Strong gluteals are an important part of your physical well-being. You will have significantly more control over your hip knee, ankle and foot which means that when you run, hike, jump, throw, kick or push and pull, minimize the chance of overloading these joints and improve your form and efficiency in your sport.

I absolutely love these exercises because they don’t require any special equipment, so they can be done nearly anywhere, anytime! They target all 3 gluteal muscles.

1. Bridge


Directions:

1. Lie on the ground, knees bent and feet on the. floor. Begin in a neutral spine with your core and pelvic floor engaged.
2. Pushing through your heels, raise your body off of ground, forming a straight line between your upper body and knees.
3. Brace your core throughout the movement and squeeze your glutes at the top. Don’t arch your back.
4. Return to start. Repeat 3 sets of 12 – 20 reps.
5. At the top of the motion, squeeze your glutes to try and lift just that little bit higher
2. Reverse Leg Lift


Directions:

1. Lie facedown on the ground, resting your forehead on
   your hands.
2. Begin in neutral spine with core and pelvic floor engaged. Squeeze your right glute and lift leg off of
   the ground, taking it as high as you can while keeping your hips square to the
   ground. Hold for 3-5 seconds keeping your ankle flexed throughout the movement.
3. Return to start.
4. Complete 12 -20 reps on one leg, then switch.
   Complete 2-3 sets.
3. Clamshell


This exercise hits your gluteus medius — an important muscle for pulling your leg away from the midline. This one may look simple but it’s truly effective. I like to align my body against a wall with my head, bum and feet touching the wall to prevent the body form “cheating” and over rotating.

Directions:

1. Lie on your right side with your knees bent and legs stacked on top of one another. Bend your right arm, bring your hand to head and hold up your upper body or rest your head on your arm.
2. Keeping your feet together with knees bent, lift your right leg up as high as it will go without rotating your hips
3. Slowly return to start. Repeat 10-20 reps, then switch sides. Complete 3 sets.

Once this becomes to easy you can add a mini band around your knees for greater resistance.