Glute Workout For Women: 10 Exercises You Can Do At Home
Firm up your lower body with these glute workouts for women. These at-home exercises will tighten and tone your legs and glutes, firm up your butt, and strengthen your hips. If you want shapely upper glutes, this workout routine will deliver the results you crave. It’s a glute workout suitable for beginners using minimal equipment.
Your glutes are a powerful muscle group providing strength and stability to your hips, legs, and core. But they get lazy when we sit at a desk all day. This glute workout routine will activate your glutes, and you’ll soon notice the difference in your cardio regimen; you’ll be powering through your walks and runs.
10 Leg And Glute Exercises For Women At Home
These 10 exercises will target your glutes but also strengthen your legs, hips, and core for a lower-body workout. Combine them into a glute workout routine with 3 sets of each exercise. Aim for 10 repetitions per set. Warm up first with some bodyweight-only squats and lunges.
1. Goblet Squats
A goblet squat is one of the best exercises for targeting your glutes, but it will also give your hamstrings, calves, and quads a good workout. You can use a dumbbell or a kettlebell for this exercise. Choose a weight that’s manageable. As you get stronger, you can slowly increase the weight.
Hold the weight in both hands, close to your chest, just below your chin, and tuck your elbows in. Plant your feet in your preferred squat stance. Squat by pushing your hips back and bending your knees at the same time. You’re pushing your knees outward. Squat down until your hips are parallel to your knees. Drive through your whole feet, not just your heels, to push back up. Keep your chest upright throughout the exercise.
2. Glute Bridges
This is a key exercise for your upper glutes. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet hip-width apart. Squeeze your glutes as tight as you can and engage your core. With your upper back on the floor, lift your hips off the ground, keeping the squeeze constant. Don’t arch your back. When your hips are fully lifted, pause and squeeze everything even tighter. Then lower your hips, still keeping everything tight and your glutes engaged.
3. Clamshells
Clamshells target the abductor muscles on the outside of your glutes and hips. These are key muscles for stabilizing your pelvis. Strengthening your hip abductors can relieve lower back, knee, and hip pain. Clamshells can be done with or without a resistance band. If you’re using a resistance band, put it around your legs just above the knees.
Start by lying on your side, propped up on one elbow, or lie down fully with your head on your lower arm. Stack your legs with heels in line with your hips and knees bent. Place your upper hand in front of you for stability to stop you tipping forward during the exercise. Activate your side abs and squeeze your glutes. Keeping your feet together, slowly raise your top knee. Pause and squeeze your glutes hard in the top position before lowering. Complete your reps, then turn over to work the other side.
4. Donkey Kicks
Fire up your gluteus maximus with donkey kicks. Start on all fours with your hands directly underneath your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Keep your back flat and your core engaged. Keeping your knee bent at 90 degrees, lift your right leg toward the ceiling. Keep your foot flat and push it towards the sky. At the top of the movement, squeeze your glutes tight and briefly hold. Slowly lower your leg back to the starting position without touching the ground. Complete your reps and repeat on the other side.
5. Squat Jumps
Squat jumps are plyometric jumps: explosive exercises to help build power and strengthen your lower body. Always warm up with squats first. From your squat position, engage your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core, then explode up and off the floor, extending your legs. Land toe-to-heel and bend your knees immediately to absorb impact, sinking back into a squat.
6. Walking Lunges
Walking lunges will work your entire lower body and fire up those glutes for a stronger, tighter butt! They’re terrific for improving your balance and stability.
Keep your body upright and your core engaged at all times. With your legs hip-width apart, take a step, then, instead of focusing on forward motion, pause briefly and drop straight down. Keep the knee of your forward foot aligned with your heel, forming 90-degree angles with both your front and back leg. Press through the heel of your front foot and take your next step.
7. Fire Hydrants
This bodyweight exercise targets the gluteus maximus. Start on your hands and knees with your shoulders stacked above your hands and your hips above your knees. Engage your core and lift one leg away from your body, with the foot flexed, keeping the knee at 90 degrees. Lift the leg as high as you can without rotating your hips. Lower back down, keeping your hips level. Complete your set of reps and repeat on the other side.
8. Lateral Squat Walk
These lateral squat walks are best performed with a resistance band. They target your glutes, build pelvic stability, and make an excellent exercise for runners by helping to maintain proper tracking in the knee joint.
Start by placing the band around your ankles (some people prefer to have it just above their knees) with the band flat. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, and the band taut. Bend your knees slightly into a semi-squat position, and activate your glutes, keeping your weight evenly distributed through both legs. Shift your weight onto one leg and step to the side with the other while facing forward, working against the band’s resistance. Follow with your other foot so that your feet are again hip distance apart. Keep side-stepping until you’ve completed the desired number of reps, then repeat in the other direction.
9. Reverse Lunges
Lunges are excellent for core stability. They strengthen your hips and give your glutes a great workout. Reverse lunges are a good option for anyone with knee issues. There’s more control and less impact on the knee joint.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Engage your core and keep your chest lifted. Take a controlled step backward with your left foot. Sink your right knee to 90 degrees, and at the same time, lower your left knee so it’s hovering just off the floor. Maintain your posture, keeping your upper body lifted, and avoid bending forward. Your weight should be distributed evenly between both legs. Push back up by engaging your glutes and quads to return to the starting position. Repeat for the desired number of reps, then switch legs.
10. Single Leg Deadlift
The single-leg deadlift is effective both with or without dumbbells. If you’re using weights, keep the weights light and focus on form. This exercise targets the hamstrings and glutes, requiring good balance and stability.
If using a single weight, hold it in the opposite hand to the standing leg. Engage your core, squeeze your glutes, and keep a slight bend in your knee on your standing leg. Hinge forward at the hips, lifting one leg straight back behind you. Your body should form a T shape with your arms hanging down. Slowly return to your starting position. Repeat for the required number of reps then switch legs.
Inspired by this post? You may like these full-body Pilates workouts for beginners or these must-do bodyweight exercises for runners (and everybody else).
