5 Exercises To Tighten And Build Your Glutes And Hamstrings

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You want to build your glutes but you’re not sure where to start other than to do squats. And even for some of you, you might not even know how many sets and reps to do per exercise. In this blog post, I’m going to go over 5 of my favorite exercises to not only build your glutes but also to tighten them and your hamstrings.

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Build Your Glutes The Right Way

The best way to build a booty is slow and steady. Meaning, it’s going to take time and a lot of consistency. No solid glutes are built overnight. Take me for an example. I have the type of body that is hard to gain muscle, naturally very skinny, and store fat in the not-so-feminine areas meaning I never had “junk” in my trunk when I went through periods of weight gain.

However, overtime, after consistent effort and hard work, I was able to build my glutes through proper exercise and nutrition. And timing of your meals is also very important in gaining muscle where you want it.

build glutes before and after
Left: prior to lifting weights Right: when I learned how to lift weights

And when I say consistency, I’m not saying you need to work out your glutes every single day of the year because it is important for your muscles to recover in order for growth to occur. But I am saying it’s going to take more than once a week for a few weeks of glute exercises to build your glutes.

What Are Glutes?

Glutes is a fancy word for your butt. But what makes up your glutes? We have 3 muscles that make up your glutes.

  • Gluteus maximus– the largest muscle of the three, main extensor muscle of the hip
  • The Gluteus medius– the upper and outer muscle (we’ll call it the upper butt)
  • Gluteus minimus- the smallest muscle of the three and lays just under the gluteus medius

It is important to target all 3 of these muscles for growth. And there are literally so many different exercises out there that target your glutes that you are bound to find ones that are highly effective specifically to your body.

5 Favorite Exercises To Build Your Glutes

If you don’t have a kettlebell or dumbbell, don’t worry. You can use just your body weight for practice until you build the correct form, flexibility, and strength to add weights. And if you are comfortable with weights, then you can add in anything in your house that has a handle and weight that is comfortable for you (like a gallon of water, water bottles, etc.).

1. Kettlebell Stiff Leg Deadlift

How to:

  • 3 sets of 20 reps (3×20)
  • Feet shoulder-width apart or closer together (I personally like to keep my feet close together and put all of my weight on my heels)
  • Keep your knee slightly bent
  • Push your glutes out while bringing the kettlebell down (no arching your back)
  • As you come down, count 3 seconds to focus on extending the glute muscle fibers (this activates more muscle fibers for maximum growth)
  • Use your glutes to go back up

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    2. Stationary Lunges with Dumbbells

    There are a ton of different variations of lunges you could perform. The worst one for me but that I’ve seen the most progress from are definitely the stationary lunges using dumbbells.

    How to:

    • 3 sets of 10 reps (3×10) for each leg
    • Take a step forward where your knee is perpendicular to the ground
    • Lift yourself up with the glute of your bent knee (make sure you use your glutes and not so much your knees/ legs- so kind of push up with your butt)
    • Do 10 on one leg, then switch and do 10 on the other leg

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    3. EZ Bar Good Morning

    How to:

    • 3 sets of 15 reps (3×15)
    • Feet shoulder-width apart
    • Rest the bar on the pads of your shoulders (I rest it a little lower)
    • Stretch your glutes by pushing them back
    • Hold that position for about 3-5 seconds

    4. Kettlebell Squats

    How to:

    • 3 sets of 15 reps (3×15)
    • Feet a little further than shoulder-width apart (whatever is comfortable for you to build form)
    • Squat down to where your knees are at least perpendicular to the ground (I like to squat down a little further)
    • Squeeze your butt cheeks together for 3 seconds and hold

    5. Jump Squats

    How to:

    • 3 sets of 20 (3×20)
    • Shoulder width apart or a little further (kind of like a frog stance)
    • Squat down
    • Jump up with your glutes

    Final Thoughts

    Don’t hesitate to add in 2 to 4 arm exercises or shoulder exercises into this workout to get a full-body type workout. Or in-between sets you could jump rope for 15 to 30 seconds to make the most out of your workout. But these 5 exercises are bound to help build your glutes and get you motivated. Just stay consistent, put in the time and effort, and the rest will fall in place.

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