Lower glute exercises should be included in your leg day routine. I see so many people today completely leave out glute exercises all together, don’t let that be you. Make sure to try some of these out on your next leg day.
In this post I’m going to cover exercises that target the lower glute area as well as some examples of a leg day and cardio that prioritize glute growth.
What are your lower glutes?
In order to target these muscles, we need to know what they are actually called. Your lower glutes are basically the area where your hamstrings meet your glutes. Also known as the glute-hamstring tie in, or the underbutt.
It’s important to note that depending on your starting point, it may be necessary to change up your diet to hit your aesthetic goals. Some people may need to eat more to add muscle on and some may need to eat in a slight calorie deficit to promote fat loss and better show those gains.
Lower glute exercises:
Squat/lunge movements and hip hinge/deadlift movements will target your lower glutes the most. Hip thrust/ glute bridge variations will target your entire glutes and are also great to include. But, if you want well rounded glutes, you should definitely add abduction exercises to this list.
- stiff leg deadlift
- single leg deadlift
- Romanian deadlift
- good mornings
- barbell hip thrusts
- glute bridges
- Bulgarian split squats
- cable kick backs
- curtsy lunges
- reverse lunges
- walking lunges
- step ups
- goblet squats
- donkey kicks
- hamstring curls
- sprints
Most of these exercises are glute focused and some have emphasis on your hamstrings as well.
Helpful products:
- for hipthrusts: barbell pad
- for cable kickbacks: ankle strap attachment
- for glute activation: loop bands
Benefits to training lower glutes:
- better posture
- less back pain
- helps with functional movements like sitting
- helps propel your body forward when walking
- improved athletic performance
- fat loss, adds to overall calorie burn
- aesthetics
Glute activation
Glute activation is basically just warming up your glutes with bodyweight or banded glute exercises. Things like, bodyweight glute bridges, lateral band walks are great to include as part of your dynamic warm up prior to your workout.
Is it necessary to include glute activation exercises? No, but you should always warm up to help prevent injury. Any alternative might be a brisk walk.
Structuring your workout
There are so many different ways to structure your workout plan. Some people like to do dedicated glute days. Personally, I prefer to sprinkle a few of these exercises into every leg day to create a more well-rounded workout.
Be sure to include exercises from these 4 categories in every session:
- thrust/bridge movement
- squat/lunge movement
- hip hinge movement
- abduction movement
Sample leg day
- Warm up/ glute activation
- BB Hip thrusts
- BB Reverse lunges
- DB Single leg deadlift
- lying hamstring curls
- side lying clamshells
- cardio/stretching
Sample Cardio workout
Sprints are a great way to incorporate your glutes on a non-leg day.
Try a warm-up jog to a nearby park with a hill. Do 10-20 hill sprints (depending on the size of the hill) with rest in between and a cool down job + stretch to finish.