Glute Goals: An Evidence-Based Glute Workout

While many clients want to build bigger glutes for aesthetic reasons, these muscles also play a number of essential functional roles. The gluteal muscles (i.e. the gluteus maximus, medius and minimus) are the driving forces in extension, abduction and internal and external rotation of the hips.

In other words, strong glutes are crucial not only for everyday tasks like walking, jumping, squatting and climbing stairs, but also for sports-related movements like side lunges, swinging a golf club and throwing a softball. In addition, the gluteal muscles are essential for pelvic and core stability, postural support, injury prevention and balance.

Anatomy of the gluteal muscles

This illustration shows the posterior muscles of the hip and knee, including the glutes and hamstrings.

To meet the need for exercises that safely and effectively build stronger glutes, ACE-sponsored research evaluated eight different exercises determine which one best focused this muscle group. The researchers began by evaluating the one-repetition maximum (1-RM) of each of the 12 study participants with the following exercises:

*No 1-RM is recorded because these exercises use body weight as resistance.

During two consecutive training sessions, researchers placed electromyographic (EMG) electrodes on the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and hamstrings* muscles of each participant. Participants performed a 1-RM of the traditional squat, followed by a set of five repetitions of each of the other seven exercises. When necessary, these sets were performed at 80% of each participant’s 1-RM.

*Although the hamstrings are not gluteal muscles, they are synergists with those muscles because they are all hip extensors. The gluteus minimus was not included because this muscle is deep within the gluteus maximus and cannot be tested with surface electrodes.

Researchers then compared the amount of muscle activation for each exercise with that of the traditional squat. Here’s what they found for each muscle and muscle group tested:

• Gluteus maximus: All exercises produced comparable muscle activation, with the exception of the horizontal and vertical leg press exercises, both of which were significantly less provoking.
• Gluteous middle: Quadruple hip extensions, step-ups and lunges generated significantly more muscle activation than squats, while the horizontal and vertical leg press exercises again elicited significantly less.
• Hamstrings: Quadruped hip extensions, step-ups, falls out And hip extension on the multi-hip machine produced significantly more EMG activity than squats, with the horizontal and vertical leg press exercises again producing the least effort.

The bottom line is that five exercises emerged as effective alternatives to traditional squats: single-leg squats, quadruped hip extensions, step-ups, lunges and hip extension on the multi-hip machine. It makes intuitive sense that multiple exercises would be effective in slightly different ways, because the glutes are a large muscle group. Fortunately, they are also easy to isolate through training.

The researchers suggest focusing on the results for the gluteus maximus, which is most important for glute muscle strength development in general. Nearly all exercises showed statistically similar muscle activation for the gluteus maximus, although the quadrupedal hip extension and the traditional squat showed the highest exertion levels. The quadruped hip extension, a bodyweight exercise, can be enhanced by adding ankle weights, making it a good option for anyone who needs an alternative to the squat.

The optimal approach may be to mix and match all eight exercises from this study when programming glute workouts, to not only provide variety to the routine, but also target the muscle group in different ways and prevent overuse injuries.

The researchers note that the horizontal and vertical leg press exercises should not be dismissed based on the results of this study, as these machines provide a stable environment in which exercisers, especially novice exercisers, have full control over the range of motion.

Expert advice

To give clients options, we asked two experienced ACE-certified professionals about their favorite glute exercises.

Allyson Murray, ACE certified personal trainer and health coach, chose deadlifts and lunges as her preferred options for intermediate to advanced exercisers. Beginners can perform first hip hinges with a dowel along the spine and without external resistance to teach proper form, as proper posture alignment must be achieved before adding weights.

Man San Gilwho has been an ACE Certified Personal Trainer for 24 years, says that is his favorite exerciseThe exercises for the glutes are squats and quadrupedal hip extension. San Gil points out that yYou can hold a dumbbellS along your body as you do the squats and add ankle weights or an elastic band to the quadrupedal hip extension to offer An additional challenge and more resistance. “TThese exercises are effective because they are extremely targeted,” he explains.

San Gil says that tThese exercises are suitable for people from all experience levels, as long as she not have any previous injuries. Both exercises are possible are altered by using only body weight and decreasing the range of motion.

Final thoughts

Performing a variety of exercises is essential when training the glutes, as they form a large muscle group and control a variety of movements. Researchers suggest mixing and matching all eight exercises they evaluated in their study, and our experts added a few more options to the mix:

	Corrective exercise (worth 2.5 ACE CECs): As an ACE Corrective Exercise Specialist, you will design programs for clients affected by chronic conditions or injuries, helping them regain daily function and move with confidence.
	Pain-free movement (worth 1.2 ACE CECs): As a pain-free movement specialist, you will better understand how pain affects movement and how you can create new strategies to help people move without pain.