7 At-Home Barre Exercises That Will Seriously Strengthen Your Glutes
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Lifting and toning the glutes is probably the most common goal for people who walk into a barre studio, but you don't have to attend a class to get that dancer definition. You can build stronger glutes at home, and it might be easier than you think! As a barre instructor and personal trainer, I want to share my secrets for sculpting the seat.
I often see my barre students struggling with seat exercises, using the momentum and strength of their legs — instead of their glutes — to get through those butt-sculpting moves. If you want to tone your glutes, you have to try not to let that happen. It's all about targeted muscle movement, which takes time, focus, and patience to achieve. Trust me, it's still my struggle, and I've been teaching barre for 10 years. The good news is, your glutes are the largest and most powerful muscle group in the body, and with the right routine — one that works all three muscles that make up the gluteal muscle group — your booty can be lifted, toned, and tightened.
The glutes are especially challenging because they're designed for activity, and unless you work them regularly, they become weak or "lazy" and happily allow other muscle groups, like the hamstrings and quads, to do the heavy lifting. Have you ever been working your glutes and realized that the place you're actually feeling the burn is in your stabilizing leg? That's your lazy glutes letting your hip flexors do the work. And it's no wonder: office jobs and long periods of sitting can soften, weaken, and flatten the glute muscles, tighten the hips, and affect our posture. Those lazy glutes can also cause the spine to be less supported, resulting in back pain and other imbalances in the body, like instability in the knees and hips.
This is the secret: moving muscle is how we change muscle. To get the butt you want, stay focused on having the effort of the movement come from your glutes. Initiating the movement in the muscle can take practice. If you're feeling the work in other muscles, adjust your body position and alignment until you can feel the glutes activating and becoming engaged, which will make your workout more effective. Try one of my favorite tricks: as you move, press your fingertips into the glute muscles you're targeting. This will help your brain make that mind-muscle connection — feeling the muscle pressing back at your fingertips lets you know it's working.
When you finally get that "barre burn," you'll know you nailed seat work, activating the muscles to the point that your body can begin to change. You'll definitely be feeling it the next day! Try to recreate that same feeling of effort each time you practice and be consistent, and you'll see results. Ready to get started? Keep reading for seven of my favorite barre exercises that will help tone and lift your booty in no time.
Standing Hip Abduction
Set up:
- Stand facing a chair or sturdy support. Rest both of your hands lightly on the top of the chair for balance.
- Bring both of your heels together and toes apart, making a V shape with the feet.
- Elongate your spine, growing taller; position your body so that your ears are stacked over your shoulders and the shoulders are aligned directly over your hips.
- Pull your abdominal muscles in towards the spine until you feel your tailbone drop downwards towards the floor, lengthening the low back. Keep your core muscles active throughout the exercise to support the low back and create a resistive force to strengthen the outer glutes.
- Extend your right leg straight behind you with your toes pointed; bring the leg one to two inches out to the side so that it creates a diagonal line from your right hip, toes resting on the ground. Straighten the leg as much as possible, relaxing and lengthening behind the knee.
- Create a slight bend in your left leg to avoid locking your standing knee.
Move:
- Activate the gluteus medius and minimus — the muscles on the sides of your butt — to lift your right leg up so your toes are just about two to three inches off the floor.
- Hold the lift for a few seconds, then lower the right leg back down just about one inch. The key here is using the muscle to move the leg and to avoid swinging or jerking the leg up from the hip flexor. You can think of this as a release and flex of the side glute muscles. Lift and lower the leg an inch, a total of 10 times.
- For an optional variation, you can keep the right toes pointed and circle the leg clockwise 10 times (these should be small, controlled circles, as if your toes were tracing a circle the size of a quarter), then reverse the direction of the circle 10 times.
- Repeat the entire sequence on the opposite leg.
Pretzel
Set up:
- Take a seated position down on your mat and bring your right leg in front of you and left leg behind you. Bend the right knee so it's at a 90-degree angle; your knee should form a straight line with your right hip.
- Bring the left knee in line with your left hip, then slowly slide the knee behind you just about one to two inches.
- Place your right hand on the floor next to your right knee and your left hand on your left shin or ankle.
- Rotate your left hip forward so the hip is facing the floor. Be careful not to allow the hip to open up towards the ceiling or roll backwards behind you.
Move:
- Shift your body weight slightly towards the right as you slowly engage the left outer glute muscles to lift the left leg an inch off the floor and then lower it back down.
- If this feels too challenging, try shifting your body weight more to the right, taking weight out of the left hip. Another option to modify is to start by lifting only the left knee off the floor and tapping it back down. With practice, progress to lifting the entire left leg off the floor.
- Repeat this exercise 10 to 20 times, then hold the left knee off the floor and press the left leg back just an inch. Hold the leg back, then release, and repeat this movement 10 to 20 times.
- Repeat the entire sequence on the opposite leg.
Side-Lying Hip Abduction
Set up:
- Lie down on your left side; extend your left arm long on the mat overhead and rest your head on your arm. Place your right hand on your right hip or down on the floor.
- Bend your left leg to a 90-degree angle in front of you, knee in line with the hip. Extend your right leg straight and squeeze the outer glutes to lift the leg off the floor so your right ankle is slightly higher than your hip. (Note: If you feel strain in your hips or low back, keep the right leg at a height in line with the hip or slightly lower.) Point the right toes.
- Keep your hips stacked and engage your core to support the low back.
- Fire up the right lateral glute muscles to bring your right leg slightly behind you so that your right toes are in a diagonal line behind the hip.
Move:
- Lower your right toes towards the floor, and then contract or squeeze the side glute muscles to lift the right leg back up to your starting height. Let the muscle drive the movement, and try to avoid swinging or gripping from the right hip flexor. Repeat 10 to 20 times.
- Hold the right leg up at hip height and pulse the leg up and down an inch, a total of 20 times.
- Repeat the entire sequence on the opposite leg.
Standing Kickbacks
Set up:
- Stand nice and tall facing a sturdy chair with your feet hip-width apart and your hands resting lightly on the top of the chair for balance.
- Bend both knees slightly and pull your abdominals in, drawing your belly button towards the spine until your tailbone drops towards the floor and the low back lengthens.
- Lift your right foot and bend the right knee. Bring your right heel up towards the right glute, flexing your foot.
- Activate and contract the right gluteus maximus muscle — the muscle in the center of the right cheek — to move your right knee slightly behind the right hip while keeping your core engaged. Hold the right leg back and squeeze the glute muscles.
Move:
- Keeping your core firmly engaged, start to press the right leg back and hold. The movement should be driven by contracting the gluteus maximus muscle.
- Press back and hold and repeat 10 to 20 times. Try to avoid letting the right knee move so far forward that it passes the right hip.
- Maintaining the same alignment, start to pick up the tempo, pressing back a little quicker. Repeat 10 to 20 times.
- Repeat the entire sequence on the opposite leg.
Standing Parallel Hinge
Set up:
- Stand with both feet hips-width apart. Place both hands on a sturdy chair that's about hip height.
- Step backward so your feet are about about two to three feet from the chair or until you bend at the hips. As you hinge slightly forward from the hips, lengthen your spine and keep your head lifted.
- Slightly bend both elbows so that they're pointing down towards the floor; keep the spine nice and long.
Move:
- Squeeze and contract your right glute muscles to raise your right leg up towards hip height until it's about parallel with the floor. Bend the right knee and point your toes.
- Activate or squeeze the muscle in the center of your right cheek (the gluteus maximus).
- With control, lower the right knee down an inch by releasing the muscle contraction, then activate the muscles again to lift it back up an inch. (Note: If you feel that you are sinking into your standing hip — meaning, the right hip is higher than the left — try to shift your weight back to the right by leveling both hips or by lightly pulling with the right hand on the chair.) Repeat 10 times.
- Repeat the entire sequence on the opposite leg.
Hip Bridge
Set up:
- Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Your legs should be parallel, with your feet about hip-distance apart and your ankles directly below or just slightly in front of your knees.
- Curl your tailbone up and off the mat while tilting your pelvis slightly toward the ceiling.
- Keep your abdominal muscles active and engaged throughout the exercise.
Move:
- Engage all the glute muscles to lift your entire seat and tailbone three inches off the floor. Keep the back of your rib cage on the floor as much as possible to avoid putting pressure on your neck.
- While activating the glutes, lift your hips up an inch and back down 20 times.
- For more of a challenge, add in this exercise variation: Engage your glutes to lift the hips three inches off the floor, then lift the left leg up and bend the left knee to a 90-degree angle. Press the right heel into the floor to really activate the glutes as you lift the hips up and back down. Repeat 10 times, then switch legs.
Tabletop Leg Lifts on Forearms
Set up:
- Come down onto all fours on your mat, then lower your upper body down onto your forearms.
- Stack your shoulders over your elbows and hips over your knees. Try to keep your shoulders and hips level.
- Engage the abdominal muscles to support your low back and stabilize the hips.
Move:
- Float the left leg off the mat. Contract and squeeze your left glute muscles to lift the leg higher than your hip, or to the height where you feel the center glute muscles turn on.
- Bend your left knee about two inches, releasing the muscle contraction, and then engage the left glute muscles to straighten the leg again, this time pressing firmly into the left heel. (Imagine pressing so firmly into your heel that it's as if you can feel the glute muscle lifting off the back of the leg.) Repeat this slow, controlled bend and stretch 20 times.
- Pick up the tempo and turn the movement into a slight bend and stretch behind the left knee, still activating and releasing the glutes. Repeat 20 times.
- Repeat the entire sequence on the opposite leg.