Recently I asked five personal trainers and coaches from the WithU and Mvmnt fitness apps to share their best beginner exercises, and two of them picked the air squat. That’s not a big surprise because the squat is undoubtedly one of the best bodyweight exercises for people of all fitness levels and a great move for beginners to get to grips with.

More of a surprise was the top tip Rory Knight, director of fitness at WithU, gave to help beginners improve their squat.

“My game-changing tip is to remove your footwear and perform the exercise barefoot,” says Knight. “You have thousands of nerve endings in your feet that enhance the recruitment of your muscle fibers. To create more engagement, think of each foot as a tripod and look to grip the floor equally with your big toes, little toes and heels. By doing this, you should feel stronger, more balanced and connected when you squat.”

The squat is an exercise that you can work on no matter how experienced you are in the gym. Even if you regularly squat using heavy barbells it’s worth doing some barefoot air squats to regain that connection to the ground and ensure the foundations of your technique are sound.

If you are starting from scratch, Knight also recommends using something for support while you learn the movement.

“Use a chair for stability as you gain confidence with the move, before moving on to an unsupported squat,” says Knight.

If you’re keen to improve your form, then our 30-day squat challenge is a good way to stay motivated and give yourself a short-term goal while you practice good squat technique. The challenge builds up each day so that by the end you can do 250 unweighted squats—no mean feat—whether you’re doing them barefoot or not.

Interest in glute training has been growing steadily for the last 10 years and considering the glutes—the anatomically correct name for the muscles in your butt—are the biggest muscle group in your body, that’s no bad thing.

The glutes are actually made up of three muscles: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. Together, they are responsible for powering a variety of movements, including leg extension (lifting your leg back), abduction (moving your leg out to the side), and internal rotation of the hips (turning your foot inwards). The glutes also play an important role in maintaining your posture and stabilizing the hip joint and pelvis to keep you balanced, as well as walking and running. 

While there is a long list of glute exercises to choose from, and anyone’s training benefits from variety, research earlier this year identified the exercises that stimulated each glute muscle the most.

A study published in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal ranked a range of hip-focused exercises by their peak muscle force for each gluteal muscle. The study found that the loaded split squat, bodyweight side plank and loaded single-leg Romanian deadlift are the best exercises for targeting the gluteus maximus, the gluteus medius and the gluteus minimus respectively. They beat unloaded and 12-rep-max loaded versions of the single-leg squat, single-leg hip thrust, banded side step, hip hike, and side-lying leg raise.

It caught the eye of physiotherapist and strength coach Alec Hewstone who shared those three top exercises for the glutes in an Instagram Reel, writing that it’s “a nice blueprint for some programming essentials to hopefully keep you out of the physio clinic and performing your best!”

I asked Hewstone to tell me more about each movement. “The split squat is putting the glute max into its lengthened phase, which stimulates maximal hypertrophy and strength changes,” says Hewstone, comparing the exercise to the glute bridge, where the gluteus maximus is in its shortened range.

“With the split squat, the torso needs to move straight up and down. A cue that I often use is to imagine that your torso is trapped in a tube,” says Hewstone. “Think about touching your back knee towards the floor rather than arbitrarily bending both knees at the same time. Go as low down as you feel like you can while maintaining a good pelvic position.”

The second exercise is the side plank, which ranked highest in the study for strengthening the gluteus medius.

“The side plank is one of the best exercises that people can do in terms of hip, lower-body and back health, and prevention of muscular and skeletal pain and symptoms,” says Hewstone, who adds that you get the most activation with the top leg raised.

Finally, the study found that the single-leg Romanian deadlift is the best exercise for working the gluteus minimus. “The single-leg Romanian deadlift requires you to stabilize the pelvis while leaning the trunk forward,” says Hewstone.

“Hold the dumbbell in the opposite hand to the working leg for maximal muscle engagement,” is Hewstone's top tip for good form.

According to Hewstone, strengthening the glutes is not just for gym-goers. It’s also important for people who work desk jobs and spend a lot of time sitting down. “When sitting down, the glute muscles are in slightly lengthened ranges for prolonged periods, which is a long-term, gentle chronic passive stretch to that muscle,” Hewstone explains. “This can lead to relative glute weakness.”

Are you looking for more glute-focused workouts? If you are a member of the gym, try this glute workout or booty workout, or alternatively, buy a set of booty bands and use this resistance band glute workout.

You are unlikely to nail any exercise the very first time you try it. Your first unweighted air squat was probably like ours: a little shallow, a little tentative. Over time you get better at squatting, of course, and you start looking at progressions like the goblet squat and Bulgarian split squat.

The Cossack squat is a particularly tough squat variation that is certainly tricky to nail first time. It’s a combination of the squat and the side lunge, and as you might expect, mixing two of the best glute exercises into one move leads to great results.

We first did the Cossack squat during a class at Barry’s Bootcamp St Paul’s in London. Once the class was over, we checked in with Barry’s to find out more about the move.

“The Cossack squat is a squat variation used for mobility and strength,” says Barry’s Bootcamp master trainer Tee von Zitzewitz.

“Perform it using just your bodyweight first and then once the move is mastered, you can add weight. Doing the full Cossack squat might seem unachievable for those who lack flexibility at first, but over time, with patience and determination, you will get there and you’ll see great results.”

Cossack Squat Benefits

The Cossack squat uses the same muscles as the unweighted squat, which is pretty much every muscle group in the lower body with a focus on the quads and glutes, but by changing the angle of the exercise you challenge the body in a different way to develop functional strength in your lower body.

It’s also a great move for testing and improving your flexibility and mobility, which are areas that are often sidelined in favour of trying to lift heavier weights with a barbell squat. The improvements you make in these areas will translate to better performance across your other squats, and easier movement in your regular life.

How To Do The Cossack Squat

“Start with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and take a big step to the side, like with a side lunge,” says Von Zitzewitz. “Shift your bottom back and tilt slightly forwards from the hips. You should feel your glutes activate immediately. Keep your weight through the heels at all times, and imagine spreading the floor outward with your feet.

“If this feels comfortable, start to take your feet wider and move your weight further back into the heels and bottom. Your bodyweight should always be on one side with the opposite leg extended. If comfortable, start to lift the toes up on the foot of your extended leg, keeping the heel firmly on the floor. As with all exercises, progression takes time, and you should only add weight once the basics are mastered and form is correct.”

As Von Zitzewitz suggests, the Cossack squat is similar to the side lunge, but differs in that you don’t come up to standing between reps: rather, you maintain a wide stance, and you drop deeper with the exercise than you do with a side lunge. In the Cossack squat, the foot of your extended leg is also only grounded by the heel, rather than planted on the floor as in the side lunge.

The glute kick-back is an exercise that, according to the internet, comes in several forms. One movement is a bodyweight exercise where you start on all fours and kick one leg back and up behind you, an exercise that is also called the donkey kick.

If that’s the move you’re after, we have a donkey kick exercise guide for you to refer to, but for our money the glute kick-back is a standing move that involves some kind of resistance. For this version you’ll need a cable machine, but you can also rig up a resistance band and use that for an exercise you can do at home.

As its name suggests, the move primarily targets the glutes. The standing exercise done with resistance places more emphasis on that muscle group than the donkey kick, sacrificing some of the core strength and balance benefits of the latter. However, the standing kick-back is more effective in strengthening your glutes, whether you use it as part of your workout or as part of a warm-up ahead of a tough leg day workout.

How To Do The Glute Kick-back

Set up a cable machine with an ankle wrap attached to the bottom of the machine. Wrap one ankle in the attachment and take a step away from the machine. Stand facing the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the pole with both hands.

Raise the leg attached to the machine directly behind you, keeping your standing leg planted on the floor. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the move, then slowly bring your leg back down to the starting position – don’t let the pull of the cable machine hurry you through this stage of the exercise. Do all your reps on one leg, then switch sides.

See related 

• The Best Cable Machine Exercises For All Levels
• The Best Glute Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• The Best Resistance Bands For Gym And Home Workouts

Glute Kick-back Variations

Resistance band glute kick-back

If you don’t have access to a cable machine you can do the standing glute kick-back with a resistance band. You’ll need to find a sturdy anchor for one end of the band that also has something you can hold at around chest height. Loop the other end of the band around one ankle to perform the kick-back.

The fire hydrant is not a glamorous exercise. It’s named after the position a dog adopts when urine-marking something, after all. However, it is a move that most of us would benefit from adding to our workout routines, because it’s a great way to work your glutes, check on the mobility of your hips and even reduce the risk of developing lower-back pain.

That makes it especially advantageous for mostly sedentary desk workers, but the benefits are just as rich for keen athletes, since the fire hydrant strengthens the gluteus maximus. That muscle will also help you perform a range of functional movements either when playing sport or tackling big lifts in the gym.

The fire hydrant is also a useful addition to warm-up routines ahead of strength sessions, since it fires up the glutes and also engages the core. It’s also a fine move for runners, rounding out the strength in their lower body, since it involves moving in a sideways plane of motion, rather than forwards and backwards as with running.

See related 

• The Best Glute Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• The Best Glutes Workout
• The Home Glutes Workout That Will Get Your Day Off To A Flyer
• Feel The Burn With This Booty Workout From Fitness App SHREDDY

How To Do The Fire Hydrant

We’ve all seen dogs peeing on stuff, right? Keep that lovely image in mind and the fire hydrant is a pretty easy move to understand. Start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Brace your core, and try to keep it engaged throughout the move to increase the benefits, and ensure your hips don’t sag.

Lift one leg out to the side, keeping the 90° bend in your knee. Lift the leg until your knee is at hip height – you can stop earlier if you have tight hips – then bring it back down to the starting position. That’s one rep. Do all your reps on one side, then switch. Although this is a relatively simple exercise, you’ll feel the burn in your glutes as you near the end of your set.

The beauty of a really good booty workout is that while the glutes are the focus, the exercises involved are often compound moves that work a whole load of other muscles as well. That means if you power through the new eight-week booty workout plan on female fitness app SHREDDY (App Store and Google Play, £9.99 a month), you’ll end up fitter and stronger in all sorts of ways, as well as sporting glorious glutes.

Below you’ll find an example of the workouts in the plan for you to try before signing up. You’ll need to visit a gym for this session, since the glute exercises require a variety of free weights, resistance bands and a cable machine to execute. If the cable machine is in use, try this legs workout instead.

SHREDDY Booty Workout

Warm-Up

1 High knees

Time 30sec Rest 10sec

Run on the spot, lifting your knees up to your chest.

2 Standing hip opener

Time 30sec Rest 10sec

From standing, raise one leg while bending your knee until your thigh is parallel to the floor. Keeping your body facing forwards, move your knee out to the side. Reverse the move to the start and repeat on the opposite side.

3 Glute bridge

Time 30sec Rest 10sec

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet planted on the floor. Drive your hips up so your body forms a straight line from your knees to your shoulders, then lower slowly.

4 Unweighted squat

Time 30sec Rest 10sec

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Lower by bending your knees and moving your hips back until your thighs are parallel to the floor, then push back up. Keep a flat back throughout and keep your torso as upright as possible.

5 Cat-cow

Time 30sec Rest 10sec

On all fours, slowly arch your back and bring your head up, then round your back and bring your head down so your chin comes towards your chest.

Booty Workout

1 Barbell 1.5 hip thrust

Sets 4 Reps 10

Sit on the floor and lean back so your shoulders are against a bench, holding a barbell just below your hips. Drive your hips up so your knees are bent at 90°, with your body forming a straight line from knees to shoulders. Lower halfway back to the start, then push back up to the bridge position. Lower back to the floor to complete one rep.

2 Banded dumbbell glute bridge

Sets 4 Reps 12

Loop a short resistance band around your thighs just above your knees. Lie back with your knees bent and feet planted on the floor, holding a dumbbell in both hands just below your hips. Drive your hips up into a bridge position, pressing out with your knees to keep tension in the resistance band. Lower slowly.

3 Dumbbell goblet squat

Sets 3 Reps 12

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your toes pointed out at a 45° angle, holding a dumbbell in both hands by your chest. Drop into a deep squat, then drive back up.

4 Frog squat

Sets 3 Reps 16

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Lower into a squat, then instead of straightening your legs to stand up, hinge forwards at your hips, keeping a slight bend in your knees. Lower into a squat again and continue that movement pattern until you have completed all the reps.

5 Cable machine glute kick-back

Sets 3 Reps 12 each side

Attach a cuff attachment to the low position on the cable machine and loop it around your ankle. Hold the machine with both hands and hinge forwards at the hips slightly. Raise your leg behind you to feel the stretch in your glutes. Do all your reps on one side, then switch.

6 Banded tap-back

Sets 3 Reps 16 each side

Loop a short resistance band around your ankles and stand with your feet hip-width apart. Lift one foot and tap your toes on the floor behind you, then bring it forwards and tap next to your other foot. Do all your reps on one side, then switch.

See related

• Krissy Cela’s Bum Workout Will Have Feeling Your Best
• The Best Glute Exercises For Women
• The Best Glute Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• The Best Glutes Workout
• The Home Glutes Workout That Will Get Your Day Off To A Flyer

Finisher

Complete four rounds of the following.

1 Barbell walking lunge

Time 40sec Rest 20sec

Stand resting a barbell on your shoulders behind your neck. Step forwards and bend both knees to 90°, then push back up through your front foot and bring your back foot forwards to come to standing with your feet together. Then lunge forwards again, leading with the opposite foot.

2 Split squat

Time 40sec Rest 20sec

Adopt a staggered stance with one foot in front of the other. Bend both knees to lower, then drive back up. Swap your legs around after 20 seconds.

3 Two point plank reach

Time 40sec Rest 20sec

Start in a high plank position, supporting your body on your hands and toes, with your arms extended and your body forming a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. Reach forwards with your left hand and simultaneously raise your right leg off the floor. Lower both limbs, then repeat on the opposite sides.

4 Banded donkey kick to fire hydrant

Time 40sec Rest 20sec

Loop a short resistance band just above your knees and get on all fours. Moving at your hips and maintaining the bend in your knee, raise one leg straight back and up, then bring the knee forwards and to the side, then return it to the floor. Alternate legs with each rep.

The first benefit of strong, well-trained glutes is obvious – they look damn good in a pair of jeans. But there are many other reasons why you should ensure glute exercises feature in your workouts.

The glutes play a key role in keeping your body aligned correctly, which helps you avoid injuries, and provide the power for many movements, especially walking or running up hills or stairs. If your day-to-day involves sitting behind a desk there’s a good chance your glutes aren’t firing as efficiently as they should, and this can contribute to the type of lower back pain that plagues office workers.

To help you get to work on your glutes we asked Andy Macaulay, trainer and ambassador for Virgin Active, and Toby Lynes, The Fitting Rooms Gym personal trainer, to pick and explain the best beginner, intermediate and advanced glute exercises, and we’ve thrown in a few of our favourites, too.

Naturally you should warm up before attempting any exercise, but if you’re about to attempt a move that will take you out of your comfort zone it’s crucial to warm up thoroughly because it’s annoyingly easy to injure your glutes. Both jogging and light stretching will help, as will doing bodyweight versions of the glute exercises you’ve already mastered.

Beginner Glute Exercises

Glute bridge

“This is a great move for beginners, activating the glutes while giving a good stretch without the need for equipment,” says Macaulay.

“Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Keep both arms on the floor by your sides with palms facing up. Before lifting your hips, check your heels are close to your butt and your feet are hip-width apart. Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips until you form a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Pause at the top and squeeze your glutes again to make sure they’re still active, then lower slowly.”

Reverse lunge

“Stand with your feet hip-width apart,” says Macaulay. “Step one leg straight back and lower your torso by bending your knees until both are at 90°Ensure your front heel is grounded, your hips don’t rotate and your chest remains upright throughout. Rise back to standing by pushing down through your front heel and squeezing your glutes.”

Squat

“One of the most popular and versatile exercises for glute and leg training, the squat is highly effective if done correctly,” says Macaulay. “It can also help improve your strength, power, speed and endurance, as well as weight loss.

“Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees and lower your hips, pushing your knees out over your toes – this takes the pressure off your lower back while promoting glute activation. Lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor, then push back up through your heels. When starting out, focus on mobility – if you find your heels lift, try shortening the range of the squat so that they stay down.”

Floor hip extension

“This is a simple yet effective exercise for working your glutes,” says Lynes. “Get into a press-up position and bring one knee to your chest. Then extend the same leg behind you until it’s completely straight and parallel to the floor. Try to limit the arch in your lower back when extending your leg.”

Cable hip abductions

“This simple movement will work the muscles on the side of your bum,” says Lynes. “Attach a pulley from a cable machine to one ankle. Hold on to something for support and raise the leg attached to the machine out to the side. The most effective approach is long sets – keep going until you feel the burn.”

Clamshell

Not only will this terrific move strengthen your glutes, you can also use it to loosen them up ahead of a run, a tough weights session or a long day at your desk. Lie on your side with your hips and legs stacked one on top of the other and your knees bent at a 90° angle. Rest your head on one arm, and place the other hand on the floor in front of your chest to improve stability and stop your hips rotating during the exercise.

Keeping your feet together, rotate the hip of your top leg so your knee rises towards the ceiling. Lift only as far as you can without your pelvis starting to turn or the lower knee rising off the floor. Then rotate back down.

Step-up

Let’s not overcomplicate this. You’ll need a stable platform at roughly knee height to step onto.

If you’re going for a duration of time then you should aim to alternate your lead leg after every step. If you’re working in sets, try to do an even number of sets and alternate the lead leg from set to set.

Bird-dog

As well as working the glutes, this bodyweight move will also strengthen your hamstrings, lower back and core. Start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Simultaneously lift and extend your right arm in front of you and your left leg behind you. Slowly come back to the starting position, and then extend the opposite limbs. Keep your back straight and your movements controlled throughout, and ensure your hips stay level.

Wall sit

This isometric exercise is absolute murder on your thighs, but also hits the glutes and the tricky-to-target calf muscles hard. Stand about 60cm from a wall, facing away, and lean back and press your torso against it. Slide down the wall until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Your knees should be bent at 90° and directly above your ankles, while your upper back and shoulders should be pressed into the wall. Then it’s as simple as holding this position for a set time. It’ll feel fine at first, but the burning sensation in your lower body will build quickly.

Plank

You might not immediately associate the plank with your glutes, but when maintaining proper form with the exercise, you engage your entire core including the glutes and lower back. Get into position with your weight on the balls of your feet and your forearms, creating a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles. Engage your abs and glutes to make sure your hips don’t move up or down during the hold.

Intermediate Glute Exercises

Bulgarian split squat

“This is not only is a great way to activate the glutes but also improves your lower-body stability, plyometric ability and mobility,” says Macaulay.

“Stand facing away from a bench, then raise one leg behind you and rest the top of the foot on the bench. Keep your torso upright and brace your abdominals to help keep your hips square to the bench. Bend your knees to lower slowly until the rear knee nearly touches the floor and the front thigh is parallel to the ground. Pause at the bottom, then squeeze your glutes to push back up explosively.”

Sumo squat with kettlebell

“The wider foot position of the sumo squat allows more external rotation of the hips which improves glute activation,” says Macaulay. “It really burns! Holding a kettlebell is a great way to progress to back squats.

“Stand with your legs wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed out. Hold the kettlebell handle in both hands between your legs, with your palms facing in. Looking forwards and keeping your chest up, lower your body by bending your knees until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Then push back up. Keep your back straight and heels on the ground throughout, and keep the pace slow and controlled.”

Single-leg glute bridge pulse

“This is a great progression from the beginner glute bridge,” says Macaulay. “Once you’ve gained the strength to keep your hips square this is what you should try next.

“Use the same form as a standard glute bridge until your hips are raised. Then raise one leg until it is stretched out straight. Squeeze the glute muscle on the side of the grounded foot while pushing down through the heel. Pulse your hips at the top ten times before swapping legs.”

Donkey kick

This is a progression from the floor hip extension. Start on your hands and knees with your back straight. With one leg, keeping the 90° knee bend throughout, kick back and up so the sole of your shoe faces the ceiling, just like a disgruntled donkey – only you’re happy because you’re working on a great set of glutes.

Make sure the kicks are controlled and try to avoid grounding your knee throughout the set. Go for 30 seconds to one minute on a single leg, then swap.

Kettlebell swing

This could easily make the advanced list, but you’re not going to make the mistake that many make, namely using your arms and back to move the weight. Oh no, you’re going to master the hip hinge using a light weight first.

Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in the knees, with the kettlebell on the floor between your feet. Keeping your arms and back straight, bend over to pick up the kettlebell, swinging it back between your legs to start generating momentum.

Drive your hips forwards to stand upright and swing the kettlebell up to eye level. Control the swing back down, allowing the kettlebell back through your legs and bending at your hips. Remember, if you’re predominantly using your upper body to move the kettlebell, you’re doing it wrong.

Box jump

This explosive exercise hits all the major muscles in the lower body, building power that translates well to any sports that involve running and/or jumping, which is most sports come to think of it. Find yourself a box – don’t go too high at first, around 50cm should do it – and stand in front of it with your feet shoulder-width apart. Drop into a shallow squat and swing your arms back, then swing them forwards and leap up onto the box, landing with both feet in the same quarter-squat position you used to take off. Then step back down and go again.

Sumo deadlift

The deadlift is a terrific exercise and you’ll find another variation further down this list, but when you’re relatively new to weight training it’s one that’s easy to get wrong, and if your technique is off you can find that your back feels the strain in all the wrong ways. To reduce the risk of that, start with the sumo deadlift: not only does it reduce the load on your back, but it also shifts the focus of the move from your hamstrings to your glutes. Which is ideal for anyone interested in the best glutes exercises, right?

Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed out at 45°. Bend at the hips to reach down and grab the bar, either with an overhand grip or a mixed grip, where one hand is underhand. Your back should be flat in this bottom position. Drive through your heels to extend your knees and push your hips forwards to raise the bar to mid-thigh level. Then lower the bar back to the start.

See related 

• The Best Glutes Workout
• The Best Leg Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• How To Master Hill Running – And Why

Advanced Glute Exercises

Barbell lunge

"Once you’re confident with the dumbbell lunge, try this challenging progression,” says Lynes. “By eliminating the grip strength required for dumbbell lunges you can load more weight, making it a fantastic exercise to strengthen your glutes and hamstrings.

“Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding the bar behind your neck, resting on your traps. Inhale and take a big step forwards, keeping your torso as straight as possible. Bend your knees to lower your body until your front thigh is roughly horizontal. Exhale and return to the start position. If you take a small step the quadriceps will mostly be isolated, but we want to hit your glutes, so take a big step!”

Barbell hip thrust

“This move delivers fantastic posterior strength,” says Macaulay. “Sit with your upper back against a bench, a barbell over your hips, bent knees and your feet firmly on the ground close to your glutes. Drive up through your heels and push your upper back onto the bench to lift your hips and the barbell. Squeeze your glutes and press your hips up as high as possible. Pause for a second or two at the top, bracing your abs to maintain a strong neutral position, then lower back to the start. Make sure you are driving straight up through your heels and avoid pushing yourself backwards over the bench and arching your spine.”

Stiff-leg deadlift

“This move will improve your posture and set your glutes and hamstrings on fire!” says Macaulay. “Standing upright with your feet hip-width apart and your arms straight down, hold the bar with an overhand grip, palms facing you, so it’s resting against your thighs. Inhale and bend at the hips, lowering your upper body toward the floor. Tilt your tailbone back, keep your back straight and your knees soft but straight, and look forwards as you descend. Keep the bar close to your legs – if the bar moves away from your legs it places increased stress on your lower back. Stop the movement when you feel a slight stretch in your hamstrings. Exhale as you stand back up.”

Hill sprints

“Head for the great outdoors to really fire up the glutes, but make sure you stay fast and explosive,” says Macaulay. “Running through fatigue can force your body to recruit other muscles and prevent the focused gains you’re after.

“Find a hill and sprint up it as fast as you can, driving your knees up and forwards. Push down with your feet as if you’re pushing the ground away from you. Once you start slowing down, stop, walk back down the hill and wait until you completely recover. Do three hill sprints at first and progress to ten.”

Sliding leg curl

A word to the wise: if you’re doing this properly it will feel hard very quickly, so take it slow. You will need two slider pads. Lie on your back, bend your knees and place your heels on the sliders. Extend your legs using the sliders while keeping your glutes off the ground, then drive them back again.

If you’re not incorporating some kind of animal-inspired exercise into your workouts from time to time, we reckon you’re doing fitness wrong. Not only are moves like the bird-dog, bear crawl, donkey kick and frog jump fun to do, they’re very effective bodyweight exercises that don’t require a gym. Which is fortunate because we don’t fancy jumping around like a frog in the gym.

The clamshell is another great move which takes inspiration from the natural world, and one that yields big benefits for the deskbound as well as runners and weightlifters. That’s because it engages and activates the glutes to strengthen the muscles in your bum and stabilise your hips.

It’s a terrific move to do as a warm-up ahead of lifts like barbell squats, or before a run, or to loosen up and get moving again after many hours at a computer. It’s also a great exercise for those who simply want more definition and strength in their glutes. And who doesn’t want that?

See related

• The Best Glute Exercises For Women
• The Expert Guide To Strength Training For Runners
• The Best Leg Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer

How To Do Clamshells

Lie on your side with your head resting on your arm, your hips and legs stacked one on top of the other, and your knees bent at a 90° angle. Your feet should be roughly in line with your hips and shoulders with your knees out in front of you. Place your other hand in front of your chest to support your body in this position so your hips don’t rotate.

Keeping your feet together, engage your abs and lift your top knee towards the ceiling. Raise the knee only as far as you can without your hips starting to rotate or the other knee coming up off the floor. Then lower back to the start. Do all your reps on one side, then switch.

You might not be able to lift the knee that far without your hips starting to rotate, but don’t worry – you don’t need to mimic a fully open clamshell to get the benefits of the exercise. The burning you’ll feel in your glutes after a few well done reps will attest to that.

There are three gluteal muscles – the maximus, medius and minimus – father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and so on. They’re important in hip flexibility and movement, as well as looking fabulous.

Spending all day sitting behind a desk is a surefire shortcut to weak glutes and lower back problems. The impulse is often to sit too far forward, which causes your hip flexors to become tight and also results in the glutes effectively switching off. Activating them as part of your training programme does wonders not only for your physique but for your structural health.

How To Do The Glute Bridge

1. Lie face up on the floor, with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Keep your arms at your side with your palms down.
2. Lift your hips off the ground until your knees, hips and shoulders form a straight line. Squeeze those glutes hard and keep your abs drawn in so you don’t overextend your back during the exercise.
3. Hold your bridged position for a couple of seconds before easing back down.

Aim for two sets of ten bridges, two to three times a week, either as part of a wider bodyweight workout or on their own, if all you really care about is your derrière.

Benefits Of The Glute Bridge

You should feel the burn in your glutes and your hamstrings if you’re doing it correctly. The bridge is also great for improving hip mobility and strengthening your lower back, two things that any desk-bound worker can really benefit from.

Glute Bridge Variations

Single-Leg Glute Bridge

There are plenty of worthwhile variations to the glute bridge that don’t require any gym equipment. The best place to start is with the single-leg glute bridge, which halves the number of grounded legs to double the difficulty.

Lie on your back and bend your knees so your feet rest flat on the floor. Then raise one leg until it is stretched out straight. Brace yourself, then drive the heel of the foot still grounded into the floor and push your hips up until your body is in a straight line from your shoulders to the toes of your outstretched foot. Slowly lower yourself again, then repeat on the same side. Aim for ten reps on one leg, then switch to the other.

Medicine Ball Glute Bridge

This is best performed on a gym mat. Elevate your feet by placing them both on a medicine ball and, keeping your core engaged, drive through your heels until you’re extended. Pause for a second or two and squeeze your glutes. Slowly lower back to the start, but don’t let your glutes touch the floor because this would take the tension off the target muscles.

Glute Bridge And Curl

You can also ramp up the challenge of the glute bridge by adding a towel into the mix. Put your feet on it and slide them out and back in slowly when in the bridged position, keeping your hips raised throughout. This is called the glute bridge and curl, and it’s tough.

Glute Bridge March

Another tough variation is the glute bridge march. Once you’re in the elevated position of a regular glute bridge, move one leg slowly up towards your chest in a high-knee “marching” motion. Then lower it and march with the other leg. Alternate until you reach a total of 40 marches, 20 on each side.

Hip Thrust

Once you feel you have sufficiently mastered the bodyweight glute bridge, step up to what is essentially a barbell glute bridge. You’ll need to find yourself a flat bench, and lie horizontally on it supported by your upper back. Select a weight that allows you to perform six to eight reps with good form. Position the centre of the bar at your midriff level, with a squat pad or a towel between you and it. Slowly lower, and then initiate the pressing phase by driving through your heels. Extend vertically at the hips at the top portion of the lift.

If you’re looking for inspiration from the animal world for your workouts, look no further than the humble donkey. They might not seem as strong as a bear, or as powerful as a lion, but there’s one thing they can do as well as any animal, and that’s kick.

Mimicking this movement might never let you replicate the power (and spite) donkeys are capable of putting in their reverse kicks, but it does yield impressive benefits for humans in the shape of stronger glutes. You can’t lift the massive weights used for back squats when doing donkey kicks, and yet the exercises are equally effective in targeting the glutes when done without weights.

The behind isn’t the only part of the body that benefits either – your lower back, hip and core muscles are all engaged during the movement as well. And you get all this without the need for any equipment. So if you’re looking for a glute builder to add to your home workouts, look no further than the donkey kick. Or quadruped bent-knee hip extensions, as they’re also sometimes known. Don’t call them that though, it takes ages to say and is far harder to understand than donkey kicks.

See related

• The Best Glute Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• The Best Glutes Workout
• The Best Leg Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• Krissy Cela’s Bum Workout Will Have Feeling Your Best

How To Do A Donkey Kick

Donkeys don’t walk around on two legs so start by getting on your hands and knees. Your knees and feet should be hip-width apart, and your hands should be directly beneath your shoulders. Brace your core to stop your midsection from sagging or arching throughout the exercise – you want to keep it in a neutral position.

Squeezing your glutes to activate them, lift one leg behind you, keeping the knee bent at 90° until the sole of the foot is facing the ceiling. Lift the leg as high as you can while keeping the rest of your body still – taking particular care not to let your hips sag – then bring it slowly back down to the starting position. You should do all your reps on one leg, then switch to the other.

Donkey Kick Variations

Straight-leg donkey kick

Opting for a straight leg when kicking makes the move a little harder, and you can also add in a half-circle to the side to recruit more glute muscles and improve the mobility in your hips. Set up as normal, then kick one leg straight out behind you and raise it slightly. If you’re adding the circle, loop the leg out to the side and back as you lower, then come back down to the starting position.

Resistance band donkey kick

Another good way to increase the challenge of the donkey kick is to introduce some extra resistance using a band. The easiest way to do this is using a large looped resistance band, holding one end and looping the other around your foot on the same side. If you have a straight band then you’ll have to hold one end in your hand and then tie it around the ankle on the same side. With the band in place perform the standard or straight-leg donkey kick as normal.

The best bodyweight exercise for building stronger glutes is the glute bridge, so it follows that the best weighted glute exercise involves a similar thrust of the hips.

That’s more or less what the hip thrust is, a glute bridge with weights, although you also raise your shoulders on a bench which makes your glutes take on more of the load. 

If the hip thrust isn’t already part of your training plan, we suggest adding it in, sharpish. Here’s why and how, with expert advice from strength and conditioning coach Andrew Reay, who spoke to us on behalf of sports coach booking platform Sport Session.

Hip Thrust Benefits

We’re firm believers that the hip thrust deserves a place in your weekly gym routine, not only because it’s a compound exercise that allows you to lift a lot of weight, but also because it holds the key to unlocking a plethora of strength and performance benefits. 

It recruits the glutes primarily but also works your hamstrings, calves and lower back. Those are all key components of your posterior chain – the muscles that run along the back of your body and are responsible for backward force, and stabilising your spine and hips. 

“It’s about filling in the gaps when it comes to strengthening the back of the body,” says Reay. “Outside of squats, lunges and step-ups, you need to think about how you’re challenging and developing your posterior chain. You have the deadlift for your hamstrings, but the hip thrust will work the glutes and the lower back specifically.”

Performing hip thrusts can also help you get out of the blocks quicker, which is especially beneficial if you play field sports.

“Hip thrusts and rack pulls are examples of hip extensions,” says Reay. “Hip extension is what propels you forward. The stronger you can be there, theoretically, the faster you’ll be able to accelerate. As you get up to your top speed when running, it becomes more hamstring-heavy, but generally, developing the glutes, hamstrings and posterior chain will get you moving quickly.”

Hip Thrust Vs Glute Bridge

These two exercises challenge the same muscles but change the emphasis because of the different set-ups. The raised shoulder position of the hip thrust is the key difference between the two moves. “A hip thrust will work your glutes and lower back harder,” says Reay. “The reason for that is you’ll get a little bit more hip flexion and knee bend due to the greater range of motion, which will take the hamstrings and calves out of the equation a little bit while relying on the glutes to do quite a lot more.”

Conversely, the position assumed during a glute bridge will require more input from your hamstrings and calves to thrust your hips upwards.

Hip Thrust Equipment

A stable, roughly knee-high platform is the first thing to secure, but before you co-opt a weights bench, look around your gym floor for a dedicated hip thrust bench. These will either be a padded trapezoid or an angled pad connected to a textured foot rest to stop your feet from slipping.

The second thing you’ll need is a free weight, although beginners can start with just their own bodyweight. Typically, the hip thrust is performed with a barbell because of its high weight ceiling, and your gym may also have barbell pads for comfort’s sake. A heavy dumbbell, kettlebell or weight plate will do the job, too.

How To Do The Hip Thrust

“Find a place for your barbell or box where you can be sure it’s going to stay there,” says Reay. After all, you don’t want to lean against your back support only for it to go sliding across the room.

“Sit on the floor, get the bar close and put the barbell pad on. Set yourself up so the mid-part of your back [just under the shoulder blades] is resting on the box or bench, then straighten your legs and roll the bar over your feet until it’s over your hips. Walk your feet in so they are resting flat on the floor.”

Drive through your feet to lift your hips and the barbell until your torso and thighs are parallel to the floor. Lower the bar under control.

Common Beginner Mistakes

While it’s a reasonably straightforward movement, there are some pitfalls to be aware of when trying the exercise for the first time. 

Lower-back bias: “Many people will feel hip thrusts in their lower back a lot,” says Reay. “This is because they’ll go into an overextended position at the top of the lift, really arching their back.” Thankfully, there’s a simple tip to avoid this error. “Tuck your chin down to your chest. This keeps you in a position where you can’t overextend.”

Foot drive: It’s often advised to drive through your heels as you propel the bar upwards, but Reay suggests a slightly different strategy. “I suggest pushing up through the whole foot. As you return to the bottom of the lift, you will naturally fall back on to your heels. If you can, try to push through the whole foot as you come back up, driving through your laces. This will set your glutes up to do the bulk of the work.”

Hip Thrust Variations

Glute bridge

The glute bridge works the same muscles as the hip thrust but is unweighted, so it works both as a handy alternative when you don’t have access to equipment and as a stepping-stone exercise for those who need to build some strength and confidence before resting a barbell across their thighs.

Lie on your back with your arms by your sides, your knees bent and your feet planted on the ground. Squeeze your glutes, press through your heels and drive your hips up so you form a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Hold for a second at the top of the move, then lower slowly.

Single-leg hip thrust

This is an advanced variation on the hip thrust so it’s best to try it without using any weights first, because the instability created by only having one foot planted on the ground can cause you to topple over. Set up for the hip thrust as normal but raise one foot off the ground, keeping the bend in your knee. Keep the leg elevated as you drive your hips up and come back down. This variation can help fix any strength imbalances in your body, as well as challenging your core to resist the rotation created by having one leg lifted.

When you look at the almost comically ripped physiques of MMA fighters you have to assume it’s the result of many, many hours in the gym – far beyond the time available to those of us who haven’t made the sport our nine-to-five. And you’d be right, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a 15-minute taste of what it takes to whip them into that shape.

That’s the length of this MMA-inspired workout from Jorge Blanco, one of the trainers who contribute to Chris Hemsworth’s health and fitness app Centr, and also a coach of fighters like Georges St-Pierre and celebrities like Drake.

Central to the challenge of the workout, which focuses on your glutes and core, is the very little time you get to rest as you roll from exercise to exercise without breaks so you keep your muscles under tension throughout. Enjoy!

15-Minute MMA Workout

Complete three rounds of the following exercises. Take no rest between moves and rest for only 30 seconds at the end of each round, then go straight into the next one.

1 Shadow boxing: jab + slip + left hook + right cross

Time 60sec

Stand in the fighter’s position (left foot is forward if you’re right-handed, knees slightly bent) with your guard up (fists in front of your face). To jab, punch your left fist straight out until your arm is horizontal, before retracting. Then slip by moving slightly to the left as if you were dodging a punch aimed at your head. Complete a left hook by turning your arm sideways and punching horizontally at face level. Then finish with a right cross by throwing a straight punch across your body.

2 Sumo squat

Time 60sec

Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and pointing outwards at a 45° angle, with your hands by your sides. Sink down as if you’re sitting on a chair, keeping your centre of gravity over your heels and your knees in line with your toes. You can bring your arms in front of your chest to stabilise yourself. Then stand back up to the starting position.

See related

• Centr Review: We Followed The Chris Hemsworth Fitness App For Two Weeks
• MMA Fighter Jimi Manuwa’s Heavy Hitting Workouts
• Are You Tough Enough To Tackle This MMA Full-Body Workout?

3 Side plank (right)

Time 45sec

Lie on your right side. Place your right elbow and forearm on the ground, with your elbow underneath your shoulder. With your left foot resting on your right foot and your core tensed, raise your body so you are supported by your right forearm and right foot. Hold this position, keeping your body in a straight line, for the duration.

4 Side plank (left)

Time 45sec

Repeat what you just did, but on the other side.

5 Staggered press-up

Time 60sec

This press-up variation can be done either on your knees or your toes. Begin in a regular press-up position, but with your left hand next to your body just below your ribcage, and your right hand level with your shoulder. Complete one press-up, keeping your elbows tucked in. Then switch your hand position so your left is in line with your shoulder and your right is below your ribcage. Alternate hand position with every rep.

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The glutes workout is one of three options – the others are a yoga session and a HIIT kettlebell and yoga combo. All are designed to get you going in the morning. You could, of course, slip them in during your lunch break or even after work, but AXA PPP’s recruited Vertue to spread the good word about exercising before you make it to your job.

A paper in the International Journal Of Workplace Health Management found that of 201 volunteers in the study, 74% reported that they felt better at managing their workload on the days they exercised before or during work. Vertue has her own, less scientific but no less compelling, reasons for fitting in a sweat session before your morning session. “It’s 6pm, you said you would leave work to get a workout in, but a new deadline slides into your inbox. You’re caught in that all-too-familiar dilemma of the corporate world: to work or to workout? That is the question… Had you worked out in the morning, you wouldn’t be in this situation and that’s the reason that I prioritise working out first thing in the morning.

“And it’s better than starting your day with technology or social media. It can be very tempting to wake up and have a scroll, but exercising will really help to boost focus and lift your mood for the day ahead.”

And as these 15-minute workouts show, you can get the benefits without waking up at some godawful hour.

Shona Vertue’s Glute Workout

Each part of this workout is done on a 45/15 split. Work for 45 seconds, then spend the next 15 seconds getting ready for the next exercise. Do the moves in order, repeating the circuit twice in total.

Warm up for one minute by jumping, hopping and/or jogging on the spot. Then do a set of unweighted squats and reverse lunges.

Banded squat

Time 45sec Rest 15sec

Take a large resistance band, fold it in two, step through the middle and wrap it around the tops of your knees. As you squat, the band will try to force your knees in so use your glutes to keep your knees pressed out. Place your feet shoulder-width apart with your toes pointing out. Bend your knees to lower down, pushing your hips back and keeping your chest up. Push through your heels to stand back up.

Banded glute bridge

Time 45sec Rest 15sec

Lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, loop one end of the band around your heel, bring the band over your hips and then loop the other end around the other heel. Lift your hips using your glutes until your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Lower slowly back to the start and repeat.

See related :

• The Best Glute Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• Blast Your Whole Body With This Resistance Band Workout
• The Best Home Workout For Your Core

Leg extension

Time 45sec each side Rest 15sec

Loop the band around your right heel and hook both your thumbs around it. On your hands and knees, extend your right leg straight back, then return to the start. Work for 45 seconds on your right leg, then switch to your left.

Alternating reverse lunge

Time 45sec Rest 15sec

Stand with your hands on your hips. Take a big step back with one leg while leaning forward with your upper body, bending your knees to lower your body until your back knee touches the ground. Return to standing, then repeat with the other leg.

If sports performance, injury prevention or just having bigger legs matters to you – and if none of those apply then a guide to a lower-body exercise is a surprising choice of reading material – then neglecting the muscles at the backs of your thighs is a big mistake.

“Many runners, footballers and cyclists are quad-dominant, which means they use the front thigh muscles far more often than the hamstrings,” says Nick Mitchell, founder of Ultimate Performance. “Muscular imbalance between the front and back of the thighs places excessive strain on the hip and knee joints, so injuries are common. Training the hamstrings will address any imbalance, improve sprinting and turning speed, and also add serious muscle mass to your legs to help you squat and deadlift more.”

One of the best ways to train your hamstrings is by performing a raise on a glute-ham developer. The exercise recruits more muscle fibres than a hamstring curl on a machine and targets all three heads of the hamstrings, as well as your glutes.

“This move really hits your hamstrings and glutes as well as working the calves and lower back to strengthen your posterior chain,” says Mitchell. “It also improves knee and hip extension, which can help you avoid injury, and places less stress on the lumbar spine than other hamstring-focused moves, such as Romanian deadlifts.”

Try the exercise by using the form guide below, and if it turns out to be too tough, then carry on down to the variations section where you’ll find an easier version of the glute-ham raise.

How To Do The Glute-Ham Raise

For the full version of the exercise head to the gym, unless you have a garage that’s supremely well stocked with fitness equipment, because you need to use a glute-ham developer (GHD). Adjust it so that when your feet are secured your quads are resting on the middle of the GHD and you can lower your torso over the end. Start with your knees bent at 90° so your body is straight and perpendicular to your lower legs. Your arms should be folded across your chest. Brace your core and slowly lower your torso forwards over the edge of the GHD until you are horizontal. Then return to the starting position explosively by contracting your hamstrings.

If you don’t have a GHD to work with, you can perform the exercise by kneeling on a mat and getting a gym buddy to hold your feet in place as you lean forwards.

Glute-Ham Raise Variations

Pull-down glute-ham raise

Using the lat pull-down machine offers the same benefits as the main move, but holding a double-rope cable attached to the weight stack counterbalances your bodyweight, making it a perfect beginner move for gradually building hamstring strength. Start by setting the weight stack to the right level of resistance. Kneel facing away from the machine with the backs of your calves against the pad. Hold the double-cable rope attached in both hands just behind your head, with your elbows pointing up. Slowly lower your upper body towards the ground, keeping your core braced. Then quickly return to the starting position by contracting your hamstrings.

Photograph: Glen Burrows; Model: Tom Wright

1 Squat

Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 90sec

Stand with feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart, hips stacked over knees and knees over ankles. Lower until your hips are as close to the ground as you can get without compromising your upper body position. Explode back up to standing, driving through your heels.

2 Deadlift

Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 90sec

Stand with your mid-foot under the bar and your heels hip-width apart (narrower than in a squat). Grip the bar with arms vertical and drop into position by bending your knees until your shins touch the bar, then pull, keeping your chest up.

3A Glute hip raise

Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 0sec

Put your upper back on a weight bench and place a barbell on top of your hips. With both feet solidly on the floor, extend your hips upwards to lift the bar, stopping when your hips reach full extension. Squeeze the glutes and pause at the top for a second or two before lowering.

3B Walking lunge

Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 90sec

Without weights, step forwards with one leg, flexing your knees to lower your hips. Lower until your rear knee nearly touches the ground, staying upright. Continue with the other leg.

4A Bulgarian split squat

Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 0sec

Position yourself in a staggered stance with your rear foot elevated on a step or bench. Lower by bending at the knee and hip while keeping your torso upright. When you reach the bottom drive back up, extending your knee and hip to return to the start position.

4B Crab walk

Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 90sec

Position a band around your ankles or knees and stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Lower into a half squat, then take a slow, lateral step. Keep your toes pointed forwards and stay low. Keep walking sideways for all your reps, keeping tension on the band - then switch sides.

Glute Workout Tips

Activate the area

“Starting to squat or deadlift without activating the whole hip structure can be a disaster, and a few light squats won’t cut it,” says Ben Scott, a former professional cricketer turned performance and fat loss specialist (scottkeepingfit.com). “When another muscle needs to kick in and help but it is completely cold, the disparity between the two muscles will be too much and you’ll end up injured. Activate your abductors and adductors with moves like the fire hydrant or lying clam to get warm.”

Go unilateral

“Hiding behind a double leg movement can lead to one side being left behind,” says Scott. “A heavy lunge will often identify glute weakness – watch to see whether your knee wobbles one way or the other. You should include at least one unilateral movement in every workout.”

Go deep (but don’t bounce)

“Getting low to the ground in a squat is obviously going to use more range, which is a good thing – provided there’s control at the bottom,” says Scott. “If you’re bouncing out of the bottom phase with your pelvis tucking under – known as a ‘bum wink’ – it’s a problem. Don’t rely on momentum to do the work for you.”

Chances are you do most of your shoulder training using a bench or rack, but if you want to maximise growth and minimise injury, lie down and get stuck in to the glute bridge floor press. 

This little-known move created by strength coach Ben Bruno should be performed super slow to maintain balance, which optimises muscle growth and reduces the range of motion, keeping your rotator cuffs protected. The bonus? By holding a bridge throughout, you’ll switch on your glutes, which will probably have gone to sleep if you spend your days as a desk-jockey. Lying down on the job? For once we approve. 

How to do it 

Sets 4 Reps 6 each side Rest 30sec 

Lie on your back with one foot on the floor, pushing your hips up into the air – the ‘bridge’ position. Hold the dumbbell on the same side as your raised foot and press it straight up, then lower it under control. Complete all your reps on one side, switch feet and repeat the reps with the dumbbell in your other hand. 

Bret Contreras is one of the world’s leading experts on glute training. With a PhD in sports science, he’s been certified as a strength and conditioning specialist by the US National Strength and Conditioning Association and is the co-founder of the Strength & Conditioning Research Review. Here, the self-described ‘shaper of thousands of better butts worldwide’ explains why glute training is vital and how you can adapt it to suit your training goals.

Why glutes?

Plenty of men train their legs at the gym, but you’ll rarely see them working specifically on their glutes – unlike women, who are usually only too keen to focus on them. This is partially due to a lot of popular industry advice that gives guys the impression that a few squats and deadlifts once a week are all they need to do to train their lower body. But if you want to reduce your risk of injury and maximise your sporting performance, not to mention build a behind that’s attractive to the opposite sex, training your legs at least twice a week and making time for glute-focused work is a must. 

Performance

Strengthening your glutes will improve your ability to run, jump, squat, deadlift and compete in pretty much any sport, but you need to be doing the right exercises. I see a lot of guys in the gym just do leg presses, leg extensions and leg curls, none of which work your glutes effectively.

My favourite exercises for building glute strength are kettlebell swings, walking lunges and American deadlifts, which are similar to Romanian deadlifts, but you squeeze your glutes at the top of the move. The key with the kettlebell swings is to use a heavy kettlebell that allows you to work in a lower, strength-building rep range, but you have to make sure you can maintain good form. I started out with a 48kg kettlebell and worked my way up to 92kg. If you’re relatively new to training I’d suggest mastering the deadlift first before moving on to heavy kettlebell swings.

Mobility

Having tight glutes is a common problem and one that can restrict hip mobility, which has a negative impact on strength and sporting performance. Maintaining good form and going deep during the eccentric phase of a lift will combat this by lengthening your glutes, especially during Bulgarian split squats. I also recommend foam rolling and mobility drills [see the box, right] both pre-workout and as a standalone session if you have the time. 

Looks

Adding muscle to your glutes will build an aesthetically pleasing rear end. To do this I recommend adding exercises to your workouts that isolate your glutes, such as hip thrusts, back extensions (placing the emphasis on your glutes) and goblet squats. Hip thrusts are great because they keep constant tension on your glutes and take your hamstrings out of the equation, which leads to more glute activation. Plus unlike other leg exercises, your ability to progress isn’t limited by your core strength. 

Bum deal

Loosen your glutes for improved mobility with Contreras’s simple drills

Goblet squat - Sets 2 Reps 8

• Stand holding a light kettlebell or dumbbell close to your chest. 
• Squat down until your hamstrings are touching your calves, keeping your chest and head up and your back straight.
• At the bottom position, pause and use your elbows to push your knees out, then return to the starting position.

Walking knee hug - Sets 2 Reps 5 each leg

• Stand tall with your arms at your side and feet shoulder-width apart.
• Lift your left knee up.
• then grab your shin with both hands and pull it as close to your chest as you can without discomfort. 
• Release, step forward and repeat on your other leg.

Multi-directional lunge - Sets 2 Reps 5 each direction

• Step your right foot forward into a lunge, keeping your back straight and ensuring your knee doesn’t go past your foot.
• Return to the start and perform a side lunge to your right, followed by a reverse lunge behind you and a side lunge to your left, completing a clockwise circle. This is one rep.

Your rear end is for more than just sitting on. All the big, muscle-building exercises that involve the lower body, such as the back squat, rely on the glutes to provide strength and direction to the movement. And without the glutes to direct the actions of your legs you'd tip over. Stronger glutes will make you more powerful and better able to lift more weight.
 

These three exercises use both explosive and targeted movements to improve muscle co-ordination and develop more powerful glutes. Try grouping them into trisets – do the required reps for exercise 1, then move on immediately to exercise 2, then 3. You should then rest for two to three minutes before repeating the triset. Focus on maintaining intensity throughout the three exercises.

Burpees

Sets 3 Reps 12

Target: glutes, rest of body

Why it works: It eccentrically contracts your glutes in the crouch before powerfully contracting them as you thrust back. The two-phase explosive movement of squat thrust and two-footed jump hits the glutes twice.

• Start in a press-up position, keeping your body in a straight line.
• Bring your feet back under you then explode upwards, driving though your feet with your glutes and legs.
• Reach up with your arms to gain extra height.

Lateral bodyweight lunge

Sets 3 Reps 12

Target: glutes, adductors, quads

Why it works: By hitting the muscles from the side instead of vertically, you call your glutes to work along a different plane of motion and target different fibres within the muscle mass.

• Keep your shoulders in line with your hips as you lunge and both feet pointing forward.
• Drop until your right thigh is horizontal.
• Alternate sides with each lunge.

Overhead squat with medicine ball

Sets 3 Reps 10

Targets: glutes, quads, hamstrings, core

Why it works: The squat hits your glutes, while the medicine ball adds resistance and recruits your core muscles to stabilise your body position throughout the movement.

• Brace your core and lower into a squat, keeping your back straight.
• Stop when your thighs are horizontal and drive back up.