Build That Bum! - The Best Bodyweight Exercises For Firmer And Stronger Glutes
It’s no surprise that for many women, a sign of a great physique is a nice set of buns!
Not only does this feature look great, but a solid bum also enhances the level of our performance and can truly do wonders for those of us who are training for strength. Movements and exercises in which the lower body and core are activated rely heavily on assistance from our glutes, making them a vital muscle group.
The great thing is that bum exercises can actually be some of the simplest yet most effective to practice, with bodyweight exercises alone having the potential to really give targeted areas a killer burn! Let’s take a look at some of the most effective exercises you can do literally anywhere to really give those glutes a robust workout!
The Path To Great Glutes
It’s well known that shaped, perky glutes can add an aesthetic element to any physique…but the importance of having a strong set of glutes actually goes way beyond physical aesthetics. Strong glutes can really elevate our health and performance abilities, let’s take a look at how:
- Booty Power! – Increased Training Performance
The bottom line with glute training is that it supports stronger glutes.
As mentioned, the glutes are a pivotal set of muscles when undertaking lower body exercises, especially those involving a weighted movement!
With a stronger set of buns, not only will you be able to push more weight, but you’ll also be able to work your lower body harder through enhanced glute activation.
- Strong Glutes = Increased Injury Prevention
From sitting down to lifting something up, a countless number of day-to-day activities require our glutes to work to stabilise our hips and lower back. The amount of daily activation required from them (on top of training!) makes them a super important body part for all sorts of movements, including those where there’s a potential for injury due to a loss of balance and stability.
With this in mind, strengthening our glutes and the muscles working alongside them can go a long way in keeping us protected from the potential dangers of injury!
- A Good Bum Means Good Balance!
Moving on from the last point, it’s a given that with all the stabilising support that the glutes provide, strong glute=increased balance! A better balance does not only benefit us when we train, it can also truly improve our quality of life and minimise any balance-related issues which are impacting the smoothness of daily tasks, from driving a vehicle to carrying shopping bags.
LBL’s Top Bodyweight Booty Blasters
Now that we’ve explored the sheer importance of our glutes, let’s take a look at some of the most effective bum strengthening exercises which require minimal or no additional equipment:
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Squat - Probably the most renowned glute strengthening activity, and certainly worth every ounce of effort for its direct targeting of the whole lower body. Squats are easily one of the best compound movements to target your glutes as well as your legs, hamstrings and hip flexors!
- Lying Reverse Leg Lift- While the squat is a fantastic compound movement that activates multiple body parts, the reverse leg lift is a great isolation exercise for really maximising direct glute activation.
- Straight Leg Kickback- Like the lying reverse leg lift, this movement also enables direct isolation of the glutes to really squeeze out optimal muscle activation.
When it comes to glute training, variations of kickback exercises let you really contract the glutes through explosive and powerful backward kicking motions!
- Upward Plank - This hold will work your glutes super effectively through the stabilisation needed to hold your body off the ground! A great butt-blitzing movement to finish off any glute or lower body workout!
- Step-Ups – This uses a very functional stepping motion to contract and target the glutes whilst also activating those all-important muscles and flexors surrounding the glutes region! The functionality of functional training exercises can lead to these types of movements receiving a great response from our bodies!
Strengthen Those Glutes Today!
With such a variation of glute targeting exercises to pick from, combined with the fact that such exercises can be performed literally anywhere, let’s start right now with working towards building a perky pair of glutes! - which not only look great, but also bring a world of benefits to our lifestyle!