If you spend most of your day sitting down, your glutes are probably paying the price, says Maddy Paupert, head trainer at Xceleration Fitness.
“We all need stronger glutes and hips because we all spend too much time sitting, whether that’s at work, at home, or driving,” she explains.
The importance of strong glutes can’t be overstated. They help support the lower back, knees and hips, and generally make moving around day-to-day easier.
That’s why Paupert has created a five-minute glute routine that can easily be done from home without the need for gym equipment.
How to do the five-minute glute workout
Paupert’s workout consists of five exercises, each done for a set number of reps, which should take around one minute per exercise.
Paupert recommends doing this workout twice a week alongside your other strength training.
The five exercises are:
- Lying glute bridge x 15
- Side-lying hip abduction x 15 each side
- Lateral squat walk x 60sec
- Donkey kick x 15 each side
- One-and-a-half squat x 10
1. Lying glute bridge
Sets: 1 Reps: 15
Benefit: Strengthens glutes and hamstrings, and improves core stability.
How to do it:
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Engage your core and push your feet into the floor to lift your hips until your knees and shoulders are aligned.
- Squeeze your glutes, then slowly lower to the starting position.
2. Side-lying hip abduction
Sets: 1 Reps: 15 each side
Benefit: Strengthens hips, thighs and glutes while stabilising the pelvis.
How to do it:
- Lay on your left side, propped up on your left forearm, with your right leg stacked on top of your left.
- Bend your left knee.
- Flex your right foot, pointing your toes towards your face (this helps protect the knee joint) and rotate your right leg, moving from the hip, so your toes point down—this is your starting position.
- Slowly lift your right leg.
- Lower with control.
- Do all your reps on one side, then swap sides.
3. Lateral squat walk
Sets: 1 Time: 60sec
Benefit: Strengthens hip abductor muscles and improves stability.
How to do it:
- Get into an athletic stance by pushing your butt back slightly and bending your knees. (Imagine you’re ready to play defense in basketball or you’re doing a half squat.)
- Stay nice and low in this stance as you take four wide steps to the right and four steps back to the left.
- Continue back and forth for 60 seconds.
4. Donkey kick
Sets: 1 Reps: 15 each side
Benefit: Strengthens the glutes, lengthens the hip flexors and engages the core, hamstrings and back.
How to do it:
- Get on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
- Keeping your right knee bent at 90°, lift your right leg behind you as far as you can without arching your back.
- Lower halfway, then go straight into the next rep.
- Once you have lifted your leg as high as you can, come back down halfway, and then drive your foot back up towards the ceiling.
- Do all your reps on one side, then swap sides.
5. One-and-a-half squat
Sets: 1 Reps: 10
Benefits: Boosts muscular endurance and builds lower-body strength.
How to do it:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and feet slightly turned out.
- Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower until your hips are in line with your knees, or lower if your mobility allows.
- Rise halfway, then lower again.
- Stand all the way up, squeezing your glute muscles at the top to complete one rep.