5 Best Ways to Strengthen your Glutes - Surrey Physio (2024)

Everyone wants strong glutes right? Mostly, yes. The glutes are one of the most important and largest muscle groups in the body. They are responsible for providing power and stability to your hips, legs, and core. Strengthening the glutes can help improve posture, reduce back pain, and increase overall athletic performance. In our social media driven world, most people also want the aesthetic and visual improvement.

Weak glutes, or weak gluteal muscles, are a common and often overlooked problem that can have a negative impact on posture, stability, and movement. Weak glutes can contribute to a number of issues, including lower back pain, knee pain, hip pain, and even ankle pain.

Weak glutes can also lead to instability, as the muscles are not able to provide the proper stability for the hip and knee joints. This can put undue strain on the joints, leading to increased risk of injury. This is not uncommon when most of us sit on a bottoms all day in this new world of technology.

Weak glutes can be addressed through a variety of exercises, including squats, lunges, bridges, and hip abduction exercises. Strengthening these muscles can help improve posture, stability, and movement, and can help reduce the risk of lower back pain, knee pain, hip pain, and ankle pain. It is important to consult with a physio or osteopath if you suspect you have weak glutes or if you experience pain or discomfort associated with weak glutes. Our team at Surrey Physio have plenty of experience with addressing weak gluteal issues, and you can call us to book in, or come to one of our clinics for advice.

Here are the 5 best ways to strengthen your glutes:

1. Squats: Squats are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening the glutes. They target all three glute muscles—the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. Squats can be performed with body weight, or with added resistance such as a barbell or dumbbells. Squat deep and ideally with your toes raised to really work the posterior chain and glutes.

2. Lunges: Lunges are another great exercise for targeting the glutes. Lunges can be performed with body weight, or with added resistance such as a barbell or dumbbells.

3. Step-Ups: Step-ups target the glutes and hamstrings, and can be performed with body weight, or with added resistance such as dumbbells.

4. Glute Bridges: Glute bridges are a great way to target the glutes and core. To perform a glute bridge, lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift your hips up as high as possible, squeezing your glutes at the top.

5. Clam: Clams are an excellent exercise for targeting the glutes and hip abductors. To perform a clamshell, lie on your side with your knees bent and feet together. Lift your top knee up as high as you can, squeezing your glutes.

We hope that these five exercises help you strengthen your glutes and improve your overall fitness. Remember to perform each exercise with proper form and technique, and always warm up and stretch before exercise.

(These videos are provided by Rehab My Patient – the best exercise prescription software for therapists to prescribe exercises www.rehabmypatient.com. If you are a patient needing advice, call Surrey Physio to book a telephone/video consultation with one of our expert physios or osteopaths, or book in face-to-face for an appointment. You can call us on 0208 685 6930 or book online by clicking the link at the top of the page).