The Best & Worst Glute Exercises (According To Science) — Transcript

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1. 0:00the glutes are one of the single most
2. 0:01important muscles for building an
3. 0:03impressive physique they're also one of
4. 0:04the largest muscles in the body so
5. 0:06regardless of whether you're a man or
6. 0:08you're a woman building this one muscle
7. 0:10will make it immediately obvious that
8. 0:11you lift from the side and the rear so
9. 0:14in this video I'm ranking the best and
10. 0:16worst glute exercises for muscle growth
11. 0:18using the latest exercise signs we'll go
12. 0:21from s tier for super all the way down
13. 0:23to F tier for fail and at the end I'll
14. 0:26show you what I think are the very best
15. 0:28and the very worst glute exercises of
16. 0:30all time now in order to figure out
17. 0:31which exercises are better we need to
18. 0:33understand some very basic glute Anatomy
19. 0:36first the Glu are technically three
20. 0:38distinct muscles there's the very large
21. 0:40glutitis Maximus which is the real
22. 0:42powerhouse of your lower body it extends
23. 0:44your hips like in a deadlift and
24. 0:46externally rotates your leg like when
25. 0:48you point your toes out there's the
26. 0:49glutitis medius which is about 1/3 of
27. 0:51the size of the glutitis Maximus but
28. 0:53it's still well worth focusing on it's
29. 0:55still quite big it has about the same
30. 0:57amount of muscle mass as your delts and
31. 0:59since it sit on the upper glutes it'll
32. 1:01enhance that appearance of a upper glute
33. 1:03shelf the glute medius is very active
34. 1:05during hip abduction where you sweep
35. 1:07your leg out to the side and it's a very
36. 1:09important stabilizer so it's especially
37. 1:11active during single leg exercises and
38. 1:14there's the even smaller glute Minimus
39. 1:15which is about half the size of the
40. 1:17glute medius but also plays a key
41. 1:19stabilization role and can add size to
42. 1:21the upper glutes in addition to being
43. 1:22split into those three separate muscles
44. 1:24your glutes can also be divided into an
45. 1:26upper middle and lower portion and as we
46. 1:29go I'll reveal my number one exercise
47. 1:31for each division of the glutes hidden
48. 1:34behind these three doors so keep in mind
49. 1:36that just because an exercise gets into
50. 1:38s tier doesn't necessarily mean it's s
51. 1:40tier for the entire glutes it might be S
52. 1:42tier for targeting one specific area and
53. 1:45here's my criteria for ranking glute
54. 1:47exercises to get into s tier the
55. 1:49exercise needs to provide high tension
56. 1:51especially in the stretched position it
57. 1:53should feel good which means it doesn't
58. 1:55cause knee hip or low back pain and
59. 1:57there should be some way of progressing
60. 1:58the exercise over time which is
61. 2:00ultimately what'll keep your glutes
62. 2:01growing okay let's start with the most
63. 2:03popular glute exercise on the internet
64. 2:05the hip thrust the barbell hip thrust is
65. 2:07oddly enough one of the more studied
66. 2:09movements in all of exercise science
67. 2:11there's a pile of studies showing that
68. 2:13it is in fact very effective at growing
69. 2:15the glutes the hip thrust will activate
70. 2:17the entire glute the upper middle and
71. 2:19lower but mainly Target that middle meat
72. 2:21because it isolates hip extension it's a
73. 2:23great movement for Progressive overload
74. 2:25you can almost always add a little
75. 2:26weight each week while keeping your form
76. 2:28tight I don't think you need a 500 hip
77. 2:30thrust to grow your glutes but if your
78. 2:32glutes are getting stronger on this
79. 2:33movement somewhere in the 5 to 15 rep
80. 2:35range then your glutes are also getting
81. 2:37bigger there is a slight issue though a
82. 2:39lot of people find that the barbell
83. 2:41pinches their hips you can alleviate
84. 2:42this to some degree by using a big cushy
85. 2:44pad or even rolling up some yoga mats or
86. 2:46by strategically placing the bar in that
87. 2:48cushy crease of your hip below the
88. 2:50anterior superior iliac spine and above
89. 2:52the pubic bone but even if you avoid
90. 2:54that painful pinching it can still feel
91. 2:56awkward it also takes time to set up
92. 2:58especially if you don't have a hip
93. 2:59Thruster platform or if you're loading a
94. 3:00lot of plates the hip thrust also
95. 3:02doesn't get the glutes into a super deep
96. 3:04stretch even a deep range of motion hip
97. 3:06thrust only gets the glutes into about
98. 3:0790° of hip flexion compared to the 130°
99. 3:11of range that's possible for most
100. 3:12lifters but this isn't as much of a deal
101. 3:15breaker as you might think I don't know
102. 3:16that the glutes need a Ultra deep
103. 3:18stretch to grow a recent 9we study with
104. 3:20untrained subjects found that the hip
105. 3:22thrust was just as effective as the
106. 3:24squat at growing the glutes despite the
107. 3:26fact that the squat does stretch the
108. 3:27glutes more now that's just one study
109. 3:29other research does suggest that the
110. 3:31glutes respond well to deeper training
111. 3:33so like other muscles I suspect the
112. 3:34glutes will grow best from a combination
113. 3:36of exercises that challenge them in a
114. 3:38more stretched position like the squat
115. 3:40plus exercises that challenge them in a
116. 3:42more shortened position like the hip
117. 3:44thrust as an overall glute Max Builder
118. 3:47I'm putting the barbell hip thrust into
119. 3:49high B tier now if you have access to a
120. 3:51good hip thrust machine like this
121. 3:53Nautilus glute Drive I think you can
122. 3:54solve a few of those issues the belt is
123. 3:56much more comfy than a barbell you also
124. 3:58don't need to set anything up up and
125. 4:00because the machine is very stable you
126. 4:02won't need to use any balance and should
127. 4:04be able to focus on engaging your glutes
128. 4:06better I personally do these every
129. 4:07single week and I think they belong in
130. 4:09high a tier and I'm actually going to
131. 4:11pick them as my number one option for
132. 4:13the middle aspect of the glutes their
133. 4:15only downside as I see it is the lack of
134. 4:17a really deep stretch but we'll pick
135. 4:18that up with some other exercises
136. 4:20another really good option is the single
137. 4:22leg dumbbell hip thrust these will hit
138. 4:24the entire glutes but unlike the other
139. 4:26options May shift some emphasis to the
140. 4:28upper glutes because the glute me medius
141. 4:30and Minimus will need to stabilize for
142. 4:31balance you can also prevent left to
143. 4:33right muscle imbalances by focusing on
144. 4:35each glute individually and I don't like
145. 4:37to go heavy here just stick to 12 to 15
146. 4:39reps and really focus on controlling the
147. 4:41movement they're going in a tier as well
148. 4:43the glute bridge is really just a hip
149. 4:45thrust but with less range of motion
150. 4:47they're a bit easier to set up because
151. 4:48you don't need a bench and they're great
152. 4:49for beginners because they require less
153. 4:51stabilization some people also say they
154. 4:53can isolate their glutes more with these
155. 4:54by taking some of the quads out but I
156. 4:56still prefer the hip thrust because it
157. 4:58has more range of motion low B tier frog
158. 5:00pumps are also kind of like a hip thrust
159. 5:02except you externally rotate your hips
160. 5:04and clamp your feet together this will
161. 5:06shift some emphasis to the upper glutes
162. 5:08since abducting your hips will Engage
163. 5:09The glute medius more actually don't
164. 5:11hate these as a high rep finisher but
165. 5:13they're hard to load which forces you to
166. 5:15use really High Reps and they don't
167. 5:16stretch the glutes very well I'm putting
168. 5:18them in high CER all right so let's take
169. 5:20a look at some exercises that actually
170. 5:22do stretch the glutes quite a lot we'll
171. 5:24start with squats I think squats are a
172. 5:26super underrated glute Builder on social
173. 5:28media like the hip thrust you're
174. 5:30extending your hips so you'll activate
175. 5:31all regions of the glutes but especially
176. 5:33that middle chunk I would say most of my
177. 5:35own glute development does come from
178. 5:36squats and my background and
179. 5:38powerlifting the only potential downside
180. 5:40of squats is that they don't really
181. 5:41isolate the glutes well you get a huge
182. 5:43quad stimulus too so if you're only
183. 5:45trying to grow your glutes without
184. 5:47growing your quads squats aren't your
185. 5:49best option that said you can make the
186. 5:50movement more glute dominant by placing
187. 5:52the bar a few inches lower on your back
188. 5:54leaning further forward and focusing on
189. 5:56really driving through your hips also
190. 5:58research shows that squatting deeper is
191. 6:00important for glute growth so try to at
192. 6:02least break parallel despite some
193. 6:03limitations I'm still putting the
194. 6:05barbell squat in a tier for glute growth
195. 6:07with a Smith machine squat you can place
196. 6:09your feet further forward to make it
197. 6:10more glute dominant and you never need
198. 6:12to worry about losing your balance it's
199. 6:14also going in a tier the Bulgarian split
200. 6:16squat gets a deeper stretch on the
201. 6:17glutes than the standard barbell Squat
202. 6:19and because they're single leg in
203. 6:21addition to the middle glutes you'll get
204. 6:23the upper glutes more involved to make
205. 6:24them even more glute focused place your
206. 6:26front foot further forward and lean
207. 6:28forward as you squat again think about
208. 6:30driving through your hips rather than
209. 6:32just standing up with your knees this
210. 6:34will help you engage your glutes a lot
211. 6:35better these are very close to S tier
212. 6:37but they are a bit harder to overload
213. 6:39especially if you do them with dumbbells
214. 6:41they also smoke your quads and are a
215. 6:42really exhausting movement in general I
216. 6:45usually do two sets per leg and call it
217. 6:47there I'm Feeling High a tier before I
218. 6:49get to our first s tier exercise let's
219. 6:51knock out a couple Duds donkey kicks
220. 6:53probably don't grow your glutes very
221. 6:54well they're really hard to overload
222. 6:56even with a band you're still getting
223. 6:58very little tension while the glutes are
224. 6:59stretched and it's hard to progressively
225. 7:01overload using a band anyway I think
226. 7:03they're solid as a warm-up activation
227. 7:04drill or to help beginners feel their
228. 7:06glutes engage but as a glute hypertrophy
229. 7:08exercise these are going in low D tier
230. 7:11fire hydrants have similar issues they
231. 7:12just don't get high tension on the
232. 7:14glutes they can work for Mobility or in
233. 7:16rehab contexts but I'm putting them in
234. 7:18low D tier as a glute Builder all right
235. 7:20let's look at some exercises that Target
236. 7:21the upper glutes hibs are great for the
237. 7:24upper glutes especially if you kick up
238. 7:26and out diagonally that's because the
239. 7:28upper glute fibers perform both hip
240. 7:29extension which is the up part and hip
241. 7:32abduction which is the out and
242. 7:34diagonally part Kickbacks are actually
243. 7:36very stable if you brace Against the
244. 7:37Machine and perhaps even more stable if
245. 7:39you brace against a bench the resistance
246. 7:40profile should feel nice and smooth you
247. 7:42don't get the biggest stretch but that
248. 7:44can be made up with other exercises that
249. 7:45we'll get to I don't do a whole lot of
250. 7:47Kickbacks myself but I do think they're
251. 7:48a really great option if you like them
252. 7:50or if you want to isolate the glutes
253. 7:52without hitting quads I'm thinking low a
254. 7:54tier step up so Target the upper glutes
255. 7:56because you're doing one leg at a time
256. 7:57and the stability requirement in enges
257. 7:59the glute medius and Minimus they get a
258. 8:01deep stretch on the entire glute
259. 8:03especially if you set the Box a little
260. 8:04higher at or just above knee level which
261. 8:06will force your glutes to work harder
262. 8:08than your quads if you have a handle to
263. 8:10grab onto you can keep your balance
264. 8:11better and overload the glutes even more
265. 8:13they can be a bit awkward at first but
266. 8:15once you learn how to engage your glutes
267. 8:16more than your quads I think they're
268. 8:18killer low a tier machine hip abductions
269. 8:20are fantastic for the upper glutes
270. 8:22that's because they really challenge the
271. 8:24glute medius and Minimus directly
272. 8:26through their primary function of hip
273. 8:28abduction if you Lean Forward by about
274. 8:3030° you'll improve the line of pull of
275. 8:32those upper glute fibers and you should
276. 8:33feel a deeper stretch at the bottom I
277. 8:35usually do these for 15 to 20 reps
278. 8:37although heavier low rep work is also
279. 8:39good you can always progressively
280. 8:40overload the movement by just increasing
281. 8:42the pin weight and when you eventually
282. 8:43max out the stack you can use a gym pin
283. 8:45to add more if you want a little extra
284. 8:46range of motion you can add an extra pad
285. 8:48on the inside and while it may not be
286. 8:50the best overall glute Builder it's just
287. 8:52so good at targeting the upper glutes
288. 8:54and for that reason it's our first
289. 8:56exercise going into s tier and it's also
290. 8:58my number one exercise for the upper
291. 9:00glutes making it the reveal behind door
292. 9:02number one cable hip abductions do the
293. 9:04same basic thing but I find them harder
294. 9:05to overload they're not quite as stable
295. 9:07and they're a bit more annoying to set
296. 9:08up I'm thinking B tier the lateral
297. 9:10banded walk is the same basic movement
298. 9:12pattern but the band offers virtually
299. 9:14zero tension in the stretch these are
300. 9:16fine enough as a warm-up drill or for
301. 9:17helping people engage their glute medius
302. 9:19better but they're just not going to add
303. 9:20much meat to your glutes unless you're a
304. 9:22beginner I'm putting them in C tier okay
305. 9:25speaking of stretching the glutes let's
306. 9:26talk about lunges lunges will hit the
307. 9:29enti higher glute you'll get the upper
308. 9:30glutes because of glute medius
309. 9:31activation due to the stabilization
310. 9:33demands you'll get the mid glutes from
311. 9:34the hip extension and the lower glute
312. 9:36area from the deep stretch as you lunge
313. 9:38you can accentuate that stretch by
314. 9:40taking longer strides forward and by
315. 9:41leaning slightly forward by about 30°
316. 9:44there are many different ways to do
317. 9:45lunges but I like old school walking
318. 9:47lunges the best I like the idea that
319. 9:49you're moving through space it gives you
320. 9:50something to actually work toward rather
321. 9:52than just doing reps on the spot I find
322. 9:54that more motivating and sure while you
323. 9:56can probably get a slightly better
324. 9:57stretch with Bulgarian split squats if
325. 9:59you take big steps on lunges you'll feel
326. 10:02a massive glute stretch too and even
327. 10:04though soreness isn't everything I get
328. 10:05more sore from lunges than anything else
329. 10:07I'm a huge fan of walking lunges and I'm
330. 10:09sending them straight to S tier Smith
331. 10:11machine lunges have all the same
332. 10:13benefits but again I just don't like
333. 10:15doing all my reps on the spot when I
334. 10:16have the option to move through space
335. 10:18that's more of a personal preference
336. 10:19thing but I'm still putting these in
337. 10:21high a tier if you elevate your front
338. 10:23foot on a small box you'll get a bit
339. 10:25more range of motion at the bottom which
340. 10:27is just enough to sneak these into s
341. 10:29tier with curtsy lunges you step back
342. 10:31diagonally behind your other leg this
343. 10:33requires more balance meaning it'll
344. 10:35activate the glute medius more so
345. 10:37another good option for the upper glutes
346. 10:39that said I think because they're harder
347. 10:40to overload I don't think they're quite
348. 10:42as good as a standard lunge they're
349. 10:44definitely an option you can include
350. 10:45every now and then but I'm feeling low B
351. 10:47tier okay let's cover three lower glute
352. 10:49Builders first up the deadlift the
353. 10:52conventional deadlift is a good glute
354. 10:53Builder since it trains hip extension it
355. 10:55gives a big stretch on the lower glutes
356. 10:57and it's amazing for Progressive
357. 10:58overload the issue is it's just such a
358. 11:00fatiguing exercise physically and
359. 11:02psychologically this is why it's said to
360. 11:04have a low stimulus to fatigue ratio you
361. 11:07get a lot of stimulus but you also get a
362. 11:09lot of fatigue especially in muscles
363. 11:11other than the glutes like the spinal
364. 11:13Erectors as a strength Builder it's
365. 11:14elite but as a glute hypertrophy
366. 11:16exercise I have to put it in low B tier
367. 11:19the Sumo deadlift is very similar this
368. 11:21EMG study found no difference in glute
369. 11:23Maximus EMG activity between
370. 11:25conventional and Sumo stances that said
371. 11:27because of the hip abduction and hip
372. 11:28external rotation from The Wider stance
373. 11:30and the foot flare the Sumo deadlift
374. 11:32probably does hit the glute medius
375. 11:34harder and might shift some emphasis
376. 11:36toward the upper glutes I'm putting it
377. 11:38in high B tier as a glute Builder the
378. 11:40Romanian deadlift is the better choice
379. 11:42for glute hypertrophy in my opinion
380. 11:44especially for the lower glutes in that
381. 11:45glute hamstring tie-in area and while it
382. 11:48does hit the hamstrings hard as well it
383. 11:49smashes the glute Max as a basic
384. 11:51compound lift that's very conducive to
385. 11:53Progressive overload I'm Feeling High a
386. 11:56tier and this is actually my number one
387. 11:57exercise for the lower glutes but it's
388. 11:59not my number one exercise of all before
389. 12:01we get to that let's knock out three
390. 12:03final exercises one that I love one that
391. 12:05I hate and one that's just okay I love
392. 12:08the 45° back extension a lot of people
393. 12:10think of it as just a low back exercise
394. 12:12but since you're extending your hips
395. 12:14your entire glutes will be very active
396. 12:16in both the lengthen position at the
397. 12:18bottom and the shortened position at the
398. 12:20top I prefer to overload these by adding
399. 12:22reps but you can still work up to Some
400. 12:24solid weight by holding plates to your
401. 12:25chest if you round your upper back on
402. 12:27these you should be able to connect with
403. 12:28your glue much better I'm honestly
404. 12:30feeling s tier for these cable pull
405. 12:33throughs are okay for me they're great
406. 12:34for beginners without much glute
407. 12:36strength but eventually you'll be
408. 12:37limited by how much weight you can hold
409. 12:39comfortably they just start to feel
410. 12:40awkward once you get some real weight on
411. 12:42there I'm thinking low be here I'm not a
412. 12:44big fan of kettle bell swings you can
413. 12:46definitely get a good cardio workout
414. 12:47with these and I think they do have some
415. 12:49utility for building explosive power but
416. 12:51for glute hypertrophy you're just not
417. 12:53getting enough tension low D tier okay
418. 12:55and if I had to pick just one exercise
419. 12:57from s tier to raise it up to S Plus as
420. 13:00the best of the best I think I'd have to
421. 13:02go with the walking lunge I realize
422. 13:04that's a hot take but these are all
423. 13:05great glute Builders and if I had to
424. 13:07personally just pick one I think it
425. 13:09would be the walking lunge and I'll go
426. 13:10with the donkey kick or the fire hydrant
427. 13:12as the worst of the worst not because
428. 13:14they can't have their place as warm-up
429. 13:15drills but it's just really hard to
430. 13:16reach high glute tension for muscle
431. 13:18growth I'm actually really trying to
432. 13:19bring up my own glutes this year so I'm
433. 13:21doing a ton of hip thrusts hip
434. 13:22abductions and walking lunges but it's
435. 13:24not enough to just dial your training in
436. 13:26your diet is also crucial you need need
437. 13:29to ensure that you're eating the right
438. 13:30number of calories and protein to
439. 13:32support muscle growth and so many people
440. 13:34still underestimate the impact of diet
441. 13:36on your physique dialing in my own diet
442. 13:38over the last year made a gigantic
443. 13:40difference in my progress so if you'd
444. 13:42like to get on track yourself you can
445. 13:43download my nutrition app macro factor
446. 13:45for 2 weeks for free if you use code
447. 13:47Jeff and I'll put a link to that over
448. 13:49here next to my head all right that's it
449. 13:51for this one guys thank you so much for
450. 13:52watching don't forget to leave me a
451. 13:53thumbs up if you enjoyed the video
452. 13:55subscribe if you haven't already and
453. 13:56I'll see you all here in the next one