• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
BarBend

BarBend

The Online Home for Strength Sports

  • News
    • CrossFit
    • Strongman
    • Bodybuilding
    • Top Athletes
    • Powerlifting
    • Weightlifting
    • Competition Results
    • Latest Research
  • Reviews
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Mini Massage Guns
      • Individual Recovery Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Protein
        • Best Whey Protein Powders
        • Best Vegan Protein Powders
        • Best Whey Isolate Protein Powders
        • Best Mass Gainers
        • Best Protein Bars
      • Best Pre-Workouts
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Women
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Men
        • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workouts
        • Strongest Pre-Workouts
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Electrolyte Supplements
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Meal Replacements
      • Best Nitric Oxide Supplements
      • Best Fat Burners
        • Best Fat Burners for Men
        • Best Fat Burners for Women
        • Best Non-Stim Fat Burners
      • More Supplements
        • Best Supplements for Muscle Growth
        • Best Supplements for CrossFit
        • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
        • Best Supplements for Bodybuilding
        • Best Supplements for Men
        • Best Supplement Stacks
      • Individual Supplements Reviews
    • Equipment
      • Cardio
        • Best Treadmills
        • Best Rowing Machines
        • Best Exercise Bikes
        • Best Ellipticals
        • Best Recumbent Bikes
      • Strength
        • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
        • Best Dumbbells
        • Best Kettlebells
        • Best Barbells
        • Best Squat Racks
        • Best Free Weights
        • Best Weight Benches
        • Best Resistance Bands
        • Best Slam Balls
        • Best Weighted Vests
        • Best Leg Extension Machines
        • Best Cable Machines
        • Best Power Racks
        • Best Pull Up Bars
      • Best Home Gyms
        • Best Smart Home Gyms
        • Best Gym Equipment Under $100
        • Best Home Gym Essentials
        • Best Home Gym Flooring
      • Individual Equipment Reviews
    • Fitness Accessories
      • Apparel
        • Best Weightlifting Shoes
        • Best Cross Training Shoes
        • Best Gym Bags
        • Best Gym Shorts
      • Training
        • Best Weightlifting Belts
        • Best Knee Sleeves
        • Best Lifting Straps
        • Best Grip Strengtheners
        • Best Wrist Wraps
        • Best Lifting Gloves
      • Individual Fitness Product Reviews
    • Certifications
      • Best Sports Nutrition Certifications
      • Best Personal Trainer Certifications
      • Best Nutrition Certifications
      • Individual Certifications Reviews
    • Programs
      • Best Online Workout Programs
      • Best Workout Streaming Services
      • Best Home Workout Programs
      • Individual Program Reviews
  • Nutrition
    • Diets
      • Carb Cycling
      • Vertical Diet
      • Reverse Dieting
      • Carnivore Diet
      • Ketogenic Diet
      • Intermittent Fasting
      • IIFYM Diet
    • Fat Loss
      • Macros for Fat Loss
      • Calorie Deficits
      • Natural Fat Burners
      • Cut 2 Pounds Weekly
    • Muscle Gain
      • How to Dirty Bulk
      • Go From Cutting to Bulking
      • Eat These Carbs
      • How to Eat for Muscle
    • Supplement Guides
      • Pre-Workout
      • Whey Protein
      • Mass Gainers
      • Greens Powders
      • Creatine
      • BCAAs
    • Nutrition Tips
      • Daily Protein Needs
      • Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition
      • Foods With Creatine
      • Bulking Tips
  • Training
    • Workouts
      • Back Workouts
      • At-Home Workouts
      • Chest & Back Workouts
      • Full-Body Workout
      • HIIT Workouts
    • Exercise Guides
      • Deadlift
      • Bench Press
      • Back Squat
      • Overhead Press
      • Bent-Over Row
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Crunches
      • Farmer’s Carry
    • Best Exercises
      • Shoulder Exercises
      • Back Exercises
      • Chest Exercises
      • Glute Exercises
      • Ab Exercises
      • Hamstring Exercises
      • Quad Exercises
      • Calf Exercises
      • Biceps Exercises
      • Triceps Exercises
    • Programs
      • Push-Up Program
      • Pull-Up Program
      • German Volume Training
      • 5/3/1 Program
      • Powerbuilding Program
      • The Cube Method
      • 5×5 Program
      • Bodybuilding Programs
      • Build Your Own Program
    • Fat Loss
      • How to Burn Fat
      • Spot Fat Reduction
      • How to Train on a Cut
      • Body Conditioning
      • Workouts
        • Kettlebell Circuits
        • Dumbbell Complexes
        • Farmer’s Carry Workouts
    • Muscle Gain
      • Muscle Hypertrophy Explained
      • How to Build Muscle
      • How to Maintain Muscle
      • What Researchers Say About Muscle Gain
        • Workouts
          • 20-Minute Workouts
          • Kettlebell Circuits
          • CrossFit Workouts for Muscle
          • Bodybuilding Workouts
  • Calculators
    • Protein Intake Calculator
    • Macros Calculator
    • BMR Calculator
    • Squat Calculator
    • Calorie Calculator

Glutes Exercises

Without strong glutes, one’s strength in compound movements can be extremely limited. In other words, your deadlift, clean and jerk, and squat can only get so strong if your glutes are lacking, and that’s why we’ve build our favorite glute exercises list!

The glutes function as the prime movers in hip extension, which can be a very prominent indicator in strong sports performance.

 Gluteal muscles are an incredibly important muscle group on the body. 

On top of being useful for hip extension, walking, squatting, deadlifting, and moving freely, the glutes also play a few key roles in our overall wellness. For example, they can have an influence on lower back discomfort and can actually help decrease it. This study from 2015 in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science suggested that glute exercises coupled with lumbar muscle strengthening exercises decreased lower back pain (1).

Although, the lower back isn’t the only area that can benefit from strong glutes. Knee issues have also been suggested to decrease when the gluteus maximus and medius are strong (2, 3).

Direct glute training is beneficial for beginner, intermediate, experienced athletes from every strength sport Below we’ve included our four favorite exercises for training the glutes!

Glutes Exercises

1. Hip Thrusts

Hip thrusts have become a glute strengthening staple for a wide variety of gym lovers. They’re not only an exceptional movement to build strong glutes, but they can also be used to improve maximal strength and power. If your goal is gluteal muscle strength and hypertrophy, then hip thrusts are one of your best bets.

In a 2015 from the Journal of Applied Biomechanics the authors suggested that the hip thrust was slightly superior in recruiting the gluteus maximus and biceps femoris musculature compared to the back squat with estimated 10-RM loads (4). Yeah, this exercise can compete with and exceed squats when it comes to training the body’s posterior!

Read more about hip thrusts and their benefits!


Image: @onetoonemanufacuring on Instagram

Image: @achievefitnessboston on Instagram

2. Glute Bridges

If you’re new to glute training, then glute bridges are one of the best exercises to start with. They have a low bar of entry, so any level of fitness can benefit with their use. One of the best parts of glute bridges is how dynamic they are in nature. This exercise can be used pre, intra-, and post workout, which makes them an awesome tool for any training adaptation. 

For pre workout, use could use them unweighted for warming-up the posterior, for strength you can use them as an accessory loaded with weight, and for supplemental work at the end of workouts you can burn out with them after a long session.

Read more about glutes bridges and how to perform them.

3. Romanian Deadlift

The Romanian deadlift is great movement to target the glutes while simultaneously improving in exercises like the squat, deadlift, and Olympic lifts. Like other hip hinging movements, the Romanian deadlift does an exceptional job at targeting the whole posterior chain.

This movement can be used as a primary exercise, or as an accessory and can be loaded to accommodate multiple training goals. The Romanian deadlift can also improve lifting postures by strengthening the hip hinge, so the glutes and your performance will improve. On top of that, there are multiple variations to can use with the Romanian deadlifts such as single leg, dumbbell, and kettlebell. 

Use our Romanian Deadlift guide to improve your lifts and build stronger glutes.


Benefits lifters can experience from Romanian Deadlifts


Hyperextension Guide and Benefits
Image: JCDfitness.com

4. Hyperextension

The hyperextension is a great exercise to use for posterior chain strength and hypertrophy work. This movement made our list for two specific reasons. For starters, we love the hyperextension when trying to train the posterior chain as a whole. With this movement the erectors, glutes, and hamstrings can all benefit.

In bodybuilding, the hyperextension can be used as a primary glute training exercise. Then in other strength sports, the hyperextension can be used as a supplemental movement when trying to improve deadlift and squat lockout while improving hypertrophy for the posterior chain.

Want to learn more about hyperextensions? Check out all of their benefits and a how-to with our hyperextension article! 

5. Belt Squat

The final exercise that makes our list for the glutes is the belt squat. This movement is an awesome accessory for isolating the lower body musculature, especially the glutes. 

The belt squat can be performed for both strength and hypertrophy, but possibly the best part about this movement is that it limits stress on the spine. For this reason, we love this movement for working around injuries and getting in extra volume without burning through a ton of recovery storages.

Learn more about the benefits of the belt squat!


Benefits of Belt Squat

Other Highest-Rated Glutes Exercises


edit post

Hip Thrust Exercise Guide

Hip Thrust Exercise Guide

March 18, 2019


edit post

Deadlift Beginner Progressions

3 Awesome Deadlift Progressions for Beginners (VIDEO)

February 14, 2019


edit post

What's a Cossack Squat?

Cossack Squat Exercise Guide

February 11, 2019


edit post

Dumbbell Snatch Ultimate Guide

Dumbbell Snatch Exercise Guide

February 27, 2019


edit post

10 Glute Exercises You Can Do at Home

10 Glute Exercises You Can Do at Home

December 13, 2018


edit post

8 Glute Exercises Without Weights

8 Glute Exercises Without Weights

December 31, 2018


edit post

14 Best Exercises for Glutes

14 Best Exercises for Glutes

December 13, 2018


edit post

Kettlebell Windmill – Muscles Worked, Variations, and Benefits

Kettlebell Windmill – Muscles Worked, Variations, and Benefits

December 31, 2018

References

  1. Jeong, U., Sim, J., Kim, C., Hwang-Bo, G., & Nam, C. (2015). The effects of gluteus muscle strengthening exercise and lumbar stabilization exercise on lumbar muscle strength and balance in chronic low back pain patients. Journal Of Physical Therapy Science, 27(12), 3813-3816. doi:10.1589/jpts.27.3813
  2. Santos, T., Oliveira, B., Ocarino, J., Holt, K., & Fonseca, S. (2015). Effectiveness of hip muscle strengthening in patellofemoral pain syndrome patients: a systematic review. Brazilian Journal Of Physical Therapy, 19(3), 167-176. doi:10.1590/bjpt-rbf.2014.0089
  3. Kim, E. (2016). The effect of gluteus medius strengthening on the knee joint function score and pain in meniscal surgery patients. Journal Of Physical Therapy Science, 28(10), 2751-2753. doi:10.1589/jpts.28.2751
  4. Contreras B, e. (2018). A Comparison of Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, and Vastus Lateralis Electromyographic Activity in the Back Squat and Barbell Hip Thrust Exercises. – PubMed – NCBI. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 17 December 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26214739

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

Samson Dauda Trains Chest With Sam Sulek During 2023 Mr. Olympia Prep

Men’s Open Bodybuilder Charles Griffen Trains Back With Brett Wilkin Before 2023 Legion Pro Show

2023 Daytona Pro Bodybuilding Show Results

2023 Rising Phoenix and Arizona Pro Results

Nathan De Asha Wins 2023 Sheru Classic France Bodybuilding Show

Latest Reviews

Alaskan Cold Plunge Feature

Redwood Outdoors Alaskan Cold Plunge Review

Living.Fit Grip Strengthener Review

Bells of Steel Competition Kettlebell Review

Bells of Steel Barenaked Powerlifting Bar 2.0 Review

REP BlackWing Feature

REP Fitness BlackWing Weight Bench Review

Be the smartest person in your gym

The BarBend newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I Want In!
BarBend

BarBend is an independent website. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting.

  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Sections

  • CrossFit
  • Strongman
  • Bodybuilding
  • Powerlifting
  • Weightlifting
  • Reviews
  • Nutrition
  • Training

More

  • BarBend Newsletter
  • BarBend Podcast
  • The Ripped Report
  • 1RM Calculator
  • BMR Calculator
  • Macros Calculator
  • Protein Calculator
  • Squat Calculator

Policies

  • Accessibility
  • Advice Disclaimer
  • Cookies Policy
  • Disclaimers
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2023 · BarBend Inc · Sitemap