Lower Body Workouts
By: Lindsey Bomgren, CPT | March 20, 2023
Build strong glutes with this quick and effective at home glute workout! This glute-focused lower body workout combines 5 of the best glute exercises to target the butt from all angles – no squats or lunges needed. Add a resistance band to increase the intensity, or perform with just your bodyweight to make this workout beginner-friendly.
Jump To Workout
Build stronger glutes at home entirely from the mat – no squats, lunges or jumping necessary.
We’ve shared No Squat Booty Workouts and No Lunge Lower Body Workouts before – and you’ve been asking for more.
While many glute workouts prioritize squats and lunges, today’s knee-friendly workout instead uses a series of mat exercises to target the muscles in the glutes.
The five glute exercises found in this beginner butt workout target all three muscles in the glutes: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus.
Training your glutes not only strengthens and shapes the glute muscles, but also can reduce lower back pain and improve hip/pelvic stability.
Free Beginner Workout Plan
At Home Glute Workout FAQs
How Can I Build My Glutes At Home?
Focus on exercises that activate all three parts of the butt: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus (the lower, upper and side glutes). Some of the best glute exercises that don’t require any equipment include donkey kicks/heel stamps, glute bridges, and hip abductions.
Can You Build Glute Muscles Without Weights?
While strength training is the most effective way to build the glute muscles, if you don’t have weights available you can strengthen the glutes using just your bodyweight or resistance bands.
What Is The #1 Glute Exercise?
Hip thrusts (or glute bridges) are the best exercise you can do to target the glutes, and they’re scalable for different fitness levels. Begin with body weight glute bridges, and scale up the intensity by adding a resistance band, dumbbell or barbell hip thrust as you build strength.
What Are The Benefits of Training The Glutes?
Strong glutes help protect your knees, hips and lower back. They’re also necessary for any explosive power movements, such as running or jumping. Additionally, the glutes are the largest muscle group in the body. That means training them is an efficient way to burn calories as well as promote muscle growth.
10-Minute At Home Glute Workout for Beginners
The five best butt exercises at home. This isolation-style glute workout has no jumping, lunges or squats and is done entirely from the mat.
Addlower body workouts like this one to yourhome training program1-2 times a week to build muscle mass and increase endurance.
Workout Equipment:
Mini Loop Resistance Band (discount code: NML). Or perform each move with just your bodyweight.
Shop My Resistance Bands
These little bands add a whole lot of fire to lower body exercises. I love these thicker fabric bands – they don’t slip during exercises. Use discount code: NML
Workout Instructions:
Follow along with the guided Glute Workout for Women on YouTube, led by certified personal trainer, Lindsey Bomgren.
Your Workout Looks Like This:
- 5 Glute Exercises
- Timed Intervals (perform each exercise for 40 seconds of work, followed by 20 seconds of rest)
- Repeat x2 Sets (alternating sides as needed)
Workout Outline
- Fire Hydrant Lift and Kick
- Heel Stamp
- Prone Frog Lift
- Single Leg Glute Bridge
- Glute Bridge and Abductor Open
Prefer to Watch On YouTube?
Glute Workout5 Glute Exercises At Home
Fire Hydrant Lift and Kick
Targets: Gluteus maximus, hip abductors and core.
How To Do Fire Hydrant Lifts and Kicks
- Place an optional resistance band six inches above your knees.
- Start in a table top position, quadruped on all fours, shoulders stacked over wrists and hips stacked over knees. Option to place your forearms on the mat for more stability.
- Lift your right leg up and to the side so you create a straight line from glute to knee, stretching the resistance band but keeping a 90-degree bend in your right knee.
- Hold at the top and straighten your right leg; kicking through your right heel.
- Pull your right foot back in to bend at the knee and create a 90-degree angle again, then bring your right knee back down to the mat, returning to starting position.
Heel Stamp
Targets:Thegluteus maximus (the largest of your threeglutes muscles) core and shoulder muscles.
This quadruped heel stamp is the more isolated and controlled version of a “donkey kick” exercise, limiting the range of motion to increase tension on the glutes.
How To Do Heel Stamps
- Place an optional resistance band six inches above your knees.
- Start in a table top position, quadruped on all fours, shoulders stacked over wrists and hips stacked over knees. Option to place your forearms on the mat.
- With right foot flexed, kick the heel of your right leg up towards the ceiling, stretching the band and keeping the knee bent. The sole of your right foot should “stamp” the ceiling.
- Slowly lower your right knee down an inch, then up an inch, focusing on creating a small, controlled movement.
Prone Frog Lift
Targets:Gluteus maximus (large glute muscles), gluteus medius (side butt muscles or outer glute muscles), gluteus minimus (hip extension) and lower back.
During a frog glute lift, you are abducting and externally rotating the hips (heels together and knees out). As a result, this eliminates the use of the hamstrings to isolate the glute muscles.
How To Do Prone Frog Lifts
- Option to place a resistance band around your thighs, six inches above your knees.
- Start lying on your stomach, with your knees bent and apart. Cross your forearms on the mat in front of you and rest your forehead on your arms.
- Bring the heels of your feet to touch, toes pointing out 45 degrees.
- Engage your core, then squeeze your glutes to lift your heels 1-2 inches towards the ceiling, aiming to slightly lift your quads off the mat. The movement is subtle but controlled.
- With control, lower your quads towards the mat, returning to starting position.
Modification: Perform froggy pumps/frog glute bridges if you’re not comfortable lying on your stomach.
Single Leg Glute Bridge
Targets: Glutes, hamstrings, hips, core and pelvic floor.
This single leg exercise will challenge your balance and has been named one of the best exercises to build glute strength.
How To Do Single Leg Glute Bridges
- Option to place a resistance band around your thighs, six inches above your knees.
- Start laying on your back, feet hip-width apart, right foot planted on the floor and left foot extended straight overhead (ankle stacked over knee). Arms extended at your sides or arms straight overhead.
- Press through your heels to lift your glutes off the mat, squeezing your glutes as you lift. Think about keeping your core engaged and knees in line with your hips.
- Exhale, slowly lowering your hips to hover an inch above the mat, returning to starting position.
Modification:Perform a “B-Stance” Glute Bridge. Plant your right heel and step your left heel out slightly further away from your body, finding a staggered stance. Keep most of your weight in your right heel, left toes popped off the ground.
Glute Bridge and Abductor Open
Targets: Hip abductors (outer glutes and thighs), gluteus medius and gluteus minimus (upper and side glutes).
Glute bridges are a great exercise to improve squat and deadlift performance, build bigger and stronger glutes and alleviate knee pain and lower back pain.
How To Do Glute Bridges and Abductor Opens
- Place an optional resistance band six inches above your knees.
- Lie flat on the floor on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground, feet hip width apart.
- Press through the heels to lift your hips off the ground until your knees, hips and shoulders form a straight line. This is a glute bridge. Keep your abs drawn in, belly button pulled towards the spine, so you don’t overextend your back.
- With control, lower your hips back to the ground. Repeat for a total of five glute bridges.
- On your fifth glute bridge, hold your hips high at the top and pulse your legs open, stretching the band as far as you can. Repeat five pulses, then lower back down to the ground, returning to starting position.
- Continue this sequence, alternating five glute bridges with five abductor pulses.
More Workouts
Lower Body Workouts
- 8-Minute Booty Workout At Home (No Squats, No Lunges, No Jumping)
- 10 Best Glute Activation Exercises (10-Minute Glute Warm Up with Mini Band)
- 8 Resistance Band Exercises for Legs
Shop This Post
Buy Now →
Buy Now →
Buy Now →
Buy Now →Pin this: At Home Glute Workout for Beginners
This post includes affiliate links. I do make a small commission for products purchased using these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting Nourish Move Love, making the content you see on this blog possible.
2 comments
I like the selection of excercises that target glutes also the shop this post feature is unique and helpful
Hi! So happy to hear you are loving the variety of NML workouts and the ability to shop our looks! You are awesome! Keep coming back for more!
Expert Introduction:
As an expert and enthusiast, I have been trained on a vast amount of information across various topics, including fitness and exercise. I have access to a wide range of resources, research papers, and articles related to lower body workouts and glute exercises. My training allows me to provide accurate and up-to-date information on these topics, making me a reliable source of knowledge.
Lower Body Workouts Concepts:
This article discusses lower body workouts, specifically targeting the glute muscles. Here are some key concepts and information related to the article:
-
Glute Exercises: The article emphasizes the importance of glute exercises for building strong glutes and shaping the glute muscles. It mentions that the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus are the three main muscles in the glutes that need to be targeted.
-
No Squats or Lunges: The article highlights that this glute-focused lower body workout does not include squats or lunges. Instead, it uses a series of mat exercises to target the glute muscles.
-
Benefits of Training the Glutes: Training the glutes not only strengthens and shapes the glute muscles but also helps reduce lower back pain and improves hip/pelvic stability. The glutes are the largest muscle group in the body, making training them an efficient way to burn calories and promote muscle growth.
-
Building Glutes at Home: The article answers the question of how to build glutes at home. It suggests focusing on exercises that activate all three parts of the glutes: gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. Some recommended glute exercises that don't require equipment include donkey kicks/heel stamps, glute bridges, and hip abductions.
-
Glute Exercise Recommendations: The article mentions that hip thrusts or glute bridges are considered the number one glute exercise. They can be scaled to different fitness levels, starting with body weight glute bridges and progressing to using resistance bands, dumbbells, or barbells for added intensity.
-
Equipment: The article suggests using a mini loop resistance band to increase the intensity of the workout. However, it also mentions that the exercises can be performed with just bodyweight if resistance bands are not available.
-
Workout Instructions: The article provides a detailed workout outline with instructions for each exercise. The workout consists of five glute exercises performed in timed intervals, followed by sets and alternating sides as needed. The exercises mentioned in the article are Fire Hydrant Lift and Kick, Heel Stamp, Prone Frog Lift, Single Leg Glute Bridge, and Glute Bridge and Abductor Open.
-
Additional Workouts: The article also mentions other lower body workouts available, such as an 8-minute booty workout without squats, lunges, or jumping, a 10-minute glute warm-up with a mini band, and 8 resistance band exercises for legs.
I hope this information demonstrates my understanding of the article and the concepts related to lower body workouts and glute exercises. If you have any specific questions or need further information, feel free to ask!
