The internet gives you around 4 million search results if you type in “exercises for glutes.” The trend of making this part of the body look beautiful is still very much alive and fitness bloggers hype it by showing their subscribers new ways of exercising this body part.
We have collected the most popular exercises from bloggers which will help shape the most attractive part of the female body. Maybe, you’ve never heard of these exercises.
1. Reverse hyperextension
Advantage: the goal of reverse hyperextension is working out the muscles of the buttocks and the back side of the hips.
Technique: this exercise can be done on any surface that you can place your belly on and put your legs down, like a bench, and your abs should be the support point. You should hold the sides of the bench tightly to support the position of your body.
The starting position — legs together or slightly apart, should be lifted and knees bent. When you exhale, you should lift your legs up as much as you can. In this position, your body feels parallel to the floor. Hold this position for a few seconds and then return to the starting position. During the entire exercise, make sure that you feel the tension in the buttocks and hips.
How many: 3–4 sets, 12–15 reps.
Arina Skoromnaya shows the technique of this exercise on her Instagram page. The technique with the legs bent in knees can put an additional accent on the buttocks. You can use your own weight or get some more.
2. Bulgarian split squats
Advantage: Because of the big amplitude of movement, this exercise is very effective for the buttocks.
Technique: You can use support points like a bench, a chair, or a couch. Turn your back to the support point and make a big step forward with one leg. Place the upper part of your other leg on the support point. Your hands should be either on your waist or if you’re holding additional weight, they should be along the body.
The position we just described is initial. Keep the body balanced, and squat on one leg so that the hip is parallel to the floor. After you put the knee as low as you can, return to the initial position.
How many: 3–4 sets, 10–15 reps for each leg.
ju_letta is a fitness blogger who has just started her career. On her page, you can find the description of the ideal technique of this exercise. Despite the fact that the exercise seems easy, the Bulgarian split squat is a hard thing to do because you need to have very good coordination. There are many things that you should take into account and be careful when doing it.
3. Plie’ squats
Advantage: Plie’ squats are good not only for the buttocks but also for the inner surface of the hip.
Technique: This exercise is best done with an additional weight, like a dumbbell or a kettlebell. Or you can use any other object you have at home. Take the weight with both hands. Your arms should hang down. Place your legs as wide as you can, your toes should be apart. The more apart your toes are, the harder it will be. You back should be straight, and your hips should be up.
From this position, you should slowly move down. The squat should go as low as possible, lower than parallel to the floor. While breathing out, return to the initial position. During the entire exercise, your knees should face the same direction as your toes, and the weight should be perpendicular to the floor. To keep the muscles tense during the exercise, don’t straighten your legs completely.
How many: 3–4 sets, 15–20 reps.
Despite the many variations of this exercise, you can find an easy variation on the lena_maxim page that you can do at home. As a weight, you can use a 5-liter bottle of water.
4. Gluteal bridge with feet together
Advantage: Gluteal bridge is a great way to workout the buttocks, and the variation with your feet kept together will let you exercise the adductor muscles.
Technique: The starting position: you lie on your back with your hands along your body, palms on the floor, the legs bent at the knees, the feet are pressed against each other, the knees are facing different directions. Then, slowly push the pelvis up as high as you can, and your body should make a straight line with your hips, your shoulders should stay on the floor.
When you are at the highest point, pause for a few seconds. Then slowly return to the starting position, without your buttocks touching the floor. You should feel tension in the buttocks during the entire exercise. In the beginning, don’t use any additional weights, just work on your technique.
How many: 3 sets, 50 reps each without additional weight.
In her video, Diana Ruiz makes this exercise more difficult. To make the buttocks work even more, she puts her feet on a special balancing platform. At home, you can use something like a not very soft pillow for this.
5. Romanian pull with one support leg
Advantage: The goal of the Romanian pull exercise is to work out the back of your hip, and its variation with one support leg is good for those people who have problems with their back.
Technique: You should place your legs together, put one of them a step forward, it should be straight, and the other leg should be slightly bent. Hands with dumbbells along the body, the back should be straight. From this initial position, bend down slowly and keep the hands perpendicular to the floor while moving. Then go back to the initial position. You need to keep the hips in one line while doing the exercise.
How many: 3–4 sets, 12–15 reps for each leg.
Check out Whitney Simmons’s page to find many variations of the Romanian pull. There is one which is very unusual.
6. Gluteal bridge with one leg lift
Advantage: This variation of the gluteal bridge allows you to work out your buttocks separately for each leg.
Technique: If you are doing this exercise at home, you can use a couch. Sit on the floor with your back to the couch. Your hands should be behind your neck. Bend the body back. The angle between the body and the floor should be around 45 degrees, one leg should be straight and lifted up, and the other should be bent, with the foot on the floor.
Lift your pelvis as high as you can from this position. At the top position the body should be parallel to the floor, and the upper part of the back should be on the couch seat. Then go back to the initial position, without touching the floor with your buttocks. You should feel tension during the entire exercise.
How many: 5 sets, 12–15 reps for each leg.
Linn Lowes shares the video of her home workouts on her Instagram page. She often uses special fitness bands in her exercises which allow her to increase the load on the muscles.
7. Side lunges with support
Advantage: Unlike the classic lunges back and forward, the side lunges allow you to work out the gluteus medius and the inner side of the hip.
Technique: The initial position: stand up, the legs are shoulder width apart, the back should be straight, and the hands are on the waist. Then, when breathing in, make one big step to the side, bend the knee and put the foot on the floor. Squat until the knee is at a 90 degree angle.
The back should be straight, the only thing you can do is lean forward just a bit. The second leg should be on the side and completely straight. Then, return to the initial position. To make the exercise more difficult, put the foot of the support leg on a chair or a bench. Do squats in this position.
How many: 4 sets, 10 reps for each leg.
Hanna Öberg often shows the more difficult variations of the exercises we know well on her Instagram page, including the side lunges.
8. Ankle band standing
Advantage: This exercise is good for warming up and working out the gluteus medius.
Technique: Stand at a short distance from the support, then put your hands on it, bend your back a little, step on your toes. After this, move the feet as close to each other as possible. Then return to the initial position. No matter how easy the exercise seems to be, you should do it very slowly and carefully because you might hurt your joints.
How many: 3–4 sets, 30–35 reps.
In her social media, Brittany Perille often shares videos with many variations of the exercises that she does in her workouts. This exercise is good for both the beginning (to warm up) and for the ending of a workout.
When doing any exercises, don’t forget about the contraindications, unique things about every person, and also that you should ideally consult your doctor in advance to avoid harming yourself with the exercises.
And the main secret to why fitness bloggers are in a great shape is that they have balanced diets. More than that, they don’t do exercises sporadically, they do them all the time!
