THE [ABCs] OF GREAT GLUTES

Improve athletic performance and perfect your posterior aesthetic with these 18 awesome exercises.

- JENNA AUTUORI DEDIC

Everyone wants great glutes, but truth be told, there is more value in having a strong backside than an attractive one. The good news is that in training for strength and function, you’ll also effectively train for shape and silhouette. (Have you ever seen a sprinter with a flat a--? We didn’t think so.)

Your glutes power hip extension and are used in all manner of sports and activities. The more powerful your glutes, the better you’ll be at running, jumping, squatting, leaping, and lunging. Proper glute training also can help prevent injury. “When the glutes are weak, your hips become misaligned, which can change your gait, lead to pain in your lower back or even cause knee valgus where the knees track inward,” says Hannah Davis, CPT, CSCS, founder of Body by Hannah.

The following 18 moves have been broken into groups of three based on their similarity in hip/gluteal action and muscular activation, and each group contains an A, a B and a C move.

A [ ACTIVATE]