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Glute training ideas

This is an excerpt from Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy-2nd Edition by Bret M Contreras.

SIDE-LYING CLAM

EXECUTION

1. Start in a side-lying position with your hips bent at about 135 degrees and your knees bent at about 90 degrees. Your neck rests on the arm on the ground. The other arm is braced on top of your hip.
2. With your heels touching each other, rotate the top hip up. Be sure to move at your hips. Don’t lean to one side or move at the spine. The heels stay together for the entire set.
3. Return to the starting position. Complete the desired number of repetitions and repeat on the other side.

MUSCLES INVOLVED

Primary: Gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus

Secondary: Tensor fasciae latae, deep hip external rotators (piriformis, gemellus superior, obturator internus, gemellus inferior, obturator externus, quadratus femoris)

EXERCISE NOTES

The side-lying clam is a surprisingly effective exercise and is a favorite warm-up movement of many clients who like to feel the burn in their glutes. When performed correctly, the movement creates a good burn in both the gluteus maximus and the external hip rotators. Many people perform the exercise inefficiently by losing contact between their heels or leaning to the rear. This is a short-range movement that will strengthen external hip rotation, a critical joint action in sports.

VARIATIONS

Side-Lying Hip Raise

The side-lying hip raise is an advanced movement that strengthens the upper glutes and core musculature. From a side-lying position, lift onto your lower elbow and place your hand of the other arm on your hip. Making sure your body is in a straight line from your shoulders to your knees, raise your body by simultaneously abducting the bottom and the top hip. Lower to the starting position. Complete the desired number of repetitions and repeat on the other side.

Keep a neutral hip position and avoid flexing forward at the hips. The bottom knee will always be bent, but the top knee can be bent (easier version) or straight (more difficult version), depending on the desired level of difficulty. Control your body through a full range of motion and avoid jerky movements. This exercise strengthens hip abduction, which is a critical joint action in sports.

Extra-Range Side-Lying Hip Raise

The extra-range side-lying hip raise increases tension in the glutes by increasing the abduction range of motion. Set up as you would a conventional side-lying hip raise but stack the shin of the bottom leg onto a soft yet stable surface. Allow your hips to sink laterally until they’re just above the ground. From there, execute it as you would a conventional side-lying hip raise, abducting the hip of the bottom leg into the ground as you abduct the hip of the top leg.

Braced Hip Airplane

The braced hip airplane will require you to set up by bracing against a stable surface or wall. First, hinge down into the bottom of a single-leg Romanian deadlift position with the back leg raised up to be in line with your torso (1). While maintaining this neutral position, internally rotate the hip of your grounded leg by turning the foot of the raised leg inward. After fully internally rotating the hip, reverse the direction to fully externally rotate the same hip by turning the foot of the raised leg upward (2). Complete the desired number of repetitions and repeat on the other side.

The hip airplane is commonly included in warm-ups before strength and conditioning workouts and as a corrective exercise in a physical therapy session. It is thought of as a hip rotation drill, but the external hip rotation action is more accurately described as hip abduction in the transverse plane, which involves not only the hip external rotators but also the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus as well.

More Excerpts From Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy-2nd Edition

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