The Best Exercises for Activating Your Butt (2024)

FAQs

What exercises activate the glutes the most? ›

In general, the step-up exercise and its variations present the highest levels of GMax activation (>100% of MVIC) followed by several loaded exercises and its variations, such as deadlifts, hip thrusts, lunges, and squats, that presented a very high level of GMax activation (>60% of 1RM).

It only takes 5-10 minutes of glute activation before the workout to prevent this. Take a look at our favourite glute activation exercises below. Performing 2-3 sets of 15 reps on a couple of the exercises should set you up nicely for the rest of the workout.

The squat tops every list of butt-sculpting exercises. It directly works the glutes. You can build bigger bottom muscles by adding hand-held weights. Form: Slowly lower the hips as if sitting way back in a chair, trying to keep your knees from moving forward toward toes; then return to standing.

Walking activates the glutes at 20 to 40 percent of their maximum contraction, says John Willson, Ph. D., an associate professor of physical therapy at East Carolina University.

To see the best results, you should only look at training your glutes 2-4 times a week, making sure never to train them on consecutive days to give them an excellent chance to recover and grow.

How often should you do glute activation exercises? When you're sitting a lot in your daily life, it's best to do these exercises every day. If that's not feasible, aim to do them at least two to three times each week.

It helps to activate the glutes and hips: The glutes and hips are the primary movers in kettlebell swings and squats. Squeezing the glutes helps to activate these muscles, which allows you to generate more power and perform the exercises more effectively.

What foods grow glutes? ›

And, Saltos notes it's important to “maintain your balance by keeping your core engaged, holding an athletic and wide stance, and squeezing in your glutes.”

“The first sign of gluteal weakness is generally poor posture, which will eventually lead to low back pain,” said Dunn. “Weak glutes will also cause an inability to get out of a chair without using your hands or to go down the stairs without holding onto the railings, which will eventually cause knee and hip pain.”

The most commong reason is that most people sit for long periods of time. The glute muscles tend to stop firing due to a lack of oxygen and tightened hip flexors. This, in return, puts more strain on the lower back, hamstrings, and knees, that imbalanced and stiff feeling when you head out for a run.

With your knee bent to 90 degrees, you have to recruit the gluteus maximus as the prime mover. Resist the desire to bend the knee more than 90 degrees to avoid activating the hamstrings. Begin with five bent knee lifts and one straight leg lift (as in the test, above). Repeat five times before every run.