4 Home Exercises to Get Your Glutes Fired Up

4 Home Exercises to Get Your Glutes Fired Up

In this post, we will go through a few great glute exercises that you can do at home. Enjoy!

Great Glute Exercises

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1. Single-leg Glute Bridge

Lie flat on the floor with your knees bent, feet about hip-width apart. Place hands to the side, relax the upper body, tighten your abdominal area, and then straighten out the left leg and push through your right heel and lift your hips up and back down. Switch to the other side.

Single-leg Glute Bridge - Glutes Fired Up

Single-leg Glute Bridge

In this exercise, we are working on targeting the glutes.

Progression:  If you want to increase the intensity of targeting the glutes, focus on pushing through the heel, as opposed to the ball or the middle part of the foot.

Perform one set of 5 reps on each side in a smooth controlled movement with a good contraction at the end, especially in the glutes with an intensity of feeling the muscles work in the glute area.


2. Hip Thrust

Lie flat on the floor with your knees bent, feet about hip-width apart. Place hands to the side, toes are pointing straight ahead.

Grab some dumbbells or plates for resistance. Put the dumbbells on your hips. Thrust the hips up to the point where your knees, hips, and shoulders are in a good straight line, and go back down and repeat.

Hip Thrust - Justine

Hip Thrust

Focus on pushing through the heel in order to target the glutes and not via hamstring exercises. There is no way that you are going to be able to do the exercise without activating the hamstrings at all, but we do not want it to be mainly a hamstring exercise but also a glute exercise.

Perform one set of 5 reps on each side in a smooth controlled movement with a good contraction at the end, especially in the glutes with an intensity of feeling the muscles work in the glute area.


3. Donkey Kicks

In a four-point position with the head, shoulders, and hips in good alignment, tighten the abdominal area. Keep the right knee bent and drive it straight up trying to bring the heel toward the ceiling and back down.

Donkey Kicks

Donkey Kicks

In this exercise, we are specifically targeting the glutes fired up, especially on one side.

Perform one set of 5 reps on each side in a smooth controlled movement with a good contraction at the end, especially in the glutes with an intensity of feeling the muscles work in the glute area.


4. Single-leg Deadlifts

In standing upright position, grab a dumbbell for resistance out front to help counterbalance you.  Bring one leg back to a point where the head, shoulders, hips, and legs are in a straight line and stand on the right foot. Then, go back to the standing position.

Single-leg Deadlifts

Single-leg Deadlifts

The key thing to remember on the stabilizing leg:  The knee is slightly bent and when you are returning back to the starting position, contract the glutes to get back up in the standing position.

Perform one set of 5 reps on each side in a smooth controlled movement with a good contraction at the end, especially in the Glutes Fired Up with an intensity of feeling the muscles work in the glute area.

So, there you go. Those are some great glutes fired up exercises that you can do at home that target your glutes to help alleviate your hip and your knee pain.

For the best exercises to strengthen your gluteus maximus muscle, check out Best Gluteus Maximus Exercises, here!

Best Gluteus Maximus Exercises

Take care!

Rick Kaselj, MS