Alexander Ostrovskiy: 10 Glute Exercises You’re Not Doing (But Should Be)

Strong and well-developed glutes are much more than important for just looking good in a pair of tight-fitting jeans; they form a very important part of lower-body strength, stability, and functional movement. In the mad dash to get bigger biceps, many people often find themselves confined to just a few routine exercises like squats and deadlifts, while there are a lot more other exercises awaiting them. This in turn will make the less popular glute exercises challenging, fix muscle imbalances, and let one be perfectly developed, says expert trainer Alexander Ostrovskiy.

Importance of Glute Training

The glutes are among the biggest and most powerful groups of muscles in the human body-they comprise the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. They allow for hip extension, rotation, and stabilization-important not only in athletic performances but in everyday life, too. Moreover, strengthening these muscles will improve your posture, and lower back pain, and enhance your overall mobility. From more than the aesthetical point of view, poor training of the glutes may lead to imbalances which could raise the likelihood of an injury. Read more in the article

Key Criteria for Exercise Selection

When selecting exercises that most appropriately develop the glutes, balance out the development of the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus within exercises. The strength developed through compound exercises in combination with mobility-based exercises provides both strength and flexibility in the developed musculature. Variety: Variations include planes of motion and resistance that challenge the muscles in different ways.

The following 10 exercises check all of those boxes for an all-rounded toolkit in glute development.

The Exercises

1. Bulgarian Split Squats

• How to Do It: Stand a few feet in front of a bench, placing one foot on the bench behind you. Lower into a lunge position, keeping the front knee aligned over your toes, then push back up.

• Target: Gluteus maximus and medius.

• Common Mistakes: Let the front knee collapse in or let the back leg dominate the movement.

2. Frog Pumps

• How to Do It: Lying on your back, bring the soles of your feet together, knees splayed open toward the sides. Turn on your glutes and lift your hips forward and up toward the ceiling and lower back.

• Target: Gluteus maximus.

• Common Mistakes: Momentum carrying them rather than control of the movements in and out. 

3. Cable Kickbacks

• How to Do It: Attach an ankle strap to a cable machine and your ankle. Stand facing the machine and extend your leg backward, keeping your core tight. Slowly return to the starting position.

• Target: Gluteus maximus.

• Common Mistakes: Lower back arch or too-quick swinging of the leg.

4. Side-Lying Clamshells

• How to Do It: Lie on your side with your legs bent at a 90-degree angle. Keep your feet together and lift your top knee up, then lower it back.

• Target: Gluteus medius and minimus.

• Common Mistakes: Let hips roll backward or forward without keeping the movement isolated.

5. Banded Lateral Walks

• How to Do It: Loop a resistance band around your thighs or ankles. Take small steps sideways, with control, without releasing the tension from the band.

• Target: Gluteus medius and minimus.

• Common Mistakes: Allowing the knees to buckle in or not maintaining tension on the band.

6. Hip Thrusts with Pause

• How to Do It: Sit on the floor with your upper back against a bench, with a barbell over your hips. Drive through your heels to lift your hips up until your body forms a straight line all the way from shoulders to knees. Pause for 2-3 seconds at the top, then lower.

• Target: Gluteus maximus.

• Common Mistakes: Overarching the lower back or failing to stop at the top.

7. Single-Leg Deadlifts

• How to Do It: Balance on one leg and hold a dumbbell in the opposite hand. From this position, hinge at the hips and lower the dumbbell to the floor, keeping your back straight. Return to standing.
• Target: Gluteus maximus and hamstrings.

• Common Mistakes: Rounding of the back or loss of balance.

8. Curtsy Lunges

• How to Do It: Step one foot diagonally behind the other into a lunge. Come back to standing and repeat on the other side.

• Target: Gluteus medius and minimus.

• Common Mistakes: Allowing the front knee to cave in. 

9. Step-Ups with Knee Drive

• How to Do It: With one foot, step onto a bench. Driving the opposite knee up, step up onto the bench. Lower down and repeat on the other leg.

• Target: Gluteus maximus and medius.

• Common Mistakes: Pressing off the rear leg rather than driving through the front. 

10. Quadruped Hip Extensions

• How to Do It: On hands and knees, raise one leg in a straight line backward, keeping hips square. Return to the start slowly.

• Target: Gluteus maximus.

• Common Mistakes: Overarched lower back or failure of complete hip extension.

Incorporating into Workouts

Incorporating these exercises into your routine doesn’t mean abandoning your favorite squats and deadlifts. Instead, think of them as complementary tools to enhance your glute training. Here’s how to structure a weekly plan:

Sample Weekly Planer

• Day 1: Lower Body Strength

• Bulgarian Split Squats: 3 sets of 8-10 reps per leg

• Hip Thrusts with Pause: 3 sets of 10-12 reps

• Single-Leg Deadlifts: 3 sets of 8-10 reps per leg

• Day 2: Mobility and Activation

• Frog Pumps: 3 sets of 15-20 reps

• Banded Lateral Walks: 3 sets of 15 steps in each direction

• Side-Lying Clamshells: 3 sets of 12-15 reps per leg

• Day 3: Functional Training

• Step-Ups with Knee Drive: 3 sets of 8-10 reps per leg

• Curtsy Lunges: 3 sets of 10-12 reps per leg

• Quadruped Hip Extensions: 3 sets of 15-20 reps per leg

Depending on the fitness and goals, all sets and reps can be tailored, but a person should remember that proper form should always take precedence over using heavy weights.

Conclusion

Encouraging variety for optimal results.

Variety will unlock your glutes’ full potential. Adding these seldom-used exercises to your program will do much more than just strengthen and flex the muscle; it will also contribute to better general muscle balance and reduced injury risk. Now, out of the box, take this challenge and see magic in your glutes: a stronger, healthier, and more powerful body will thank you.