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A strength-focused upper glute workout is important for any exercise regime. That’s because the glutes are the largest and one of the strongest muscles in your body. Therefore, targeting these muscles can help you burn calories and give you the tone and sculpted booty of your dreams.Â
What You’ll Need
For this upper butt workout, you’ll need dumbbells and/or a resistance band. To start, we recommend starting with 15 reps for each leg. However, feel free to adjust the reps depending on your current strength level. For a challenge, you can always increase the number of reps (or weight) for each round!
We suggest running through the entire workout circuit three times. We know it can be hard (feel that burn!), but you’ll have stronger, more powerful glutes in no time.
The 5 Best Exercises for an Upper Glute Workout
1. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
Romanian deadlifts are key for strengthening your hamstrings, back, and glutes. Start by balancing on one foot. Then with the dumbbell in your opposite hand, slowly lean forward while lifting the other foot off the ground. For example, you will raise your right leg while holding the dumbbell in your right hand.
Make sure your back is flat, and your glutes are engaged. Then return back to a normal standing position. Start with 15 reps on one leg before switching to the other side.
2. Curtsy Squat
A curtsy squat not only works out your glutes but it also helps your quads, hamstrings, and calves. It’s also a great workout for building core strength too! You can do this with one dumbbell by holding it vertically (similar to a goblet squat). Or you can have one dumbbell in each hand.
Standing on one leg, step your opposite leg behind you in a curtsy lunge. Your standing leg should be at a 90-degree angle. The knee of the leg doing the curtsy should be hoovering off the floor.
You can do one leg at a time (15 reps each side) or alternating legs for this exercise (30 reps total).
3. Banded Glute Bridge
Bridges are important exercises for any glute workout. You can use a bench if you have one, or else you can just lie on the floor. Place the resistance band around your thighs. Now, thrust your hips towards the sky and squeeze your glutes. Hold for a second before lowering back down to the ground.
For a bigger challenge, you can place a dumbbell on your hips. This added weight will create more resistance as you move and up and down. You should feel this in your glutes as well as hips!
4. Hip Abductions
You can do hip abductions standing or lying on the floor. If you are lying down, feel free to use ankle weights or hold a dumbbell on your upper thigh. Slowly raise the top leg, then back down again.
If you are standing, you can place a resistance band around your ankles. For each rep, move one leg out towards the side and back to standing. For more support, hold onto a wall or chair with one hand.
5. Hip Diagonal Abduction
This exercise is very similar to a normal hip abduction. But instead of moving your leg sideways, you’ll stretch it behind your body. Again, this can be done standing (with a band) or as a floor exercise (with ankle weights).
Once you complete all exercises, go ahead and run through them two more times. If you feel tired and sore after, remember that’s a good thing!
This upper glute workout is important for lower body strength and toning. However, it’s just one part of a healthy exercise routine. On other days, you should focus on working out different muscle groups, like your legs and upper body.
Remember to give each muscle group a day to rest (don’t do two leg or two arm workouts back-to-back). And don’t forget to nourish your body afterward with something healthy. Protein and carbohydrates are necessary for repairing and rebuilding muscle after a workout.
