6 Best Glute Focused Exercises for Men to Strengthen Lower Body

Glute-focused exercises can help train your glutes and play a role in the overall strength of your body. Strong, powerful glutes are crucial for building robust, healthy muscles.

Your glutes do more than simply filling out your favourite pair of trousers. They're responsible for your posture, balance, stability and overall lower body strength in exercises like walking, running and cycling.

Glute Focused Exercises for Men

Check out these six glute-focused exercises for men that can help you build stronger and larger glutes:

1) Hip Thrust

Few exercises isolate the glutes like the hip thrust when performed correctly. However, a properly performed hip thrust isolates the glutes and can be performed three to four times per week, depending on your other training regimen.

Here's how you do this glute exercise for a stronger butt:

Place your shoulder blades against a bench or step while seated on the floor. Place the barbell on your hips.
Maintaining a tucked-in chin, press up through your hips to raise your buttocks off the floor.
Your shoulders, hips and knees should be aligned in a straight line at the top of the movement.
Slowly and carefully lower the back to the floor.

2) Goblet Squat

The goblet squat is an excellent squat variant that almost every lifter can perform. It workouts your glutes as well as your entire lower body.

Here's how you do this glute exercise:

While standing, your feet should be somewhat wider than hip-distance apart, and your toes should be slightly bent outward.
Hold a kettlebell in both hands at your chest, with one hand on each side of the handles, as if you were cupping a goblet.
Bend your elbows so that the goblet is centred in the middle of your chest.
For the squat, press your hips back, and begin bending your knees. Inhale as you do this downward movement.
Maintain the kettlebell close to your body throughout the exercise.
Press through your heels, and return to the starting position by reversing the motion.
Exhale as you rise, and thrust your hips forward at the top of the squat to exercise your glutes more effectively.
Complete the set, and rack the kettlebell gently; never drop weights from a height. Repeat as many sets as you wish to.

3) Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell swing is a sudden, strong and explosive movement that promotes hip extension and glute strength, resulting in athletic and on-field explosiveness.

Here's how you do this glute exercise to strengthen your lower body:

Begin by placing the kettlebell slightly in front of you and between your feet, which should be shoulder-width apart.
Grasp the kettlebell, and drag it back between your legs to generate momentum while bending at the knees and mostly at the hips.
To lift the kettlebell to shoulder height, thrust your hips forward, and straighten your back.
Allow the bell to return between your legs, and repeat the movement.

4) Bulgarian Split Squat

This exercise can be modified to become a glute-focused exercise. To target the glutes, ensure that your front shin is perpendicular to the ground and your knee doesn't pass over your foot in the Bulgarian squat.

Here's how you do this glute exercise:

Find a step, bench or any other knee-height device on which you can rest your foot.
Assume a forward lunge position with an upright torso, braced core and square hips, with the rear foot elevated on the bench. Your leading leg should be around 0.5 metres in front of the bench.
Keep your knee in line with your foot as you lower your leg till it's nearly horizontal. Do not allow your front knee to extend past your toes.
Drive up through your front heel to return to the starting position while maintaining controlled movement.
Repeat five to ten times before switching legs.

5) Cossack Squat

As you reach depth in this squat, the glutes will have to support the pelvis before initiating an extension to complete a successful repetition, making it an excellent move for your glutes.

Here's how you do this glute exercise:

Assume the starting position by expanding your stance till your legs and the ground create a triangle. Your toes should point directly forward.
Exhale, and shift your weight to your right leg while bending your right knee and sitting as far back as possible.
Your left leg should remain stretched as your left foot spins on its heel with the toe facing forward.
The right heel of your foot should remain on the ground, and your body should be upright.
Pause, exhale, and return to the starting posture by pushing upwards.
Inhale again, and shift your weight to your left leg, repeating the previous movements.

6) Wall-sit

This glute-focused exercise can be significantly more beneficial than you might imagine. The key to this exercise is to make the wall-sit a posture of work, not rest; so, squeeze your glutes consistently to maintain tension.

Here's how you do this glute exercise:

Start with your back against a wall, feet shoulder-width apart and approximately two feet away from the wall.
Engage your abs, and glide your back down the wall till your thighs are parallel to the ground.
Adjust your feet so that your knees are in line with your ankles (rather than over your toes).
Maintain a flat back against the wall.
Maintain the position between 20 and 60 seconds.
Slowly climb back up the wall till you're standing.
Repeat the workout three times after a 30-second break. As your strength increases, increase your hold time by five seconds.

Takeaway

Include the aforementioned glute focused exercises in your routine to work out your butt.

Edited by Bhargav