Glute exercises

How to train your glutes

The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in your body. It extends the hip: it drives you up from a squat, pulls you upright from a bend and pushes your hips forward. The smaller gluteus medius and minimus on the side keep your pelvis level when you stand on one leg.

Combine two kinds of exercise. Hip thrusts and glute bridges load the glutes hardest with the hips almost straight: your back rests on a bench or the floor and you push the bar up with your hips. Hinges like the Romanian deadlift and squats load them in a deep stretch at the bottom. Lunges, split squats and single-leg deadlifts add work for each side and for the smaller glute muscles.

Squeeze at the top of a thrust without arching your lower back, and in hinges push your hips back until you feel a stretch in the hamstrings.

Muscla places the hip thrust as its own exercise after the heavy lifts and counts a squat as half a set for the glutes. That way the glutes get enough work across the week, even when your plan already squats and deadlifts.