A strong core is so much more than the up and down movement you get from a sit-up or stomach crunch. It’ll strengthen your abs and glutes. Your glutes are a huge part of your core, and the glute bridge is a great exercise for everyone especially runners. It’s a perfect at-home exercise you can do as a warm-up or in a core workout.
Work Your Butt At Home
The glute bridge is a great butt exercise you can do at home because you only need your own bodyweight.
It’ll strengthen more than just your glutes. It also works your core muscles. Your core is so much more than just your abs and midsection. That’s one reason stomach crunches and sit-ups are not the best core strengthening exercises. You want bodyweight exercises that target more than just your abs.
Your core is everything from your shoulders to your knee caps. So, it’s likely much more than you thought.
A strong core brings you power, stability, and mobility.
Our glutes, which are part of our core, are often undeveloped. Perhaps you sit for a long time at work.
The focus of this core strengthening exercise is your glutes or butt.
How To Do A Glute Bridge Exercise
The glute bridge is a perfect exercise for everyone, especially women and runners. It opens up your hips and helps with mobility.
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Lie on your back.
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Hip press up and squeeze the glutes.
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Pause at the top.
Do 10 of those, with a big squeeze and a pause at the top.
You can make this exercise super easy by not activating the glutes and fully opening the hips.
Glute Bridge Variations
Make it more difficult by putting your hands above your chest.
To progress it, do a glute bridge march. Move one leg up at a time. This makes it much harder. But, still work to open up your hips. Shoulders hips and knees should be in line.
Also, add a mini-band just above your knees for a banded glute bridge. This will force you to get the outer glute because you have to push against the min band to keep it active.
When you focus on one core exercise at a time, you learn to turn your abs on and off. It’s a challenging area, especially for women. You need a strong core to avoid injuries, lower back pain, maintain good posture, and get more power out of your workouts.
If you like resistance bands, also try the Pallof Press. If you want more core bodyweight exercises, check out my FREE core guide.
For a list of core exercises, including my favorites like the hip bridge, try the best at-home core workout for women.