Stronger Glutes With These 5 Deceptively Tough Exercises -

Here are 5 effective and deceptively challenging exercises that will help you strengthen your glutes.

#1) Single Leg Isometric Glute Bridge + Single Leg Slides

This exercise strengthens the glutes and hamstrings, and improves lumbo-pelvic stability. You may perform this exercise using a slider, towel, or something else that will slide.

Coaching Tips:

Lie on the floor. Your head, torso and hips should be in a stacked position.

Get into a glute bridge position, and place a towel/slider underneath one of your feet. Bend your knees, and place your shins in a vertical position.

You may keep your arms on the floor. Aim to use as little assistance from your upper body as possible.

Extend your hips by pressing through the back portion of your feet and squeezing your glutes, NOT by arching your lower back. Your body should form a straight line from your knees to shoulders. Maintain this position for the duration of the exercise.

Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), and close the space in your midsection (wrinkle the front of your shirt).

Slowly extend your knee and slide your foot forward, and to a range that allows you to maintain proper form. Once you hit your end range, return your leg back to the starting position.

When you return to the starting position pause and do a proper reset.

For the duration of the exercise, your head, torso, and hips should remain in a stacked position. Do not allow your lower back to hyperextend, round, or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, torso, spine, or hips to rotate, or hips to drop.

For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your knees to fall inside or outside of your feet.

For the duration of the exercise, keep your core braced (360 degree brace around your spine), and squeeze your glutes.

In terms of breathing, do what works and feels best for you.

2) Band Resisted Hip Thrust Marches

This deceptively tough exercise strengthens the posterior chain muscles, and improves lumbo-pelvic stability.

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Coaching Tips:

The band should be anchored to the floor (you can anchor using dumbbells), and resting in your hip crease. There should be resistance in the band for 100% of the exercise.

Set yourself up so your shoulder blade/upper back area, and upper arms are positioned on a bench, chair, or other stable surface. Your head, torso, and hips should be in a stacked position. You should feel very stable on the surface.

Place your feet so they are approximately hip width apart, or slightly closer together. In the starting position, your knees should be bent to roughly 90 degrees.

Extend your hips by pressing through the back of your feet and squeezing your glutes, NOT by arching your lower back and flaring your ribcage. In the top position, your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to knees. Maintain this position for the duration of the exercise.

While keeping your body still, lift one foot several inches and perform a march. Pause for a count and then lower your foot to the floor. Repeat using the opposite side.

Do a proper ‘’reset’’ before you perform each march. Many people skip this key step.

For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your knees to fall inside or outside of your feet.

For the duration of the exercise, aside from the moving leg your body should remain still.

For the duration of the exercise, your head, torso, and hips should remain in a stacked position. Do not allow your lower back to hyperextend, round, or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, torso, spine, or hips to rotate, or hips to drop.

For the duration of the exercise, squeeze your glutes (on the planted side(s)), keep your core braced (360 degree brace around your spine), and close the space in your midsection (wrinkle the front of your shirt).

In terms of breathing, do what works and feels best for you.

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#3) Bosu Glute GHR’s

This exercise strengthens the posterior chain muscles.⁣ This can be perfect for home or gym workouts.⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

To be clear, the Bosu is very stable so I’m not using it for the purpose of unstable surface training. The Bosu serves as the perfect anchor. Most gyms (and some homes) have Bosu’s but many don’t have GHR machines (or you might be training solo and don’t have a partner ‘’anchor’’) so this can be a great option. ⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣⁣⁣

Coaching Tips:⁣⁣⁣ ⁣

⁣Place a Bosu so it’s an appropriate distance from a wall, and kneel on the base of the Bosu. Your feet should be pressed firmly against a wall, and your knees pressed into the Bosu. This is how you anchor yourself. When you are in the right position, your body should be very secure.⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣Get into a tall kneeling stance. Your body should be in a straight line from your head to knees.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), close the space in your midsection (wrinkle the front of your shirt), and squeeze your glutes.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣Now, while keeping your body in a straight line from your head to knees, take 3-5 seconds and use your hamstrings to control the movement as you extend your knees and lower your body down to your full range. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

Once you’ve hit the bottom position, use your posterior chain muscles and return to the top/starting position. If you need to use help from your upper body to perform the lifting/concentric component, use as little or as much help as needed. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣

For the duration of the exercise, your head, torso, and hips should remain in a stacked position. Do, not allow your lower back to hyperextend, round, or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, torso, spine, or hips to rotate, or weight to shift from knee to knee.⁣⁣⁣

For the duration of the exercise, keep your core braced (360 degree brace around your spine). ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

In terms of breathing, do what works and feels best for you.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣

#4) Staggered Stance Barbell RDL’s + Posterior Band Resistance⁣

This exercise strengthens the glutes and hamstrings.

The band resistance, which is coming posteriorly, helps reinforce the hip hinging movement, and really forces you to use the posterior chain muscles during the lockout. If you lose focus for even a second the band will hold you accountable, and you’ll get pulled backwards.⁣

You may also do this exercise using dumbbells.

Coaching Tips:

Fasten a resistance band around a secure surface, and loop the band around your hip crease. There should be a significant amount of resistance in the band for 100% of the exercise, and the resistance should be coming posteriorly.

Hold onto a barbell (or dumbbells), and adopt your preferred hand width. Keep your arms rigid, lats engaged, and pretend you are crushing something in your armpits. For the duration of the exercise, the barbell should not travel ahead of your body.⁣ Pretend you are painting your legs with the barbell.

Adopt a staggered stance. Figure out what stride length works and feels best for you. Your head, torso, and hips should be in a stacked position.

On the foot of the front/working leg, form a tripod base by placing your weight on the back portion of your foot, and the base of your big and baby toes. These parts of your foot should remain in contact with the floor for the duration of the exercise. Pretend you are suctioning or screwing your foot to the floor.

Be on the forefoot of the back foot. Your front leg should be doing most of the work. Use the back leg as a ‘’kickstand’’ of support.

Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), and close the space in your midsection (wrinkle the front of your shirt).

Now hinge/push your hips backwards. Pretend a rope is pulling your hips backwards or that you are trying to press your hips back against a wall.

When you are hinging, pretend you are “pulling” your body back/down with your posterior chain muscles. Don’t just mindlessly drop down.

Do not relax or lose tension when you are in the bottom position. Many people make this mistake.

When you reach your full range, engage your posterior chain muscles and press your body away from the floor and back to the top/starting position. Use a range where you can maintain proper form.

Perform the lockout by squeezing your glutes and hamstrings and extend your hips, and extend your knee. Use as little assistance from the supporting leg as possible.

Exhale after you have pressed away from the floor and are approaching the top position.

For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your knee to fall inside or outside of your foot.

For the duration of the exercise, your head, torso, and hips should remain in a stacked position. Do not allow your lower back to hyperextend, round, or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, or torso, spine or hips to rotate.

#5) Single Leg Glute Bridges + Isometric Band Resisted Psoas March

This exercise strengthens glutes and hip flexors, and improves lumbo-pelvic stability.

Coaching Tips:

Lie on the floor. Your head, torso and hips should be in a stacked position.

Place a resistance band around your midfeet.⁣ ⁣ ⁣

Get into a single leg glute bridge position. Bend one knee, and place your shin in a vertical position.

On the other side, perform a psoas march and bring your knee in towards your body. For the duration of the exercise, use your psoas muscles and keep your leg in this position. ⁣ ⁣

You may keep your arms on the floor. Aim to use as little assistance from your upper body as possible.

Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), and close the space in your midsection (wrinkle the front of your shirt).

Extend your hips by pressing through the back of your foot and squeezing your glutes, NOT by arching your lower back and flaring your ribcage. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

In the top position, your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to knee.⁣⁣ Hold for a count or more and really squeeze your glutes.⁣⁣⁣

For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your knees to fall inside or outside of your feet.

⁣⁣For the duration of the exercise, your head, torso and hips should remain in a stacked position. Do not allow your lower back to hyperextend, round, or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, torso, spine, or hips to rotate, or hips to drop.