THERE ARE OVER You have a dozen muscles in your legs, but when you find yourself in the algorithmic echo chamber of social fitness media, there’s only one that gets the most attention: the glutes.
“The new frontier of lower body training today revolves around the glutes,” says Ebenezer Samuel, CSCS, MH Fitness Director. “That means a variety of Instagram influencer types presenting you with new and ‘innovative’ ways to train your glutes.”
These so-called “innovations” aren’t always as effective as influencers make them out to be—and if you only fill your workout routine with flashy moves you see on TikTok, you won’t get the results you want from your workout. Here, Samuel explains which glute exercises aren’t worth your time and what you can replace them with.
5 glute exercises you should stop doing
Heel Press/Bird Dog
The heel press is a variation of the bird dog movement that is great in some ways (think core engagement), but not for glute muscle growth. The movement is great for beginners to build base strength and as a warm-up to activate the glutes. It challenges your glutes in the extended position, but ultimately doesn’t stimulate the muscle enough to trigger the growth you’re looking for.
Instead, do this: Hip thrusts
The classic hip thrust is a similar idea, targeting the glutes in a stretched position. However, the hip thrust allows you to really load up on weight, which ultimately promotes muscle growth. The glutes are some of the strongest muscles in the body, so don’t be afraid to pile on the weight.
Single leg deadlift
Don’t get us wrong: The single-leg deadlift is a great exercise if you want to improve your balance and coordination, but you won’t be able to intensify this movement to the point where you’ll build significant muscle.
Do this instead: Loaded Step-Up
The step-up still requires single leg strength through hip extension, but offers more opportunities to load the movement. You can also vary the degree of stretch in your glutes depending on the height of the box or bench you use.
Glute Bridge
The glute bridge is another great bodyweight or warm-up exercise, but that’s about all the benefits it offers. You just can’t load it as much as you need to to stimulate muscle growth, and in the extended position we’re not getting any stimulation to the glute.
Do this instead: Hip thrust
The effectiveness of the hip thrust bears repeating here. Unlike the glute bridge, you can achieve this stretch at the bottom of the movement. And you can stack the weights for full pressure at the top of the movement.
Deadlift with cable
According to Samuel, the cable deadlift is extremely popular among influencers. In theory, this movement loads the glutes while they are extended at the hinge. In reality, however, the direction and angle of the load causes your back and shoulders to be stretched rather than your glutes.
Do this instead: Romanian deadlift with dumbbells
Don’t compromise on the classics. The dumbbell RDL will engage your glutes in this stretching position at the right angle. This is another movement you can do with a lot of weight.
“It’s this load that gives your glutes the strength and muscle you really want,” says Samuel.
