Glute Workout for Home – Physio Guided Toning Exercises

This 20 minute thigh and glute workout helps you strengthen and tone your hips and thighs in the comfort of your home.

Physio Michelle guides you through 6 glute and leg strength exercises that will get you results and help you avoid injury.

Suitability: 

  • Beginners and intermediate general hip and thigh strengthening
  • Women with pelvic floor problems

Please scroll below this video for written guidelines and safety tips for this thigh and glute workout

Gluteal Workout - Exercises Demonstrated

Gluteal Muscles

Muscles Involved

The exercises in this glute workout strengthen and tone your:

  • Gluteal muscles (gluteus maximus, medius shown below and minimus)
  • Thigh muscles (quadriceps and hamstrings)
  • Calf muscles (gastrocnemius and solues)
  • Lower back extensor muscles (erector spinae)

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Squats

Squats strengthen the buttocks and the thighs.

Action:

  • Start with your feet a little wider than your hips and your toes turned outwards. This position encourages the activity of your glute muscles.
  • Squat by lowering your buttocks towards a bench as if sitting down. Then drive back into standing by pushing through your heels to increase the activity of your buttock muscles.

Safety Tips: 

  • Maintain the inward curve in your lower back
  • Keep your knees above your shins rather than allowing them to travel forwards over your toes during your squat
  • Avoid squatting too deeply with pelvic floor weakness or sore knees

Lunges

Action:

  • Start using a light resistance band and increase gradually over time.
  • Take care if you’re prone to hip bursitis or gluteal tendonitis by using light band resistance and small side steps 
  • Position your legs in a long stride
  • Lunge by bending your back knee and lowering it towards the ground, then return to standing by driving through your front heel to promote buttock activation.

Safety Tips:

  • Keep your chest upright throughout your lunge
  • Ensure that your front knee stays above your front shin rather than tracking forward over your toes (to protect your knee)
  •  Avoid lunging deeply with knee pain
  • If you suffer from sacroliliac joint dysfunction avoid repeated lunge in favor of a static lunge hold

Banded Side Steps

Side steps using the resistance band strengthens and tones the hips and upper/outer gluteal muscles. 

Action:

  • Start this glute exercise with the resistance band above your knees
  • Step sideways keeping your toes facing forwards
  • You may choose to combine the side step with a a small squat and reach action to increase the aerobic effect of the exercise. Move the band to encircle your ankles to progress this exercise.

Safety Tips:

  • Start using a light resistance band and increase gradually over time.
  • Take care if you’re prone to hip bursitis or gluteal tendonitis by using light band resistance and small side steps 
  • Use the support of a wall or the back of a chair if you suffer from balance problems

Banded Side Leg Raises

Similar to the banded side step exercise this exercise strengthens and tones the hips and upper/outer gluteal muscles in addition to improving balance. 

Action:

  • Start this glute exercise with the resistance band above your knees
  • Lift your leg sideways keeping the toes of the lifting leg facing forwards
  •  Move the band to encircle your ankles to progress this exercise.

Safety Tips:

  • Start using a light resistance band and increase gradually over time.
  • Take care if you’re prone to hip bursitis or gluteal tendonitis by using light band resistance and small side steps 
  • Use additional support by facing a wall or the back of a chair if you suffer from balance problems

Hip Pumper

Hip pumper is an effective seated exercise for strengthening and toning the upper/outer hips (buttocks).

Action:

  • Commence sitting with the resistance band above your knees around your thighs
  • Keep your chest raised and resist the temptation to slump forwards throughout this exercise
  • Take the knees apart to create tension on the band
  • From this position take the knees further apart to increase band tension and then release this tension slowly 
  • Maintain some tension on the resistance band through the entirety of this exercise

Safety Tips:

  • Start using a light resistance band and increase resistance gradually over time
  • Keep the inwards curve in your lower back throughout this exercise
  • If you’re prone to hip bursitis or gluteal tendonitis use light band resistance and small range of movement only

Floor Bridges

Floor bridge strengthens the large buttock muscles (gluteus maximus). Using the resistance band with this exercise also encourages the activity or the smaller gluteal muscles towards the outer hips  (gluteus minmis and medius).

Action:

  • Position your body lying down on your back with your feet wider than your hips and your toes pointing slightly outwards
  • Maintain the normal inward curve in your lower back and press down firmly through both heels to activate your gluteal muscles as you raise your buttocks off the ground
  • Slowly lower your body back to the ground
  • Progress this exercise with the addition of dumbbell weights placed on your hips and/or a resistance band wrapped around your thighs just above your knees
  • Maintain tension on the resistance band by keeping your knees apart throughout the action when using the resistance band for this exercise

Safety Tips:

  • Keep the inwards curve in your lower back throughout this entire exercise
  • Avoid hyper extending your lower back by lifting your buttocks too high and/or thrusting your hips quickly towards the ceiling
Inside Out Strength DVD download

Inside Out Strength Workout - Download Now

Inside Out Strength Physiotherapist guided workout for women 

(available in hard copy or download now)

Inside Out Workout helps you:

•    Safely strengthen and tone your whole body

•    Avoid exercises unsafe for your pelvic floor

•    Choose appropriate pelvic floor safe exercises

•    Strengthen your pelvic floor

•    Increase your overall lean muscle

•    Improve long-term weight management

•    Exercise with comfort and confidence

 

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References

Gluteal Muscles Wikimedia Commons Posterior Hip Muscles 3.PNG accessed at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Posterior_Hip_Muscles_3.PNG

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