Glute Activation Exercises!

What is Glute Activation?

The term "Glute Activation" is essentially an extra warmup that focuses solely on "waking up" the glutes, ensuring that they'd get the highest possible benefit from the progressive overload exercises. Why is it necessary? Because people - even active ones - use their glutes primarily for one primary purpose: sitting down. And having groggy glutes means they are less prepared to handle strenuous exercise and transfer the added stress to other muscle groups. If you do not warm up your glutes before your workout, other muscles such as the lower back, quads, and hamstrings will compensate, which is why sometimes we see changes in these areas (big legs) and not much in our glutes.

TIP: if you can't feel your glutes during your progressive overload exercises, activate your glutes again to get them fired up and jump straight back into the exercise. We have included glute activation workouts to carry out before starting each day. For glute activation, use the light bootee band.

Choose 3-4 glute activation exercises below before starting each day. Use the light-medium resistance band:

1. Seated Hip Abductors 

• Sit on the edge of a chair and position the bootee band above the knees.
• Open your legs as far apart as you can to the point that allows you to feel your glutes and HOLD for 2 seconds.
• Close your legs slowly, resisting the bootee band.
• Shoot straight up quickly, HOLD for 2 seconds and back down gently and repeat.

SUPERSET: When you finish your 15th rep, get straight into your superset. Spread your legs as far apart as possible; in this position HOLD, go up and down a few inches (fast pulses) until burnout.

2. Fire Hydrants 

• Start on all fours with the bootee band slightly above your knees.
• Lift your leg out to your right side, stopping at hip height and SQUEEZE your glute for 2 seconds and gently go back down again.
• Do not go down suddenly; resist the bootee band with your glute muscles on the way down.
• Every time you go back down slowly, shoot straight up quickly, HOLD for 2 seconds and back down gently and repeat.

3. Glute Bridge with Abduction

• Start on the floor with your feet flat on the ground and position the bootee band above the knees.
• Thrust up towards the ceiling, HOLD and SQUEEZE those glutes as hard as you can!
• Keeping this position, move the knees away and towards one another slowly, resisting the band's strength (abduct).
• Place your feet hip-width apart to create a great enough resistance in the band.

 SUPERSET: After the 15th rep, in the same position, abduct at a faster pace until burnout. Repeat for remaining sets. 

4. Kickbacks 

• Start on your hands and knees and position the bootee band above the knees.
• Keep your knee bent as you lift your feet to the ceiling as high as you can.
• Squeeze and hold for a few seconds before lowering your leg back down gently to the starting position.
• Do not let your leg rest on the ground until you have finished the prescribed reps.
• Alternate legs between sets.

5. Clamshells

• Lie on your right side with your feet and hips stacked and your head resting on your right arm.
• Draw your right knee in toward your body, keeping your left leg straight. This is your starting position.
• Raise your left leg as far as you can without lifting your right knee off the floor.
• Hold for 1 second, squeezing your glutes at the top of the move, before slowly lowering your left leg to the starting position.
• Repeat on the other side for remaining sets.

6. Two Step Shuffle

• Position bootee band above your ankles.
• Slightly bend the knees and engage your abs.
• Place feet hips distance apart and take two steps to the right (never step the feet together to touch) and then take two steps to the left continuously without stopping while keeping good tension in the band
• Do this for 45 seconds or 20 steps total (each two-step in a direction counts as one).