Strengthen your glutes and lower body without any equipment using these six low-impact moves

Your glutes are responsible for all kinds of things. They help stabilize your pelvis, maintain your posture and support your lower spine. They also generate power in your lower body; keep them nice and strong and activities like sprinting, jumping and squatting will feel a little easier.

This routine from fitness trainer Rachael Sacerdoti is perfect if you’re looking to give your glute muscles an extra boost. The whole routine is equipment-free and low-impact, making it ideal if you want to minimize strain on your joints.

Watch Rachael Sacerdoti’s glute strengthening workout

Sacerdoti describes the goal of this workout as "sculpting and reshaping" not just "toning". She uses compound movements such as lunges and thigh pulses to target the glutes and lower body muscles.

The workout is designed as a circuit so perform the repetitions of all exercises, take a 30-second break and repeat the set two more times. 

Why should you strengthen your glutes?

The glutes muscles are made up of three major muscles around the butt: gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. If your job has you sitting down all day, these three muscles may be weaker than you realize. Sitting means they’re idle, so you may find weakness as well as tightness has built up over time.

As the glute muscles are central to keeping the upper body upright and the lower body moving, strengthening them can help you maintain a good posture. The glutes also support the spine and help to reduce strain on your lower back.

If after this workout you feel some aches in your glutes (hello DOMS) remember to prioritise recovery and protein intake. Have a look at our guide to the best protein powders for weight loss if you want to increase your protein intake without adding any fats or sugars to your diet.