Glute Workout Routine At Home | Benefits & Gym Plan

Glute Workout Routine At Home | Benefits & Gym Plan

The glutes are the largest and most powerful muscles in the body. They also control a large number of athletic movements. They help you lift more weight but also jump higher and run faster.

It is not by chance therefore that they cause so much interest in the opposite sex. In a wild environment, a well-shaped buttock was a good indicator of the survivability of its owner. The urge to look at someone else's buttocks is in our genes.

Weak buttocks not only detract from attractiveness and physical performance, but they are also often the cause of pain and injury. The glute workout routine at home stabilizes the hips and maintain an upright posture. If they do not perform these activities correctly, other muscles will have to compensate for their function, increasing the risk, for example, of low back pain or knee injuries.

Unfortunately, this large muscle is now asleep most of the day. Its main function seems to be to cushion our long hours sitting. Modern life damages its aesthetics and inhibits its function.

In this article, you will learn how to regain your strength and beauty. It is time to wake up these giants.

The Study of the Glute

The glutes are actually a muscle group with three main protagonists: the gluteus maximus, the gluteus medius, and the gluteus minimus.

The gluteus maximus (or maximum) is the largest and most superficial muscle, representing 2/3 of the total size. It's a powerful hip extender (pushes it forward). Therefore, it helps to straighten your body in the rise of movements such as deadlifts or squats.

The gluteus medius, together with the minor, rotates the hip outward and abducts the leg (separates it from the body). Gluteus medius weakness often leads to poor stability and lower back pain.

If you see runners whose hips dance from side to side with each stride, this may be the cause, raising the risk of injury.

Glutes Workout Squats

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Keys Benefits to improving the Glutes 

Glutes workout has a lot of benefits. The glutes are versatile muscles, involved in a multitude of movements. Therefore, the best way to train them is by incorporating different planes and angles, also varying the volume and intensity of the exercises.

Besides, different movements involve to a greater or lesser extent different portions of each of the muscles that make up the buttocks, achieving a greater stimulus thanks to a good combination.

That said, we must not forget the basic principles of training. At the base, there should always be the big movements, which in this case will be three: hip thrust, squat, and deadlift.

Second, we must incorporate assistance work, without forgetting the lateral exercises that involve the gluteus medius to a greater extent, like all those in charge of abducting the hip.

Finally, adding a variety of isolation exercises with less intensity will provide a good additional stimulus, improving the results. Isolation exercises are also useful to correct possible muscular imbalances between sides.

The Glutes Workout Exercise

There are many ways to classify different exercises:

1. We can look, for example, in the direction of movement. The squat and deadlift are vertical, while the hip thrust is horizontal.
2. We can also distinguish between quadriceps dominant exercises (such as the different squat variants), hip dominant exercises (such as the deadlift and reverse hyperextension), or gluteal dominant exercises (such as the hip thrust, the gluteal bridge, or the donkey kicks).

This dominance also depends on the anatomy of each one. As I indicate in this infographic, different anatomies derive from different techniques and therefore indifferent muscle activation. Some people notice more glute activation with some exercises than others, hence the importance of experimenting with many and adjusting according to sensations and results.

Let's do a quick review of some of the best exercises.

Glutes Workout Hip thrust

No single exercise will give you the glutes you want, but if you could only choose one, the hip thrust would probably be the best option. That is why we start here.

It is the perfect complement to the other two great movements: squat and deadlift. While these maximize tension with the gluteal muscles stretched, the hip thrust does so with the muscles contracted and the hips neutral. His technique is also simpler, affordable for the most novice.

The Hip Thrust technique is simple, making it advisable even for people with little experience

Some basic recommendations about the technique:

1. The bottom of your shoulder blades should be just above the edge of the support bench.
2. Keep your pelvis in a neutral position, without hyperextending your hips at the end of the movement.
3. Place your feet at shoulder height, or slightly further apart. You can make small adjustments to the position and opening of your feet if you don't feel the tension in your glutes.
4. Consider raising the bar with your hips as high as you can, fully contracting your glutes in the final position. To maximize the contraction, hold for a second or two in this position before lowering.
5. At the end of the movement, your knees should form a 90º (or close) angle.
6. Your knees should move over your feet, thinking of opening them slightly outward. One way to accomplish this, and to enhance the exercise by engaging the gluteus medius, is by placing a glute band around the knees.

To keep the bar from digging into your hips, use a pad like this.

Adding a resistance band around the knees increases the work of the gluteus medius.

It is advisable to include sessions with more metabolic stress (less load and more repetitions, perhaps 10-15) and sessions with more mechanical tension (more load and fewer repetitions, for example, 4-6).

If you don't have a barbell, put a kettlebell or any weight on your hips. You can make the movement more difficult by using one leg at a time. In this way, you also involve the stabilizing muscles.

If you don't have a bench, you can perform the glute bridge, resting your back on the floor instead of on a bench. It is also easier to perform, but somewhat less effective by reducing the range of motion.

As with the hip thrust, you can perform the glute bridge with a weight on your hip or using one leg at a time. And once again, you can work the gluteus medius at the same time using a closed band.

An interesting variant is the frog pump, where you face the soles of your feet instead of resting them on the ground.

Glutes Workout Pull-through

If you have resistance bands (or access to a pulley machine) you can do a so-called pull-through. It could be considered a standing hip-thrust. It is a good exercise, but it requires more stability and therefore generates less glute activation.

Glutes Workout Squats

We've talked about the squat many times, so I'll be brief. The classic barbell squat allows you to move greater loads and further strengthen your glutes. That said, it is better to use somewhat lighter weights but look for more depth, thus achieving a better activation of the glutes.

Glutes Workout Squat variants: Push-ups, Bulgarian squat, step-up ...

In addition to the classic squat, it is interesting to include unilateral variants, such as lunges. By working one leg at a time, you avoid muscle imbalances, also involving the gluteus medius to offer stability.

The Bulgarian squat adds an additional degree of difficulty, by keeping the rear foot elevated.

The step-up is a great exercise for the glutes, and by varying the height you emphasize different muscles. Hold some weight with your hands to make it more challenging. Both when going up and down, keep your hips neutral, preventing them from sagging to one side.

Glutes Workout Deadweight

The deadlift is the most complete exercise to develop the entire posterior chain, including the glutes and hamstrings (back of the thighs).

If you don't have a barbell, you can deadlift one leg using a kettlebell or dumbbell.

Glutes Workout Donkey kick (or hip extension in quadruped)

It is a good isolation exercise, very interesting for warming up or as part of a metabolic routine for the end of the training. By isolating one glute at a time, you can also use it to correct possible imbalances.

To make it more difficult, use ankle weights or glute bands.

Glutes Workout Kickbacks

Another good exercise to strengthen the mind-glute connection, interesting for the activation of the muscle at the beginning of the training or to add some additional volume without overloading the central nervous system.

You can use resistance bands or a pulley machine.

Some recommendations:

1. You can keep your torso straight or slightly bent forward.
2. Keep your lower back neutral.
3. Try to maximize the glute contraction at the end of the movement.
4. You can keep your leg straight or with a slight knee bend.

Glutes Workout Reverse hyperextensions

It is a little known but effective exercise. You can do it on a bench or on a table that offers good support.

1. Squeeze your glutes hard at the end of the movement.
2. Keep your back neutral during the exercise, not hyperextend it at the end.
3. You can do it with your legs straight or slightly bent.
4. You can lift both legs at the same time or do it unilaterally.

You can keep your legs straight or with your knees bent. Another possibility is to lift one leg at a time.

Glutes Workout Hip abduction exercises

While exercises like the squat and deadlift work the lower gluteus maximus more, abduction movements develop the gluteus medius and the upper gluteus maximus.

They are therefore a great complement to the great movements but remember that they should not represent the basis of your training.

To work different angles, combine standing exercises with others lying down or sitting. In all cases, it is advisable to use closed bands to add some load.

Glutes Workout Sidewalk with band

Place the band above (or below) your knees and take wide steps to one side, then repeating to the opposite side. Or you can also alternate sides if you have little space.

To make it a little more difficult, move around in a quarter squat position (with hips and knees slightly bent).

You can also walk forward in a zigzag, opening your legs at 45º angles to each side.

Glutes Workout Hip abduction on the floor

There are many variants, as the following images indicate. Each exercise generates slightly different stimuli, hence the importance of variety.

Alternate different hip abduction exercises

If you have multiple brands, try to move on to the harder ones over time, and you can even combine them.

Glutes Workout Explosive movements

The glutes are poorly activated when walking or running at mid-throttle, but they are fully recruited in explosive movements such as sprinting or jumping ( detail ).

Indeed, explosive movements are not very effective for building muscle mass, but they are a great complement to any traditional program. They also enhance our athletic abilities.

Both box jumps and sprint intervals are powerful exercises but incorporate them gradually and with the right frequency.

An explosive move that I recommend to start with is the kettlebell swing. It allows deploying maximum explosiveness with minimum impact. To make it more effective, remember to push with your hips and tighten your glutes as much as possible at the end of the movement.

Gluteal amnesia I can't feel my glutes!

Many people find it difficult to activate their glutes with force in exercises that theoretically involve them. This is what some call gluteal amnesia, caused by our sedentary lives.

The modern world not only atrophies our glutes, but it also inhibits them. Fortunately, it is a reversible process. It is not generally an anatomical problem, but a neuromuscular one. By not using our glutes, the connection that the brain has with them is weakened, making it difficult to activate them correctly.

Some ideas to recover its function:

1. Before training, pre-activate your glutes, using some of the gentle exercises we covered earlier, such as sidewalks with a band and other variants of hip abductions.
2. While cool, even on days off, perform isolation exercises, such as donkey kicks. Isolating the muscle facilitates the neuromuscular connection.
3. Touch your glutes with your fingers as you perform these isolation movements. This manual feedback can help reconnect your brain with your muscles.

In addition to the above, I recommend stretching your hip flexors frequently. Spending many hours sitting tends to shorten them, making it difficult for the glutes to contract maximum.

A good exercise to stretch the iliopsoas

Glutes Workout Mistakes 

Before showing sample sessions, I summarize some typical mistakes when improving the buttocks:

1. Lack of intensity: The glutes, like any other muscle, require tension to grow. To create this tension, progressively increase the load on the basic movements: hip thrust, squat, and deadlift. 
2. Lack of effort: By intensity, we usually refer to the load used, but we can also exert ourselves with lower loads. You should include occasionally (but not always) sets with RIR 0-1 (zero or one rep in reserve). Your glutes need a good reason to grow.
3. Infrequent: The glutes are large muscles that tolerate a lot of punishment. If you want to develop them, you should work on them at least two or three times a week. Once the goal is achieved, you can reduce the frequency. It is much easier to maintain than to develop.
4. Excess cardio: Once again, the glutes are governed by the same laws as the rest of the muscles. If you are looking for hypertrophy, cardio is not the way. There is no problem incorporating a couple of short sessions (30-40 minutes) a week, but beyond a certain threshold, the cardio will interfere with your gains.
5. Wrong diet. To gain muscle mass you must consume enough protein and calories ( more detail ). You can certainly gain muscle mass in a caloric deficit, but progress will be slower.

Glutes Workout Plan (Routine Sample)

We should think more about programs than individual exercises. If you want to enhance your glutes, you will have to put more emphasis on them for a few months, but without neglecting the rest of the body.

My recommendation is to follow a general program, which helps you improve your overall physique but complemented with more glute work.

The possibilities are endless, but we could plan a full-body training three days a week, with the following characteristics in each session:

1. Start with one big movement each day (rotating hip thrust, deadlift, and squat)
2. Alternate upper body exercises with the lower body.
3. Incorporate an assisted exercise in the middle.
4. Finish with an isolation exercise, or even a circuit if you have time.

Let's look at an example.

Day 1

1. Hip thrust 3 x 8-10
2. Torso exercise 1 (for example push-ups or bench press)
3. Bulgarian squat 3 x 10-12
4. Torso exercise 2 (for example prone chin-ups)
5. Sidewalk with 2 x 20 band

Day 2

1. Deadlift 3 x 6-8
2. Torso exercise 1 (for example military press)
3. Step-up 3 x 10-12
4. Torso exercise 2 (for example supine chin-ups)
5. Unilateral glute bridge 3x10 (per side)

Day 3

1. Squat 3 x 6-8
2. Torso exercise (for example rowing)
3. Pull-through 3 x 10-12
4. Torso exercise (for example dips in parallel)
5. Hip abduction on the floor 2 x 20 (vary exercise in each session)

Glutes Workout Accessories

If you have more time, you can replace the last isolation exercise with a " finisher combo. " It involves performing several glute exercises in a row with minimal rest between them (only one set of each). For example the following:

• Donkey kick x 10 (per side)
• Kickback x 10 (per side)
• Reverse Hyperextensions x 10
• Hip abductions on the floor x 10

Another possibility would be to include a fourth day where you do some plyometric work (like kettlebell swings or box jumps) and then 3-4 rounds of the previous exercises as a finisher.

Summary and conclusions

The glutes are powerful muscles, but lack of use weakens and inhibits them. Strength work is the best strategy to regain function and beauty.

Include movements such as hip thrust, squat, and deadlift in your workouts, complementing it with different assistance and isolation exercises. Progressively increase the load or difficulty of the exercises, and as you progress you will see your buttocks grow, waking up from its long slumber.