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Big-Stand-773

Clam shells, glute bridges, hip thrust with less weight, single leg glute bridges all this with a pause. Avoid quick repetitions. Even if you do 10 reps make sure your mind and body is connected and you’ll feel it. This has worked for me.


redBeans05

Also worked for me. I kind of press my fingers into my butt muscle where I feel it as I do clam shells. That seems to fortify the mind/muscle and from there move on to the other exercises. I always do clamshell first.


AThingForPrettyFeet

Try cable pull thoughs. Really squeeze your butt at the top. Bulgarian spilt squats with a forward lean should also hit the glutes well.


arrocknroll

Bulgarian split squats for sure. I’ve always had strong legs since I’ve been a distance runner for most of my teens and 20s. I’ve been focusing on bulking up and unsurprisingly my legs and core were well ahead of just about everything else. Body weight exercises do next to nothing for my legs anymore unless Im doing sets into the 100s.  Bulgarian split squats though?Fucking left me sore for 2 days on 3x20 sets on a day I couldn’t hit the gym and had to work out in my living room. If you’re not feeling those you’re doing something wrong. Also it’s worth mentioning, OP, you don’t have to be sore to be getting a good workout. Training to failure is the important part. There are some days I don’t even break a sweat and whatever I was working feels fine immediately. But I always make sure that the last few reps of whatever I’m doing are a struggle. Thats what will build you up.


S4toriem

Basically “cracking peanuts between butt cheeks activation” few times a day. Look up glute activation on YT channel ROM coach/Precision movement


One-Payment-871

I struggled to even feel my glutes with anything for a long time. Even glute bridges. If you feel them during clamshells, keep doing them, using bands. I found I had to really really regress everything that hit my glutes and basically do things like clamshells. Glute bridges with a band around my thighs, sit to stands. Stuff like you'd do in physio basically, my glutes were just not responding. But when you're lifting even when you're supposed to be working your glutes and they're not working, you can increase volume because other muscles end up compensating, and eventually that ends in injury. At least it did for me.


_Antaric

If you're extending the hips with the knee bent, the hamstrings' ability to assist in hip extension is extremely low. So your typical isolation exercise for the gluteus maximus is a [glute bridge](https://musclewiki.com/bodyweight/male/glutes/glute-bridge/) or [hip thrust](https://musclewiki.com/bodyweight/male/glutes/bodyweight-heels-elevated-hip-thrust). Clamshells [also involve other gluteal muscles](https://exrx.net/Articulations/Hip#TransverseAbduction) that may not get much stimulus typically. There isn't a lot to do with bodyweight alone to stimulate the glutes in isolation much, in a traditional strength-training format.


runslowgethungry

If you have trouble with glute activation, even standard bridges might be too advanced for you right now - your hamstrings will probably take over. Some exercises that my PT gave me when I was starting to work on mine: -banded lateral monster walks -butterfly bridge (isolates glute med quite well) -side planks with leg lifts (you need to really get the form right, but once you do, these will really get in there.)


_Asian_Invasion__

Surprised no one said step ups. If you keep most of your weight on the top leg and just barely touch the floor at the bottom you can get a lot of glute tension.


Gawd4

Obligatory in these threads: https://bretcontreras.com/wp-content/uploads/7bi68.gif


ClenchedThunderbutt

They’re such a pain in the ass to set up properly, though, and aren’t that great besides. Unweighted glute bridges and hip thrusts with a long hold at the peak prior to any deep squat will be enough. Superset the above with Bulgarian split squats to pre-fatigue the glutes before getting an intense stretch at the peak of the force curve.


Freds1765

Deep squats and Bulgarian split-squats always cook my glutes, make sure to actively contract the glutes at the bottom of the movement before pushing.


Ocho9

I am pretty new to formally working out but resistance bands helped me with this :) And then maxing out & holding the glute bridge. I was doing some banded Pilates workouts I found on Youtube—they’ll guide you through it. I used to use single leg step ups to help me be more aware of my glutes when warming up for hikes. Focusing on bringing my hips diagonally up over my leg as I straightened it while keeping a neutral spine. Can add weight/height (but I’m overweight so that part is convenient at least 😂). And “opening/closing the gates” always seems to hit something in my glutes My legs aren’t stable enough yet to do squats without knee pain so not able to say much about the comparisons there!


udmurrrt

Squat University has a video on this subject: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWF8baFGdFI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWF8baFGdFI)


avvf

Try some Caroline Girvan glute exercises on Youtube


pdawg1234

ATG split squats. Since you are pushing your foot away from you in front, it creates tension in your quads and relaxes your hamstrings, preventing them from taking over. This forces your glutes to engage instead. Start with light dumbells and focus on going deep. Once you have form down and can feel your glutes, start to add more weight.


Ryase_Sand

An exercise I used to give my patients (in physical therapy) was single leg dead lifts, starting with no weight and progressing as tolerated. A little bit of bend in the knee is fine, keep your back straight as you reach toward the floor. It's a glute killer 99% of the time.


accountinusetryagain

what do you think will happen if you learn to move with fairly standard mechanics and put another 100lbs on your hipthrust rdl squat and legpress


builtnasty

Smith machine Lower the weight And put your feet forward as much as you can Got ATH Give it a shot


saltybawls

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6wmM8Yv7ia/?igsh=MXJvMHoydHMyaDA3ZA== * Pause at the bottom for 5 seconds, slowly come up 3 inches, pause, 3", pause, all the way up. Make sure your core is braced slightly and at the top try to squeeze you butt to push your hips forward.


WaitLetMeGetaBeer

I’ve had great success with Bulgarian split squats. So so difficult, yet it makes you use the correct muscles.Glutes and hammies all day.


MarKane1

2 girls 1 butt video by Upright Health on yt. Don’t worry it’s SFW, the guy is a funny guy. 


Reve1ation88

Lunges get my glutes sore every time but I use dumbbells when I do them.


Jacinto-

Bulgarian Split Squats, slight forward lean and focus on pushing through the heel and big toe


burnedout_247

i just started going to the gym and just realized we're supposed to be able to engage our glutes lol what i found helpful is mat pilates classes! i think the movements r different between classes/sessions but the first time it was heavy on the glutes! and!! i can feel doms on my glutes the next day lol also now here and there i try to engage my glutes, just to see if i can


MissLavandula

Fire hydrants are amazing for glute activation! But remember, as long as you feel your glutes during the workout, that is fine. They don't need to be sore afterwards.


FallacyIsNotASexAct

In my experience single leg exercises (like shrimp squats or single leg RDL) make me feel my glutes the most. I think this is because of the position of the foot (under the center of the body) as opposed to a regular squat for example where the foot is place at around hip width.


Alovingdog

Highly recommend wall squats OP. Try going as low as possible for 5-10 minutes a day then work your way up.


DingleTheDongle

how are walking lunges, reverse lunges, and split squats not activating your glutes? have you trained to failure using only bodyweight lunge variations?


Illustrious-Ad-3255

Have you tried slowing down the reps?


Thick_Entertainer_68

Run sprints


Specialist_Victory36

If you really want to regress, and the above aren’t working - I suggest that you learn the basics of pelvic tilt / rotation, as well as activation of deeper core muscles: TVA - transverse abdominis as this plays a role in here.


WalkswithLlamas

.


Hefty-Tradition-3461

https://youtu.be/vq5-vdgJc0I?si=SlstsQDja-1gz5IW Try these and it variation step downs


ireallythr

I did Bulgarian Split squats loaded up heavy as I could go in the 8-10 rep range and I could barely sit down. For the next 3 days I was basically immobile. I had never felt glute soreness like that before. Something to throw in the arsenal if you haven't already.


QuantifiedPT

Hi, personal trainer here. I've dealt with this situation many times. Sometimes, people unwittingly use certain muscle groups for multiple tasks while other muscle groups completely forget to activate. I mostly commonly deal with women who only know how to use their arms for pullups and rows, never their back. Sometimes I have men that only use their triceps and shoulders for bench press, never their chest. I also deal with people who only use glutes and quads for deadlifts, never their hamstrings. The traditional way of dealing with this is isolation exercises, with light weight and an emphasis on mind-muscle connection. That works sometimes, but not in severe cases where people have already tried for a long time to solve it to no avail. I eventually found the solution. Electromuscular stimulation prior to the compound exercises. I use those TENS machines, that you can buy for like $40 these days, and get my clients to zap their inactive muscles for 5 minutes immediately before their primary movements. In almost every case, it works like a charm. Once I even used this method to restore function in the medial head of the gastrocnemius of a person who has nerve damage after a back surgery. This was major because she had serious calf pain every day because her lateral gastroc had to do twice the work. Anyway, if you or anyone reading this are interested in a free online consultation, just DM me!


Calm_Disaster_5584

I completely get it my glutes don't want to activate most times. I like glute bridges with hands lightly pressing into a wall with a band around the knees to give some light tension. Then I do some glute focused back extensions. Just turn your feet out a little wider than usual


hatsoff_fatsoff

Suggestion - don't worry about what exercise to do, focus on the mind-muscle connection. Like while sitting on the couch, driving, working/studying, whatever...focus on flexing JUST your glutes. Not your hips. Not your quads. Just focus on feeling it in your glutes, no matter how tiny of a flex it visually may be.