5 Best Exercises for Women to Lift and Tone the Glutes

Strong glutes are important for anyone who spends a lot of time sitting. They are necessary to prevent injury and ease pain — especially if your job requires you to be seated at a desk most of the day.

Your glutes are a group of three muscles that make up the bulk of your buttocks. These muscles are essential for core stability and provide power in your stride. For optimal lower-body strength, you should include exercises that target all areas of your buttocks. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the 5 best butt-toning exercises.

Want to Lift and Tone the Glutes? Try These Five Best Exercises

If you want to build a strong butt, perform exercises that target each movement pattern of your glutes. Your butt muscles are responsible for hip extension, abduction, and rotation.

Before performing these exercises, please consult or check with your physician.

1. Glute Bridges

Glute bridges are a great exercise for everyone, and they're easy to learn. You can do them using just your bodyweight or some dumbbells, or with a resistance band looped around your ankles.

Here's how you do it:

Lie on your back with your knees bent and arms at your sides. (This will make you feel comfortable.)
If you are using dumbbells, hold one in each hand and place them across your hips.
Press into the heels of your feet, brace your core, and push your pelvis upward by squeezing the gluteus maximus muscles of your buttocks.
This should not cause your chest to lift during this movement.
Hold in this position for 2 seconds and return to the floor.

2. Barbell Hip Thrusts

Hip thrust is a great way to strengthen your lower body, especially your glutes. If you do it correctly, you’ll feel your gluteus maximus activate strongly as well as your hamstrings slightly. Your smaller glute muscles like the gluteus medius and minimus will also activate, along with your adductors (inner thigh muscles).

Here's how you do it:

From a seated position on the floor, place your shoulders against a bench secured to the ground.
Bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor and your feet are about hip-width apart.
If you use a barbell, you might want to consider using a barbell pad.
Once you are ready, drive your heels into the ground, brace your core and glutes and lift your pelvis upward.
At the top of the movement, your shins should be vertical and your torso parallel to the floor.

3. Leg Kickbacks

This simple exercise is great for improving your range of motion and core strength, as well as targeting your glutes.

Here's how you do it:

Start on all fours (like a table) with your hands positioned under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
Push your core in and keep your spine straight.
Lift your right knee off the ground while pushing your right heel upward toward the ceiling.
Straighten out that leg while keeping it slightly bent. Then return to starting position.

4. Lateral Band Walk

This move is great for targeting your side glutes. It can be done with or without a loop band. Always make sure to keep your hips level and feet forward, and take your time with each step. Avoid bouncing—as it means you're not getting a good workout.

Here's how you do it:

Place a loop band slightly above your knees, if you'd like.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent and body facing forward.
Shift your weight to your right foot and take a wide step with your left foot.
As you step onto the side of your left foot, move your right foot over to return to its original position.
Continue these same steps for 8 to 10 times. Next, repeat the same moves but in the opposite direction.

5. Clamshells

The clamshell exercise targets your gluteus medius, a muscle on the outer edge of your buttocks. This muscle helps stabilize your pelvis, which can help prevent injuries by balancing muscular effort in your inner and outer thighs and pelvic floor.

Here's how you do it:

Lie on your right side, bending your knees at a 90-degree angle.
Rest your head in your right hand and keep your spine straight.
Keep your shoulders, hips, and ankles in a straight line.
Slowly lift your knee about 45 degrees upward and pause for a moment.
Your feet should rise up, but keep your heels together.

Takeaway

Glutes, also known as the butt muscles, play an important role in health and wellness and in creating a beautiful physique. Although we can't always control the natural makeup of our muscles, we can control how we train them. By incorporating these exercises into your fitness routine, you will be able to strengthen and shape your glutes for better health through mobility.