Benefits of a Glute Workout

Looking to tone and shape your hips and glutes? The muscles in the glutes provide much more than an aesthetic benefit. They are used when you stand up, walk, sit down and lie down so it is critical you strengthen these muscles for daily living activities. Robert Treece, Professional Fitness Trainer at Cooper Fitness Center, says, “not only are glutes used all day, but they are the gateway of the spine and lower legs.” The glute muscles are one of the largest muscle groups in the body and are responsible for multiple jobs, such as:

• Shock absorption
• Declaration of falling forward
• Propulsion
• Rotation
• Locally flexing and extending the leg
• Internally and externally rotating the leg

How do weak glute muscles affect your body? Treece explains, “the glutes tie into the low back and can affect motion in the upper and lower body. Weak glutes can also affect the way you walk and can cause problems with your overall balance.” Additional signs of weak glute muscles are:

• Muscle tightness in the lower back
• Problems balancing while walking and standing
• Poor posture
• Swaying side to side while walking or running

Glute Muscle Group

“Most people don’t realize there are three sets of glute muscles,” says Treece. Each has unique movements, but the muscles work synergistically together:

• Gluteus minimus: The smallest and deepest of the three muscles, it’s responsible for rotating the thigh from the hip joint and helps stabilize the pelvis.

• Gluteus medius: This muscle lays on top of the gluteus minimus and is primarily responsible for moving the hip joint away from the body.

• Gluteus maximus: The biggest of the three muscles, its function is to extend and rotate the thigh from the hip joint. This muscle is also the biggest muscle in the body.

Together these muscles help stabilize the upper body, pelvis and hips and are essential to movements such as walking, standing up and squatting.

Glute Exercises

Treece says glute exercises can be included in a full-body workout or added to a leg day routine. Some examples of exercises that can be performed at home, the gym or wherever you’re working out—and with or without equipment—include:

• Hip thrusts
• Sit to stand
• Squats
• Lunges
• Step ups

“In the gym you can focus on training the glutes by holding a lunge or squat position while performing a cable row. The lower you position the pulley the more glute and lower body muscles will be used in the exercise,” says Treece. In addition, if you’re in a lunge position and pull the cable across your body at an angle, the rotational stress incorporates more glute and lower body muscles.

If you add glute exercises into your fitness routine, allow 24-48 hours of active recovery between strength sessions; your fitness level will determine how you should load these exercises (body weight only or using weight equipment such as dumbbells, barbells, sandbells, etc.).

Learn additional ways to strengthen your glute muscles from James Silvester, Professional Fitness Trainer at Cooper Fitness Center. In this Exercise Moves video, he demonstrates four glute exercises.

For more information about professional fitness training at Cooper Fitness Center or to schedule a session with a trainer, visit cooperfitnesscenter.com or call 972.233.4832.