Strong glutes aren’t just status symbols for “ladies who want that peach butt.” Bigger glutes help improve posture, reduce lower back pain and allow you to sprint faster and jump higher.
So it’s no wonder why most gym goers start their leg days off right with barbell-loaded glute exercises such as bridges and hip thrusts – to ensure both hips and glutes receive adequate training. Proper execution ensures the entire training regimen has an impactful result.
1. Deadlifts
The conventional deadlift is one of the ultimate compound exercises for building overall strength, with particular benefits for glute strength. However, it requires significant technique and practice in order to perform properly – so men interested in glute exercise must take special note!
Proper deadlift form is essential to avoiding lower back injuries and optimizing its benefits for posterior chain muscles, including glutes and hamstrings. First and foremost, make sure you are using an adjustable deadlift bar with suitable height and stance dimensions.
To properly lift, you should hinge at your hips and move downward until the bar touches your quadriceps (or as close as possible depending on your flexibility). Once touched, slowly pull upward until it stands upright – this may require core engagement in order to keep the weight moving in an efficient and controlled fashion throughout its range of motion.
Use this move either as the core of your leg training sessions, or save it until later to fire up your glutes before performing more technical movements such as the squat or hip thrust. Glute expert Bret Contreras uses it at the end of his remarkable leg days to really activate his glutes before embarking on his lower body intensity sessions.
Men can appreciate a nice peach butt, too – both men and women can benefit from having larger, stronger glutes as it helps improve posture, protect spinal health and help them run faster or jump higher. Therefore, all men should incorporate glute exercises into their training regime to strengthen them further.
2. Squats
Squats are one of the best exercises to target glute muscles, offering an effective workout while creating a stronger and toned backside. By performing controlled squats that target specific parts of your glutes with your body weight, squats offer an efficient means of targeting these areas effectively and giving yourself an efficient way to build stronger and toned glutes.
Start with feet shoulder-width apart and hold weights or kettlebells in each hand for added challenge. Squat slowly down until your thighs are parallel with the floor before pushing back up through your heels to return to the starting position – repeat for as many repetitions as desired.
If you want a targeted glute exercise, try the seated banded hip abduction. This exercise uses a small resistance band to add extra tension on the glutes – helping target those muscles which are difficult to work with using only your own strength alone.
Start by lying on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the ground, hip-width apart. Press your hips upward into bridge position by squeezing glutes at the top. Lift one leg from the floor out to one side as far as possible before returning it back into starting position for 10-12 repetitions on each side.
The single-leg hip thrust is an effective glute exercise for men as it works to strengthen and stabilize all areas of their glute muscles simultaneously, improving balance and stability as well as providing mechanical tension – key elements in hypertrophy (increasing muscle size).
3. Hip Thrusts
The hip thrust is another great exercise to add to strength training programs for men. Created by Bret Contreras, it targets both glutes and hamstrings for maximum muscle growth. Although you can perform it with a barbell, for optimal results it’s often best to perform this movement alone so as to focus on aggressively driving up hips without worrying about balancing weight with arms – an exercise which may dilute its muscle-building effects.
Like with other glute exercises, hip thrusts require keeping your spine in a neutral position without arching it to avoid back pain. Beginners should begin performing this exercise with body weight before progressing to single-leg variations or gradually increasing load on a barbell.
In order to maximize glute muscle activation during the hip thrust, it’s key to achieve full lockout at the top of each movement. This means your ASIS should be above knee level (this will vary based on height). If you don’t feel your glutes burning at this point in the movement, either your lockout isn’t complete or you are using too much weight.
Once you advance further, it can be helpful to squeeze your glutes as hard as possible when reaching the peak of a movement – this will help build more muscle mass and achieve that rounder, more defined derriere many men desire. As you progress further be sure to incorporate other movements such as deadlifts and squats into your workouts for maximum effectiveness.
4. Lateral Lunges
Glute muscles are among the largest in your body, and stronger glutes can greatly enhance posture, balance and movement while decreasing risk for lower back pain. Building stronger glutes requires time and consistency; most men neglect training the posterior chain when training their posterior chain muscles. By including just two of these glute exercises twice weekly into your routine you can strengthen your backside without weights or special equipment.
A variation on the traditional lunge, this move targets both quads and hip stabilizers as well as gluteus medius and maximus muscles. By adding resistance bands into the mix, this exercise not only increases load on your muscles but also provides external cues to bend hips instead of rounding back when performing the movement.
Position your feet shoulder-width apart with dumbbells comfortably placed in each hand to aid with balance during this exercise. Rigidify your torso by contracting core and abdominal muscles (“bracing”) before using one leg as the lead leg slightly bends and steps onto a bench by driving through your heels before slowly returning back to starting position by driving through both heels again.
Although all lunges will work the quads, lateral lunges provide additional muscle activation and are an excellent glute exercise for men. Furthermore, using a bench helps train proper knee alignment and decrease the likelihood of injury when compared with standard lunges.
Lies on the floor with your legs stacked on each other and knees bent, with your right leg lifted as far as it will go while keeping the rest of your body still.
5. Bridges
The glutes are an invaluable muscle group, playing an instrumental role in various movements and activities. But many of us tend to underdevelop or overlook them altogether, leading to imbalances throughout the body and contributing to pancake butt. Bridges are among the best exercises for targeting this crucial muscle group and building rounder and stronger butts.
Glute bridges are an effective posterior chain exercise designed to not only strengthen and target your gluteus maximus, but also to activate and strengthen other supportive muscles such as your hamstrings and core. By adding resistance bands under each knee, they can further increase activation while targeting gluteus medius as well.
Bridges are closed-chain movements where arms and legs stay together throughout, making them easy to do while sitting or lying down and virtually anywhere. Because their arms and legs stay still during each exercise, bridges make an excellent addition to almost any workout regimen and require little equipment; start out with bodyweight versions before gradually adding weight as you build strength.
Add single leg glute bridges to your workout to further challenge both core and glute muscles. To do a single leg bridge, lie on your back with one leg extended straight out in front. Squeeze your glutes until your hip lifts until your extended leg forms an angle with your back in a bridge position.
No matter your goal – from posture improvement to strengthening and performance enhancement in any sport – strong glutes are crucial. Bridges provide an easy, no-equipment workout designed to strengthen buttocks and overall strength.
