Best Glute Workouts for Women

T he gluteal muscles or the buttocks play a very important role when moving, as they, along with the hams and the quads, sustain your body in an erect position. Weak glutes mean poor stability that can lead to further health problems. Plus, no one wants their butt looking flat or flaccid, so including some isometrics for your posterior in your training routine is a great idea, no matter if you go for simple squats or more complex leg press machine workouts. The trick is to stay consistent with your training and progressively expand the number of reps to make sure that your muscles get wider and stronger. Below, I explain how having strong, healthy glutes can influence your life for the better and give you some examples of exercises that are considered to be the most efficient for glute training.

Why Is It Important to Have Strong Glutes?

Yes, a nice, firm butt looks great and shows that you are taking care of yourself, going to the gym, and not surrendering to the couch and a bag of chips. But, besides the increased self-esteem, having larger and firmer buttocks comes with the following advantages:

• Your back will hurt less – multiple causes can make your back hurt, but untrained gluteal muscles is one of them. If your buttocks don’t offer enough support for your upper body, then some of the pressure needs to be transferred to your lower back when you are walking or simply standing for a long time. According to this study, most people who suffer from chronic non-specific lower back pain have weak glutes.
• Better pelvic stability – during pregnancy, you need to sustain your baby’s weight, which is concentrated in your abdominal area only. This denotes that a lot of strain is put on your back, legs, and, of course, your pelvic area. Having a strong pelvis that is sustained by powerful glutes can help you reduce pain and move better. Moreover, as recent research in the field has shown, building gluteal muscles can help you recover after giving birth if you suffer from pelvic girdle pain.
• You will get better at sports – one of the advantages of having big muscles in your legs and butt is that they will help you move faster and jump higher. This clinical trial, which focused on handball players, showed that regular glute exercise can enhance their game considerably comparable to the control group, which showed no improvement.

Asian Woman Doing Bulgarian Split Squats

The Best Exercises for Strong and Flexible Glutes

There are plenty of exercises that target these muscle groups, this is why a selection is in order, seeing how you cannot do them all. I went ahead and choose five of my favorites, which are the ones I consider helped me the most, especially when I was trying to get back in shape after a rough period in my life. The list I present to you includes options that imply using a machine or an accessory, but there is also one workout you can do without having to invest any money and which works great for when you are traveling since you don’t need to pack anything for it. One more thing I want to make clear before everything is that these exercises work great for both women and men, but they are thought to offer the maximum results for women without exposing them to high risks.

This being said, let’s plunge into the routine I recommend and see how these exercises can be executed.

Bulgarian Split Squat

When I first saw someone doing a Bulgarian squat, I thought to myself “This must be easy and fun”. Plus, the fact that I only needed a bench, a chair, or basically any stand on which I could place my leg convinced me that this must be part of my routine. However, when I started, I found out that there is a bit of a challenge, as you need to maintain balance while squatting with only one foot. For you to understand what I mean, I should first explain how the exercise works:

1. You need to stand with your back to a bench or seat (make sure that it isn’t too tall, it should reach your knee level or just a bit higher). Then, bend your knee to place your foot on the bench.
2. From this position, you will then bend your other knee to do a squat. Down, then up, then down, just as you would do regular squats.
3. You can keep your hands on your hips or hold a kettlebell, which can make the set of movements more difficult.

That’s basically it, yet, I want to highlight that you will struggle at first to stay straight, which is actually a good thing. This workout doesn’t only work your glutes but most of your lower body, helping you get a stronger pelvis and be able to rely more on your legs.

Sumo Squats

This is the accessory-free workout I was talking about. Sumo squats are basically like doing regular squats, but while keeping a long distance between your feet. This position shifts the focus from your thighs (although they still get a lot of exercise) to your buttocks and hips. I enjoy using them as part of my warm-up routine, and I usually do 3 sets of 20 reps, but you can start with 3 sets of 10 reps and grow from there. Here is how to do them:

1. Make sure you have enough space around you, then post your feet at a distance that is longer than your shoulders’ width. Keep your hands in front of your chest in what I like to call “a prayer pose”.
2. Push your butt to your back, allowing your torso to lean to the front. Flex your knees to do the first rep. Reverse the movements to get back to the initial stance.

Woman Doing Medicine Ball Hip Thrusts

Medicine Ball Hip Thrusts

The exercises that imply a medicine ball are by far my favorites. It may have something to do with the fact that, as a child, I loved to take my mother’s exercise ball and jump on it around the house or maybe it is the concept of the ball itself that sends to childhood and fun. It doesn’t really matter, the thing here is that you can get a great workout by using a ball, and below I will explain how to do one of the most popular exercises – the hip thrust.

1. Place the exercise ball on the floor, making sure that there is enough adherence so it doesn’t slide.
2. Sit on the floor, with the back at the ball and your knees bent.
3. Lean back and place your upper body on the ball – this is the preparatory position. While pushing with your shoulders on the ball, extend your hips. Uphold this position for a few seconds, then lower to the starting position. Do 3 series of 20 reps. I guarantee that you will feel your buttocks burning.

Wide-Stance Leg Press

I used to go to the gym just to use the leg press, which I think is a great machine. Now I have one at home, so I no longer have to wait for the people before me to show off their ability to press hundreds of pounds (although I must admit there was a lot of fun in this as well). For working the buttocks, I recommend replacing regular presses with wide-stance presses, which kind of correspond to sumo squats. Let’s see how this works.

1. You can do this exercise on a horizontal press, but it works better on one that is inclined at 45 degrees. Lay on the bench and place your feet on the plate, maintaining them more toward the edges. Make sure that your entire foot is on the plate to avoid accidents.
2. Push the plate to spread your legs and then bend your knees to get back to the initial pose. The amount of reps you will do varies with how much you decide to press. If you are not sure, check out this article to see how much can the average man press and what are the world records.

Single-Leg Smith Machine Box Squat

This is similar to a Bulgarian squat performed with a free weight. However, the Smith machine can offer you the balance you need in case you find it too difficult to perform this exercise the traditional way.

1. To execute it, you need to take the same stance as you would if you were doing Bulgarian squats: knee bent, feet on the bench, and, in this case, your hands on the bar.
2. Unlock the barbell and squat by bending your leg that is still touching the floor. You can do the same number of reps and series as you would do for free-weight squats, but you can also increase their number since they are easier to execute with a machine.

The Takeaway

You can mix the exercises I have recommended or include just two or three in your sequence. What is essential is that you get an efficient workout that will push your glutes to develop and become stronger. I have seen a lot of women at the gym who have obtained the results they were expecting by using the machines and accessories I have mentioned and doing the exercises I have explained, so there is not much guessing here. Just get determined, get equipped, and start working out for great buttocks and health.