Switch up your glute workouts by combining two moves into one.
Image Credit: brizmaker/iStock/GettyImages You know what’s better than one great glute exercise? Two.
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Enter, glute combination exercises. By meshing two effective exercises (say, squats and lunges) into one move, they force your muscles do double duty. Since it takes a lot to fatigue your gluteal muscles, this combo approach can help you work your muscles hard enough to make significant glute gains.
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Plus, when you combine a front-and-back move with a side-to-side one, like with a front to side lunge, they challenge your muscles in multiple planes of motion for more well-rounded glutes. And the last thing: combo exercises get your heart rate up, increase your calorie burn and improve your cardio while you're at it.
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Here, trainers share the best glute combination exercises that you can do from the comfort of your home without any equipment. (But, if you have some dumbbells, you can add them for an extra challenge!)
Tip Before diving into the combo exercises, “get a good stretch to open the hip flexors and quadriceps,” says Marisella Villano, a Hamptons-based certified personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist. And “to get the maximum fat-burning and muscle-strengthening benefit of this routine, perform the moves in a circuit style,” says certified personal trainer Toi Sharae, CPT. That means do them back to back with as little rest in between as possible. Try These 8 Compound Glute Exercises
Travel Squat to Reverse Lunge
Sets3 Reps 15 Region Lower Body
Stand with your feet close together. Step out sideways to the left and sit into a squat by bending your knees and hinging your hips. Stand up as you come back to the center, then lunge back with your left leg behind you. Do all your reps on one side before repeating the combination on the other side. Aim for 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps.
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2. Jump Squat
Sets
3
Reps
10
Region
Lower Body
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees and drop your butt to sit back into your heels. Think about releasing your pent-up lower-body energy as you jump as high as you can, reaching your arms over head. As your heels touch the ground, drop down immediately into another squat and repeat for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps.
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3. Front Lunge to Side Lunge
Sets
3
Reps
20
Region
Lower Body
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, then step forward with your right leg into a lunge, bending both knees to 90 degrees. Step back to the center. Then, step out to the side with the right leg into a side lunge. Push your hips back and extend your arms out in front of you. Step back to the center. You can either alternate legs with each rep or do all your reps on one leg before switching sides. Do 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps.
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4. Single-Leg Deadlift With Hop
Sets
3
Reps
10
Region
Lower Body
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with most of your weight in your left leg. Hinge at the hips as you send your right leg straight back while leaning forward with the upper body. Return to the standing position and hop up, using only the standing leg. You can either alternate legs with each rep or do all your reps on one leg before switching sides. Aim for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps.
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5. Reverse Lunge to Front Kick
Sets
3
Reps
12
Region
Lower Body
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Step back with your right foot into a deep lunge, bending both knees to 90 degrees. Root your left foot into the ground as you push off the right foot. Bring your right foot up to perform a forward kick. Step straight back into a reverse lunge.
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6. Good Morning to Sumo Squat
Sets
3
Reps
12
Region
Lower Body
Stand with your feet wider than hip-width apart. Point your toes out 45 degrees. Bend your knees and drop your butt into a wide-leg squat. As you come up from the squat, reposition your feet into a good morning stance by pointing your toes forward. Maintain a flat back and bend forward from the hip toward the floor until you feel your hamstrings stretching. Your torso should be parallel to the floor. Straighten back up, squeezing your glutes at the top. Repeat for 2 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps.
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7. Clamshell to Leg Extension
Sets
3
Reps
12
Region
Lower Body
Lie on your side with your legs stacked on top of each other and knees bent at a 45-degree angle. Engage your core by drawing your bellybutton toward your spine to stabilize your back and pelvis. Keep your bottom leg on the floor as you raise your opposite knee as high as you can off the floor without tilting backward. With your knee raised, straighten your leg out at a 45-degree angle. Bend your knee, then lower it back down. Repeat for 2 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps on each leg.
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8. Glute Kickback to Fire Hydrant
Sets
3
Reps
12
Region
Lower Body
Start on all fours with your wrists under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Straighten your right leg directly behind you. Lower your leg back down, but before you set it down on the ground, open your right hip out to the side. You can either alternate legs with each rep or do all your reps on one leg before switching sides. Repeat for 2 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps on each leg.
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Related Reading This 20-Minute Glute Bridge Workout Will Build Your Butt — and Entire Body
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Switch up your glute workouts by combining two moves into one.
Image Credit: brizmaker/iStock/GettyImages
Image Credit: brizmaker/iStock/GettyImages
Before diving into the combo exercises, “get a good stretch to open the hip flexors and quadriceps,” says Marisella Villano, a Hamptons-based certified personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist. And “to get the maximum fat-burning and muscle-strengthening benefit of this routine, perform the moves in a circuit style,” says certified personal trainer Toi Sharae, CPT. That means do them back to back with as little rest in between as possible.
And “to get the maximum fat-burning and muscle-strengthening benefit of this routine, perform the moves in a circuit style,” says certified personal trainer Toi Sharae, CPT. That means do them back to back with as little rest in between as possible.
Sets
3
Reps
15
Region
Lower Body
Stand with your feet close together. Step out sideways to the left and sit into a squat by bending your knees and hinging your hips. Stand up as you come back to the center, then lunge back with your left leg behind you. Do all your reps on one side before repeating the combination on the other side. Aim for 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps.
Show Instructions
Sets
3
Reps
15
Region
Lower Body
Sets
3
Reps
10
Region
Lower Body
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees and drop your butt to sit back into your heels. Think about releasing your pent-up lower-body energy as you jump as high as you can, reaching your arms over head. As your heels touch the ground, drop down immediately into another squat and repeat for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps.
Show Instructions
Sets
3
Reps
10
Region
Lower Body
Sets
3
Reps
20
Region
Lower Body
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, then step forward with your right leg into a lunge, bending both knees to 90 degrees. Step back to the center. Then, step out to the side with the right leg into a side lunge. Push your hips back and extend your arms out in front of you. Step back to the center. You can either alternate legs with each rep or do all your reps on one leg before switching sides. Do 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps.
Show Instructions
Sets
3
Reps
20
Region
Lower Body
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with most of your weight in your left leg. Hinge at the hips as you send your right leg straight back while leaning forward with the upper body. Return to the standing position and hop up, using only the standing leg. You can either alternate legs with each rep or do all your reps on one leg before switching sides. Aim for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps.
Show Instructions
Sets
3
Reps
12
Region
Lower Body
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Step back with your right foot into a deep lunge, bending both knees to 90 degrees. Root your left foot into the ground as you push off the right foot. Bring your right foot up to perform a forward kick. Step straight back into a reverse lunge.
Show Instructions
Sets
3
Reps
12
Region
Lower Body
Stand with your feet wider than hip-width apart. Point your toes out 45 degrees. Bend your knees and drop your butt into a wide-leg squat. As you come up from the squat, reposition your feet into a good morning stance by pointing your toes forward. Maintain a flat back and bend forward from the hip toward the floor until you feel your hamstrings stretching. Your torso should be parallel to the floor. Straighten back up, squeezing your glutes at the top. Repeat for 2 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps.
Show Instructions
Lie on your side with your legs stacked on top of each other and knees bent at a 45-degree angle. Engage your core by drawing your bellybutton toward your spine to stabilize your back and pelvis. Keep your bottom leg on the floor as you raise your opposite knee as high as you can off the floor without tilting backward. With your knee raised, straighten your leg out at a 45-degree angle. Bend your knee, then lower it back down. Repeat for 2 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps on each leg.
Show Instructions
Start on all fours with your wrists under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Straighten your right leg directly behind you. Lower your leg back down, but before you set it down on the ground, open your right hip out to the side. You can either alternate legs with each rep or do all your reps on one leg before switching sides. Repeat for 2 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps on each leg.
Show Instructions
This 20-Minute Glute Bridge Workout Will Build Your Butt — and Entire Body
