Build Your Perfect Peach: 5 Glute Exercises You Can Do From Home
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Written By: Taylor Rao
We can’t deny that bums are in right now when it comes to body parts to show off. I mean, they’ve been in since the Baby Got Back days, but having a good bum isn’t just something most of us wake up with. But, if your backside is not as genetically gifted as others, you can build a great bum if you work hard at it.
Your glutes (AKA the muscles in your bum) are one of the strongest muscle groups in the human body and are responsible for the movement of your hips and thighs. So, if you’re adding glute exercises into your workout routine, you’re actually getting way more benefits than just shaping and lifting your bum --even if that’s your main goal.
We all want a nice behind, regardless of whether you’re the type to post candid bikini pics at the beach, you’ll feel good about yourself in a pair or jeans or with nothing on (it’s true!) if you can see the results of your workout progress as soon as you turn around in the mirror.
We’ve rounded up five of the most efficient glute exercises you can to do to build your perfect peach and make a habit out of improving your bum during your regular workout routine. Plus, you can do these workouts from home or any judgement free zone (maybe just not while waiting in line at the post office).
1. Squats
Starting with the obvious, you’ve probably heard a time or two that squats will help lift your bum. And as cliché of a workout move as they may be, there’s a reason squats are performed at almost every gym or fitness class you’ll take and why there are a million variations of this classic, effective exercise.
The most basic version of a squat can be done virtually anywhere. With your feet shoulder-distance apart and your elbows slightly bent and hands out in front of your chest, bend your knees and lower your body as low as you can go before squeezing your bum tight when you stand yourself back up. Repeat immediately --you’ve got no time to hang out at the top waiting to start your next rep.
Suggested rep count: 3 sets of 10
PS: You can always make a basic squat more challenging, too. If you’re ready to take it up a notch, hold a kettlebell goblet style or a single dumbbell while working that booty, or if you prefer to go bodyweight, add some extra cardio in and make it a jump squat, where you spring up toward the ceiling and jump as high as you can before lowering back down low in the squat position.
Pro Tip: Use booty bands for more resistance and better results!
2. Glute Bridge
If it’s in the name, it must be good for your glutes, right? Glute bridges target all three muscles in your bum and are done right from the floor (preferably on some sort of mat). Glute bridges are also a great hamstring stretch for when you’re feeling tight, so it’s got double the benefits.
For a glute bridge, lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground and your arms relaxed, also flat on either side. Push your pelvic muscles up and raise your midsection up toward the ceiling, keeping your neck relaxed and gaze up toward the ceiling as well. Repeat this exercise and continue to squeeze your bum together and keep your hips up as high as you can.
Suggested rep count: 5 sets of 5
3. Step-Ups
Step-Ups are exactly what they sound like --stepping up onto an elevated box or platform, elongating your body and working some cardio in the process. If you don’t have a wooden box at home similar to what you’d use at a gym, you could do this on a park bench, a very sturdy coffee table or a higher step going into your house or backyard.
Starting with your right leg on the elevated surface, place your left foot hip-distance apart on the ground and use your right leg on the box to push your other half up to the top, only lightly touching your left foot to the box before coming back down. You can do all of your reps on one side before switching legs, making sure you’re constantly squeezing on the way up and keeping your body straight up and down with your gaze out in front. To make this more advanced, you can lift your knee at the top for a little extra cardio boost and balance practice.
Suggested rep count: 2 sets of 10 (on each side)
4. Single-leg Deadlifts
Starting with your feet together and your right knee slightly bent, place your hands on your hips for stability and lower the top half of your body out in front of you, keeping all of the weight in your standing leg. As your top half heads towards the ground, bring your other leg behind you and lift up toward the back, as high as you can go with your feet flexed and shoelaces pointed at the floor.
Focus on your glutes doing the work, staying slow and controlled when bringing your back leg down while lifting your torso up, but don’t let your free leg fully touch it to the ground --start your next rep once you’ve returned to standing position.
A single-leg deadlift can be done body weight or with a lightweight kettlebell in-hand, working your hamstring mobility and helping to round out your bum by constantly squeezing your back and and engaging your abs and core.
Suggested rep count: two sets of 10 (on each side)
5. Superman
As much as this workout might make it look like you’re seconds away from falling asleep on the floor, the superman exercise works many muscle groups and makes you stronger all over, even with its short range of motion.
Laying on your stomach, extend your arms out in front of you with your legs straight and quads pressed against the floor. It’s important to keep your body relaxed and your neck in a neutral position before you get started and during the exercise itself. Then, while squeezing your bum (do this so there’s not so much pressure on your lower back), slightly raise your chest up and lower legs off the ground with your arms extended outwards and feet flexed toward the ground.
You can hold this extended, raised position for a few seconds before lowering back down and starting all over. The more you do it, the more you’ll feel it (and hopefully feel as strong as Superman, too).
Suggested rep count: 10
