bodyweight Single-leg Deadlift

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Glutes

  1. Stand straight with your feet close together. Your arms should be by your sides. Ensure your chest is up with your head facing forward.
  2. Inhale and engage your core. Exhale and bring your right leg straight back by pushing your hips back while lowering your upper body. At the same time, bring your right hand down to the floor, maintaining a neutral back position... Read more

Side Plank With Hip Abduction

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Glutes

  1. Balance on your side, supporting your weight with both hands on the ground.
  2. Stack your legs on top of each other... Read more

Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Glutes

  1. Lie down on your back, bend your right knee, and place the right foot flat on the floor.
  2. Keep your left leg straight... Read more

Best Bodyweight Glute Workout Routine

The routine in the table below is designed to engage all glute muscles for maximum muscle gains and lower body stability

Warm Up

Warm Up

Duration
High Knees30 seconds
Lateral Leg Swings30 seconds
Bodyweight Glute Workout Routine

Main Section

Exercise

Sets

RepsRest (Between sets)
Bodyweight Squat3–5 sets4–6 reps30 seconds
Donkey Kicks3–5 sets4–6 reps30 seconds
Bodyweight Frog Hip Thrust3–4 sets6–8 reps45 seconds
Plank Leg Raise3–5 sets4–6 reps45 seconds
Bodyweight Glute Workout Routine

Anatomy Of The Glutes

Gluteus

Large, superficial muscles located at your buttocks just below your lower back area.

The posterior chain includes the glutes, hamstrings, lower back muscles, and calves. The glutes are made up of three muscles in the hip’s back and sides: the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus.

The gluteus maximus is the largest and outermost muscle of the gluteals. It facilitates many essentials, such as straightening the hip (hip extension) and turning the thigh bone outward (external rotation). It is the muscle that allows you to walk up a staircase and stand up from a sitting posture. It facilitates leaping, running, and resistance training activities like deadlifts and squats.

The gluteus medius is just underneath the gluteus maximus. This is the smallest muscle on the pelvis’s outer edge. It helps to maintain stability when you elevate one leg, such as while walking, jogging, or doing other single-legged exercises. Incorporating gluteus medius exercises may help target and develop this important muscle.

The gluteus minimus is under the gluteus medius. The minimus is the glute’s smallest muscle. It is responsible for hip abduction and inward thigh rotation. The minimus assists the gluteus medius in pelvic stability. It is most often used while moving the leg away from the midline of the body, such as when walking.

Benefits Of Bodyweight Exercises For Glutes

Strengthens The Glutes

The glutes are your body’s powerhouse, and glute bodyweight workouts strengthen these muscles, ensuring peak performance.

The exercises described above are designed to target and stimulate gluteal muscular growth. They provide the resistance and motion necessary to engage the glutes. They cause microscopic tissue tears in muscle fibers, resulting in stronger muscles and possible muscle development as the microtears heal.

Interestingly, these workouts are adaptable. You can gradually raise their difficulty to promote muscular development. Progressive overloading helps to strengthen the gluteal muscles by increasing resistance as you get stronger.

As strength grows, adding resistance from bands or weights, such as dumbbell glute exercises, can help to enhance muscle growth. Strengthening the glutes increases the total strength of the lower body, making it an effective method of enhancing overall body power.

Enhances Hip Mobility And Flexibility

Enhances Hip Mobility And Flexibility
Glute workouts move the hips over a full range of motion. Photo: tsyhun/Freepik

Your capacity to move and rotate your hip determines your ability to engage in both ordinary and sports activities. It is the foundation for easy mobility and general comfort.

Glute workouts improve this skill by requiring you to move your hips. To complete the majority of these exercises correctly, you must fully extend and flex your hip joints. Moving the hips over a full range of motion gradually improves flexibility and mobility.

Improves Balance And Coordination

Body balance keeps you from falling and lowers the chance of injury. The ability to coordinate actions is just as crucial. It allows you to do activities simply and safely.

Resistance exercises help to improve these two essential attributes. Strengthening the glutes improves their ability to keep the body stable during daily and athletic activities. Strong glutes effectively sustain the weight of the trunk, preventing you from toppling on a little impact.

Furthermore, the majority of these exercises demand you to engage multiple muscles at once. Mindfully managing various muscle groups eventually improves your capacity to coordinate movements.

Expert Training Tips To Follow 

Rotate Workouts

Repeating the same exercises in each session can be tedious and ineffective. It lacks the excitement and symmetry that comes with working out.

On the contrary, regularly rotating and altering activities can help you stay motivated. It’s a fun method to reach your glute fitness objective.

More significantly, engaging in a range of workouts promotes balanced development. It engages many muscles, which is an important part of healthy muscle development.

Maintain Appropriate Form

Each activity includes a set of best practices. Following each can help you maximize target muscle activation while avoiding injury.

Generally, these guidelines focus on engaging your core, keeping control, and emphasizing the full range of motion.

Also, always look for expert advice on how to arrange specific body components, such as the hands and spine.

Get Adequate Rest 

Most of the workouts listed above are low-impact. However, they can cause minor injuries or inconvenient burn-outs.

Taking rests between sets and sessions can considerably reduce such incidents. Paying attention to your body is also crucial.

Ensure that you have enough rest to allow your muscles to recover and operate optimally during subsequent sessions. It’s one of the most effective strategies to stay motivated and meet your fitness objectives.

Conclusion

Bodyweight glute exercises are a convenient strategy to tone the glutes and increase lower body strength. The workouts described above are among the most effective. You may easily perform any of these at home without the use of any equipment.

Including them in your training program is likely to offer the glute and general fitness results you seek. It is critical to exercise with good technique every time, follow a consistent schedule, and eat a balanced diet.

Resources

Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.

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