When I was young – so, like last month…. haha.

No seriously, when I was in my 20’s no one gave the time of day to their glutes and hips in the gym.

It was all abs, inner thighs and triceps.

Flash forward 20 years later and EVERYONE is obsessed with their ass.

And, for good reasons.

Strong glutes help guard against low back and knee pain, and they are the powerhouse muscle group needed to do simple moves like getting up from a sitting position, to the more complex move of walking, as well as those damn taxing moves like running, hiking and biking.

We need a strong ass people.

And when its strong, the rest of the body can focus on it’s job.

How do you know if your glutes are weak?

A simple test you can perform at home to see if your glutes are weak (and need some extra love) is my bridge test.

1. Lie on your back with your feet flat on the ground, hip width apart and close to the bum.
2. Lift your hips off the floor and hold (And I mean lift! Drive the hips up as high as possible).
3. Extend your left leg straight up and slowly lower it until the heels touches the ground, lift back to start.
4. Perform 10 reps with your left leg and 10 reps with your right.
5. If you have no cramping in the the hamstrings that indicats that you are doing a really good job at activating your glutes.
6. But, if your hamstrings do cramp take note. This is a sign that your hammies are doing most of the work and your glutes are not activating like they should be.

Other than this workout, here are a few of my other go-to glute moves:

Squats

Lunges (especially walking lunges)

Deadlifts

Bridges

Step ups

30-Minute Lower Body & Ab Booty Band Band Workout

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The Workout