Glute exercises from yoga, no weights needed

The glutes are three muscles in each buttock. The gluteus maximus drives the hip back when you climb stairs, stand up or walk uphill. The gluteus medius and minimus at the side of the hip keep the pelvis level each time you stand on one leg. Long days of sitting ask very little of any of them.

These eight glute exercises use only your bodyweight and a mat. Most begin from a yoga pose, with slow reps instead of a long hold, so the muscles work through their range. The set takes about fifteen minutes. Where the glute stretches lying and seated lengthen the same muscles, this page is about making them stronger.

When should you check with a doctor first?

See a doctor or physiotherapist before starting if you have hip or groin pain, buttock pain that travels down the leg, a recent hip or knee surgery, or pain that started after a fall. During the exercises, a warm, working feeling in the buttocks is expected. A sharp pain, a pinch in the front of the hip or an ache in the lower back means stop and adjust.

How do you do glute exercises at home?

Breathe out as you lift or press, and breathe in as you return. Move slowly, and pause for one breath at the top of each rep.

1. Bridge. Lie on your back, knees bent, feet hip width and close to the hips. Breathing out, press through the heels and lift the hips; breathing in, lower slowly. Twelve reps. Bridge Pose shows how to keep the knees pointing forward.
2. Single leg bridge. From the same position, straighten the right leg so the thighs stay level. Lift and lower the hips on the left foot, eight reps, then switch. Keep the hips square rather than tipping.
3. Clamshells. Lie on your right side, head resting on the right arm, knees bent in front of you and heels together. Breathing out, lift the left knee like a shell opening, keeping the feet touching and the hips stacked. Twelve reps, then switch. You feel it at the side of the hip.
4. Donkey kicks. In Table Top Pose, hands under shoulders, keep the right knee bent at a right angle. Breathing out, lift the right foot towards the ceiling until the thigh is level with the hips; breathing in, lower. Ten reps, then switch.
5. Fire hydrants. Still on hands and knees, lift the bent right knee out to the side, only as high as the hips stay level. Lower slowly. Ten reps, then switch.
6. Chair Pose pulses. Stand with the feet hip width and sit back into Chair Pose, weight in the heels and knees over the ankles. Breathing out, rise a few centimetres; breathing in, sink back. Ten small pulses, then stand and rest.
7. Crescent lunge lifts. Step the left foot back into a Crescent Lunge, front knee over the ankle, hands on the hips. Breathing out, straighten the front leg partway; breathing in, bend back down. Eight reps each side, back knee down if balance wobbles.
8. Half locust. Lie on your front, forehead on the hands. Breathing in, lift the straight right leg a few centimetres from the floor, keeping both hip bones down; breathing out, lower. Eight reps, then switch. The Locust Pose page has the full version.

Finish with a figure four stretch on each side, five breaths each.

Common mistakes

• Arching the lower back. In bridges and donkey kicks, lift only as high as the ribs stay down.
• Rolling the hips back in clamshells. Keep the top hip stacked directly over the bottom one, even if the knee opens less.
• Letting the knees fall in. In Chair Pose and the lunge, track the knees over the second toe.
• Rushing. Fast reps let momentum do the work. Slow ones keep it in the glutes.

Make it easier or harder

• Easier: keep both feet down in bridges until single leg bridges feel steady; make the clamshell opening smaller; do the lunge with the back knee on a folded blanket; take fewer reps.
• Harder: hold the top of each bridge for three breaths; rest the heels on a sturdy step for higher bridges; add a five breath hold at the bottom of the Chair Pose pulses; do two rounds of the whole set.

Where do glute exercises fit?

Strong glutes help most standing and balancing poses, so these pair well with the yoga core exercises with reps and breath. After the set, the hip stretches for every direction the hip moves let the area soften again. Two or three sessions a week, on non consecutive days, suits most people.