Do you have a small butt, a weak butt, or no butt at all? While having a bigger booty is all the rage right now, that peach - be it big or small - isn’t just about aesthetics.
If you’ve got underdeveloped or weak glute muscles, you might suffer from lower body imbalances and misalignments including disc issues or sciatic pain.
Whether you are experiencing pain in your lower body or not, having strong glute muscles is crucial for living a long and mobile life. Let’s talk about why that is and the best glute exercises to add to your next lower body (butt) workout.
TWO REASONS WHY YOU MIGHT HAVE WEAK GLUTES
The most common cause of weak glute muscles is lack of physical activity. Contrary to all our wishes and dreams, a stronger, bigger booty doesn’t make itself and if you are someone who spends a lot of time sitting (whether as a couch potato or at a desk for work), then you probably have weak glutes.
Too much time seated also shortens and tightens your hip flexors and throws off the alignment of your pelvis, hips and lumbar spine, which can lead to pain in the back and hips.
The second reason for weak glute muscles is because you don’t know how to activate them properly during your workouts.
This is so common among our members that one of the first exercises we have people start with in our Hips & Glutes program is ‘Glute Pops’. They’re designed to improve your brain/body connection so you can learn how to isolate muscle contraction to just the glutes, since many people ‘cheat’ in their other movements, compensating for glute weakness by relying on the low back and quads to do the work.
GLUTE MUSCLES: THE WORKHORSE OF THE LOWER BODY
The Gluteus Maximus is the largest and heaviest muscle in your body. This is the ‘Big Daddy’ of the glutes, but you have other glute muscles known as the glute medius and glute minumus.
All three work together to move your whole body like when you get up from the floor or a chair, climb stairs, or run and jump; but they're also critical for stabilizing your hip joint because they help hold the head of your femur (thigh bone) in the socket of the pelvis.
SIGNS YOU HAVE WEAK GLUTE MUSCLES
How can you tell if you have weak glute muscles? Here are some indicators:
- Sciatica
- SI Joint pain
- Poor posture
- Hip pain
- Knee pain
- Low back pain
- Inability to fire or activate your glutes (known also as gluteal amnesia or dead butt syndrome)
- Excessive anterior or posterior pelvic tilt
- Tight or weak hip flexors
- Weak abdominal muscles
- Knocked or inverted knees
CAN YOU FIX WEAK GLUTES?
We hear it all the time in our YouTube channel comments, “This isn’t a dysfunction or problem! I was born with weak (fill in the blank).”
Well Sheila, you aren’t the standard for what is an optimal body situation and yeah, everyone was born with muscle weakness. Babies are great big bundles of potential and it’s great, but that doesn’t mean it’s normal or healthy to stay that way.
So how do you fix glute weakness? You make them work.
HOW TO IMPROVE GLUTE STRENGTH
The best way to make any muscle stronger is by putting them under resistance through weighted exercises or with the use of resistance bands like those we use in the MoveU programs.
For those new to strength and resistance training, this may feel foreign and maybe even a little awkward at first. Just remember that the more you practice any movement pattern, the more established that pattern becomes in your brain and the easier it will become.
EXERCISES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR GLUTE MUSCLES
Our coaches tell members this constantly: “It’s not the exercises that create change in your body. It’s how you execute them.”
Your pelvic position is extremely important for proper glute engagement. This is why it’s one of the first things we teach our MUvers to master in the Back & Core program. Being able to utilize your full range of motion, but find and maintain a neutral pelvis during workouts is crucial whether you’re rehabilitating an injury, trying to correct an imbalance or dysfunction, or just want to get stronger in the gym.
Here are a few exercises from our Hips & Glutes program to start your journey to strengthen and grow your glute muscles.
Glute Bridge
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Brace your core and tuck your pelvis as much as you possibly can before starting to peel your spine off the floor slowly, one vertebra at a time. You may or may not get your hips up to a full bridge and that’s okay. If you feel a pinch or pain at any time and your form is spot on, back off until you no longer do. That is your body’s stopping point.
- Hold whatever the top position is for you for 2-3 seconds, then slowly lower your hips back down one vertebrae at a time.
- Aim for 10-15 repetitions, focusing on maintaining proper alignment and avoiding arching your back.
KNEELING HIP HINGE
Learn how to initiate the downward portion of the squat with a very slight hip hinge and lead with the hips as you drive up.
- Kneel on the floor an arm’s length away from a wall with your fingertips touching the wall. Flex your feet so the soles are perpendicular to the floor.
- Keeping your head to tailbone alignment and core gently braced, inhale and shift your hips back toward your heels. Keep your fingertips touching the wall. Avoid arching your spine and flaring your ribs.
- Exhale as you drive the hips forward back to an upright position.
*Pro tip: Driving your knees out slightly will engage your glutes more and lend more stability to this movement.
FRONT SQUATS
- Set up with your feet about hip width apart. There’s a lot of discussion about the ‘right stance’ for a squat, but everyone’s body is different. You may find hip width ideal. You may need to go wider. You can keep your feet pointing straight ahead or you can angle them out up to 45 degrees.
- Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell out in front of you like our model above or in the goblet position. Brace your core.
- Inhale and hold as you descend into your squat. Hinge your hips back very slightly first and then bend your knees. Descend as low as you can while keeping your spine and pelvis neutral. If your bum begins to tuck under and you find yourself in spinal flexion (aka ‘butt wink’), you may need to reduce your range.
- Keep your feet planted as you drive up out of the bottom of your squat. Exhale as you do this or at the top.
THERE’S MORE WHERE THIS CAME FROM!
Remember the point of these exercises is to gain awareness and connect with your glutes. These are foundational exercises that take time to learn and execute properly. As such, you most likely need coach guidance and video instruction on how to do these well.
We recommend starting with the MoveU Back and Core Program and following with Hips & Glutes.
Head on over to the MoveU Membership to get access to all our programs, a vibrant and supportive community, and insightful coaching to learn how to get those glutes working for you like the workhorses they are!
