Best Exercise for building strong glutes

[Dust 2 Dust]

What is the best exercise? I'm looking for advice from the gym rats here. Physical therapy isn't doing much for me and feel like I need something more intensive.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

-Glute bridges with a short band around your legs
-Wide squats
-Wide leg presses
-Side seated shuffles with a short band around your legs
-Cable/band mule kicks
-Deadlifts

 

[EyeBRollin]

Barbell Squats and Conventional Deadlifts

 

[Manure Spherian]

Reverse lunges
Deadlifts (all variations)
Squats (all variations)
Split squats (highly underrated and demanding)
Back extensions
Glute-ham raises

 

[CAPSLOCK BANDIT]

If you have access to a Tank or Sled I would highly highly praise this piece of equipment, your basically able to access a multitude of compound movements with minimal risk of injury, it's a straight killer and you can leverage different movements to work just about any muscle you can think of with enough imagination. Also I might just have a nice ass from genetics but if not this equipment is the reason why, use it religiously.

I would avoid deadlifts and squats myself as even professional athletes with perfect form hurt themselves with these exercises but to each their own.

 

[Bible_Belt]

If you have access to a Tank or Sled I would highly highly praise this piece of equipment, your basically able to access a multitude of compound movements with minimal risk of injury, it's a straight killer and you can leverage different movements to work just about any muscle you can think of with enough imagination. Also I might just have a nice ass from genetics but if not this equipment is the reason why, use it religiously.

I would avoid deadlifts and squats myself as even professional athletes with perfect form hurt themselves with these exercises but to each their own.

That's pretty cool. It reminds me of mma training. We had a giant old tire off a mining truck in a flat gravel lot. Drag it, push it, flip it, beat it with a sledge hammer....good times!

 

[sangheilios]

I'm actually kind of impressed with some of the responses on here.

I specifically go out of my way to train the hell out of my glutes/hips, etc. so I know a lot about this.

Absolute king of glute exercises would be the hip thrust. You want to do this with your shoulders/upperback on a box or bench of some type, I personally use those aerobics steps with the blocks and platform for this because you can easily adjust the height for what is comfortable for you. By using a bench or box you increase the range of motion, a glute bridge has a very small range of motion and is not ideal for glute development. The standard method is to just use a barbell with weight, I personally like to bust out my rep range target and at the very last rep I'll hold it at the top for a count of 10. Another fantastic variation you can use is with bands, you can get an enormous amount of tension on the glutes at the top end of the movement, which is where the glutes are most active in the movement. The problem with this variation is the setup, at my gym the squat racks have band pegs that allow me to easily set this up. I think the very best variation though is when you are able to combine a weighted barbell with band tension, as you are essentially getting the best of both worlds.

Here is the thing, if you want to highly develop a certain area you don't just do one exercise, no one who is serious about their training would do this.

An exercise I also really like is the forward sled drag, where you are holding on straps with the sled being behind you. I find this exercise really hits the glutes and hamstrings hard, whereas with a sled push it's much more quad dominant. This is a fantastic exercise for overall strength but with a very athletic/explosive element thrown in. It has an incredibly low risk of injury and also will get you in really good condition if you push it with a good amount of volume. The gym I go to has a 25 yard turf area and I'll do 4 sets of this exercise at the start of my lower body routine, some days I'll go heavier and other days I'll go lighter but have it much faster and more explosive. If someone is into sports, running, etc. this is a really good exercise to incorporate into your routine.

Backextensions/hyperextensions on the bench can also be a great glute and hamstring builder, I feel this is a good higher rep range exercise. I would avoid going very heavy with lower reps on this exercise, as it's very easy to tweak your SI joint or lower back due to not using your hips properly.

Squats and deadlifts of various types hit the glutes but they aren't the main muscles being hit, squats are much more quad dominant and deadlifts are more hamstring and back. If you only did these 2 exercises you'd leave a lot left in the tank for glute development.

Some people really like the hip abduction machine, you can always try that out as a finisher.

Overall, there are a large variety of exercises you can and should incorporate for lower body development. I personally feel being more glute dominant with your training is a much better route to go, as it's better for posture, hip/back/knee pain prevention, etc. Being incredibly quad dominant can be a bad thing.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

I dunno; IMO, deep, ass-to-grass Olympic squats are simply the best for anything in your posterior chain and back. Its a simple movement 99% of lifters can perfect technique for and is super efficient. I lead a busy life and do not have the time or inclination to examine the minutiae and bro-out on lifts. KISS.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

If you have access to a Tank or Sled I would highly highly praise this piece of equipment, your basically able to access a multitude of compound movements with minimal risk of injury, it's a straight killer and you can leverage different movements to work just about any muscle you can think of with enough imagination. Also I might just have a nice ass from genetics but if not this equipment is the reason why, use it religiously.

I would avoid deadlifts and squats myself as even professional athletes with perfect form hurt themselves with these exercises but to each their own.

I have a sled that I didn't add the weight plate attachment too and use sandbags on it. Works pretty good. Usually use a belt that attaches to it and I walk backwards/forwards pulling, but I also do some pushes and pulls without the harness also...

One of the best knee exercises you can do and a big help in creating bulletproof knees.

 

[Murk]

Use the search button someone literally made a thread on this the other day.

Bulgarian split squats, dead lifts, hip thrusts, they should all be in your repertoire anyway. Hip thrust as I’ve said before definitely feel it the next day and day after. I do them wide and stretched legged focusing on the negative as I like to incorporate hamstring in the movement.

I’m sure it gives me an extra half inch in thrust.

 

[Hamurabimbi]

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