In a previous post I discussed the basic ideas to attain a well sculpted butt. I want to take a little bit deeper look at the role of the gluteus muscles and provide some more comprehensive exercises. As I previously mentioned the butt is comprised of three major muscles, the gluteus maximus, the gluteus medius, and the gluteus minimus. The gluteus maximus and medius are the two muscles that provide the majority of the shape to your butt. Imagine the gluteus maximus providing the lift, while the gluteus medius provides the shape to the side of your butt.

Another way to look at it is the gluteus maximus performs hip extension, or the movement of your leg straight back behind you. The gluteus medius mainly performs hip abduction, or the movement of the leg away from the midline of your body. In order to effectively train these muscles it is important to perform both hip extension and hip abduction exercises in your workout routine.

This idea can be performed two ways, you can isolate the muscles or you can perform compound movements that also work the muscles of your hips. I prefer to utilize both methods of training the hip muscles for a few different reasons. Obviously, for most people aesthetics is very important. The other important function of the hip muscles is to perform their basic anatomical requirements. In today’s increasingly sedentary society the glutes become dysfunctional, losing their ability to function properly. When any muscle becomes dysfunctional injury and pain occur. This is evident by the high incidence of low back pain, knee pain, and hip and knee replacement surgeries among other physical ailments.

By developing a program that effectively trains the muscles of your hips, the glutes, you can ideally prevent or reverse the affects of years of dysfunction, on top of having a nice looking butt. With the goals of injury prevention and aesthetic achievement I incorporate two kinds of exercises to meet both needs. I use exercises that isolate the hip muscles to restore function and reduce the risk of injury and compound exercises that develop the muscles of the legs and hips, providing aesthetic appeal. Taking this approach allows you to get the best of both worlds.

To start off lets examine the isolation exercises.

Quadruped Kickback: The first exercise that I incorporate into a program to train the hips is the quadruped kickback. It’s a big name that basically means the body position you are in. The quadruped kickback mainly trains the gluteus maximus because the exercise involves hip extension.

To start off, get on all fours with your knees directly below your hips and your hands directly below your shoulders. Then, as with any exercise, draw-in your belly button engaging your transverse abdominus. From that point shift your weight slightly to one knee to allow you to extend your free leg back. Keeping your leg bent extend your leg as far back and up as possible without any other part of your body moving. It is important not to let your back arch, nor your hips rise or fall. This can cause your body to compensate for weak muscles, furthering the muscle dysfunction and imbalances. Perform a maximum of 15 slow steady repetitions and switch sides.

Side Lying Hip Abduction: The next exercise primarily works the gluteus medius, because as the name implies it involves hip abduction. The easiest way to get in the proper position is to begin in a standard sit-up position with your feet and knees together.

From the sit-up position role directly onto one side of your body. You want to maintain an imaginary straight line down your back through the soles of your feet. Once in this position you want to role the top hip slightly forward so that it is slightly in front of the bottom hip. If you are lying on your right side role your left hip forward slightly. Maintaining this position, with your belly button drawn in, slowly raise your top leg away from the bottom leg without any additional movement in the body. Only raise the leg as far as possible without additional movement and then lower the leg. Perform a maximum of 15 slow steady repetitions and switch sides.

Glute Bridge: The glute bridge is an exercise the trains the hips isometrically, which also trains the stabilizing muscles. As with the previous exercise begin in a sit-up position.

Find a towel to roll up so that it is roughly six inches in diameter. Keeping your feet together spread your knees so that you can insert the towel between them. Squeeze the towel between your knees for the entire exercise. This engages the inside of your thighs and the pelvic floor muscles, enhancing the exercise.

From there you want to raise your toes off the ground towards your shins. Then proceed by slowly lifting your hips off the ground towards the ceiling. Imagine rotating your hips one vertebrae at a time towards the ceiling. This will prevent your low back from extending, which is ineffective and can cause harm. You should feel a strain at the base of your butt and the top of your hamstrings. You can either perform slow steady repetitions or you can hold the position for a maximum of 30 seconds.

The next group of exercises are compound exercises that train all of the lower body, while providing additional emphasis on the glutes.

Sumo Squat: The sumo squat is similar in movement to a traditional squat but uses a wider stance. Using the wider stance increases the emphasis on the hamstrings and glutes. The sumo squat primarily uses the gluteus maximus over the gluteus medius since the exercise involves hip extension.

Start with a stance that is approximately twice as wide as your standard shoulder width position. The first movement, as with the squat and deadlift, is to shift your hips backwards creating a bend from the hips not the waist. From there continue to lower yourself down and back, emphasizing the backward movement of your hips. You should maintain close to 75% of the pressure on your heels to get adequate activation of your glutes.

Lower yourself until your thighs are roughly parallel to the ground, or as far as you can descend while maintaining proper technique.

Throughout the exercise it is important to maintain a neutral spine, or flat back, while also keeping your knees out over your feet and your toes pointing forward. You want to avoid your knees collapsing inward during the exercise. If this happens stop the exercise and move on. The potential risk is not worth the gains. Perform 8-12 steady repetitions.

Lateral Lunge: The lateral lunge is a compound exercise that incorporates all of the leg muscles while emphasizing the gluteus medius and inner thigh musculature.

There are two ways the lateral lunge can be performed. The easier of the two methods is to begin in the same stance as the sumo squat, with feet approximately double shoulder width apart. This method involves shifting your weight from side to side.

The method I am going to describe is harder because it requires a step. Begin in a comfortable shoulder width stance. From that position you will step straight out to the side to assume a stance approximately double shoulder width apart. Immediately begin to shift your weight back and over the foot that you stepped out with.

As you shift your weight over the foot lower yourself down until your thigh is ideally parallel to the ground. Hold this position briefly and in one fluid motion press up and back to the original position with feet shoulder width apart. It is important to get your hip and knee over your foot in a straight line facing forward. Use your thigh as the indicator for this. Also you want to maintain the majority of your weight on your heel, which will allow you to extend your hips backward. Focus on maintaining an erect posture throughout the exercise. Lastly, keep the other leg straight with the foot planted on the ground throughout the entire movement.

This is a fairly difficult exercise with many things to be aware of. My recommendation is to start slow and if at any time you are unable to maintain the correct technique stop the exercise and resume on another day. Risking injury is not worth the potential gains from the exercise.

Beyond the above mentioned exercises you can incorporate the standard squat and deadlift, which I have covered in detail in previous posts.

The role of the glutes provides both an aesthetic and functional role in the body. It is possible to address both of these issues when developing an exercise program. Ignoring the functional aspects of any muscle can result in both pain and injury. The exercises mentioned in this article are just a sampling of potential exercises that can be used to train the glutes. However, if used properly with the ideas of progression and regression I believe that these exercises can be used for any fitness level to attain a functional and well toned lower body. I prefer to keep the use of exercises as simple as possible and devote the majority of my attention to performing exercises with perfect technique versus performing hundreds of different exercises to focus on each aspect of a muscle.

Spend some time getting comfortable with the general movements of the exercises focusing strictly on technique. As you get more comfortable you can increase the number of repetitions and sets. Learn to master these exercises and you will have the butt that you always dreamed of. Good luck!

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