Your Guide To Optimal Glute Training

This article applies just as much to the male readers here as it does female, the gluteus maximus afterall is the largest and most powerful muscle in your body. However some studies done on trained individuals have found many to have larger quads and hamstrings that their glutes, regardless they are still important.

Building large and strong glutes isn’t just about how you look…

The glutes play a huge role in human function and athletic performance, they are essential for acceleration, jumping and heavy lifting. On top of this, they function as stabilizers for the spine and pelvis, improve your posture and weak glutes have been closely linked with lower back pain.

So, you want to grow the muscle and make them stronger… This article will show you how to design the best programme possible for yourself in the gym to help you get there using scientific evidence as always.

IN THIS ISSUE:

• 🤓The Importance Of Growing & Strengthening Your Glutes

• 🧬 Glute Anatomy & Function

• 💪 How To Effectively Train Your Glutes In The Gym

• ✍️ Key Takeaways & Practical Applications

• 👉 Sample Program

IMPROVE EVERYTHING
The Importance Of Growing & Strengthening Your Glutes

As stated above, improving your glute size and strength only has upsides attached to it, including: improved posture, decrease chance of injury and increase athletic performance.

A study from Loughborough University by Professor Jonathan Folland and Rob Millar, looked at the relationship between larger glutes and 100m sprint times. They compared the muscle anatomy of 42 males (5 elite sprinters, 26 sub-elite and 11 untrained men) using MRI. They found that top sprinters were more muscular, however only in certain areas. While the calf muscles were a similar size between elite and sub-elite, the gluteus maximus muscle was on average 45% bigger in elite sprinters vs sub-elite.

A study by (Jeong et al., 2015) published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science, took 40 females with current low back pain on a 6 week intervention trial with various exercises to strengthen the glutes. There findings showed that the subjects strengthening their glutes resulted in reduced lower back pain.

An article published in the International Journal of Sports Physiotherapy by (Buckthorpe et al., 2019) states that the glutes are prone to inhibition and weakness which contributes to chronic pain, injury and athletic under-performance.

HOW THEY WORK
Glute Anatomy & Function

The glutes are made up primarily of three muscles: (The largest being the Maximus)

• Gluteus Maximus

• Gluteus Medius

• Gluteus Minimus

The gluteus maximus’s main role in our body is hip extension. Think standing up and locking out a deadlift. It also works to externally rotate the hip joint.

The gluteus medius is located partially under the gluteus maximus and attaches the hip bone to the upper part of the femur. It is responsible for internal and external rotation of the hip.

The gluteus minimus is found under the gluteus medius and is largely responsible for internal hip rotation. It also works in tandem with the gluteus medius to abduct the hips and internally rotate the leg. You use your gluteus minimus for stabilization of the hip and pelvis.

GROW THEM
How To Effectively Train Your Glutes In The Gym

Like any muscle, there are ground rules when it comes to optimising hypertrophy. We have covered most of these in previous strength framework issues, citing the scientific evidence supporting these guidelines:

1. Train to or within close proximity to failure (0-3RIR)

2. Train within the 5-30 repetition range

3. Train with sufficient volume (6-8 working sets per session / 10-20+ per week)

4. Train the muscle through a full range of motion

5. Picking movements that allow you to train the muscle at long muscle lengths

6. Sufficient calories to support muscle repair and growth

7. Sufficient sleep and limit stress

With the above in mind here are my top picks for gluteus maximus hypertrophy:

• Stiff Leg Deadlifts / RDLs / Good mornings - Hip hinge variations have high hip extension demands in the bottom position, which is where the glutes are in their most lengthened position. The Gluteus maximus’s main function is hip extension, these variations all train exactly that, plus allow for a full range of motion with small weight increment increases to a barbell, allowing for micro loading for more realistic progressive overload. You can also perform deficit variations if your mobility allows for an even greater stretch in the glutes.

• Squats - Specifically full range of motion squats as studies, (Kubo et al., 2019) have shown that taking a squat through a full range of motion causes more hypertrophy for the glutes than half squats. This is most likely due to greater hip extension demands on the glutes the deeper you squat, on top of this, the glutes are at their most lengthened position in the bottom of the squat.

• Bulgarian Split Squats - Huge fan of these, they take your glutes through a full range of motion and because they are performed with one leg at a time and carry two other benefits. 1- Less load fatigue (due to needing less load) / 2- Can be done anywhere and provide a challenge even if you have access to little equipment meaning they are great for those training at home. If you struggle with your stability, you can modify these using a smith machine or safety squat bar / dumbbell held in one hand so you can use a free hand to help balance using a rack.

• Leg Press - Leg pressing allows for a similar movement pattern as squatting, without as much fatigue caused due to no axle loading of the spine. It also provides more stability and an easier learning curve for those of you just getting started. Place your feet higher on the platform to allow for a deeper stretch of the glutes in the bottom.

• Barbell Hip Thrusts - Although the barbell hip thrust doesn’t train the glutes at nearly as much of a stretch as a squat or hip hinge, and has a smaller range of motion, studies have shown its effectiveness at growing the glutes. The hip thrust is somewhat of a glute isolation movement, which you can overload pretty well (although, can be awkward to set up). A recent study (which has still to be peer reviewed) by (Plotkin et al., 2023) compared the squat vs hip thrust in 34 untrained subjects for a 9 week period on glute growth and strength outcomes. Results showed similar glute hypertrophy between movements, and similar transfer to deadlift strength between movements. The bonus here is less axle loading vs a squat, so it can be a great tool to train the glutes without adding extra fatigue in the axle plane.

Glute Medius & Minimus?

Any full range of motion hip abduction exercise.

Although they will get work through the above movements, it will not be enough to optimally grow them and direct work should be done to improve their growth.

The classic “Good Girl / Bad Girl” hip abduction machine you find in most gyms does the job quite well. A study by (de Almeida Paz et al., 2022) found the abductor machine to be the best option when it comes to glute medius growth over free weight alternatives (clam shell and lying side hip abduction).

Aside from that you can attach a cuff around your ankle and perform leg side abduction raises, often this can allow for a greater stretch in the gluteus medius and minimus, although can be a pain to set up.

JUST FOR YOU
Key Takeaways & Practical Applications

Bonus Point… The squat turns out to be quite an effective movement for training your adductors (when some claim it doesn’t).

• Glute strength and growth matters - Having larger, stronger glutes help with athletic performance, posture and chance of injury.

• Hip Hinge (RDLs & Good mornings) , Leg pressing movements (Squats & Leg Press) and Hip Thrusting can all be used to build an effective glute hypertrophy programme.

• Abductor work for the Gluteus Medius and Minimus should be included in your programme to maximise their hypertrophy.

ADJUST ACCORDINGLY
Sample Program

I also advise doing calf work before upper body training days due to two factors:

1. At the end of a lower session you usually don’t put much effort in.

2. Before a lower session it may affect ankle mobility before squatting.

Lower Day A

• Back Squat - 3 sets x 6 repetitions

• Romanian Deadlift - 3 sets x 8 repetitions

• Barbell Hip Thrust - 3 sets x 10-12 repetitions

• Leg Extension + Seated Hamstring Curl (agonist / antagonist superset) - 3 sets x 10-15 repetitions.

• Hip Abduction Machine - 5 sets x 10-15 repetitions

Lower Day B

• Barbell Hip Thrust - 3 sets x 8-10 repetitions

• Good Mornings - 3 sets x 8-10 repetitions

• Bulgarian Split Squats - 3 sets x 12-15 repetitions

• Cable Ankle Cuff Side Abduction - 5 sets x 12-20 repetitions

Both days include 9 total working sets of Gluteus Maximus volume & 5 total working sets of Gluteus Medius work = 18 total weekly sets & 10 total weekly sets respectively.

If you handle the volume well and would like to increase volume, add one set per week to one movement. If you feel like it really isn’t enough, consider adding a third training session to allow more productive weekly volume.