“Baby Got Back” “All about that Bass”. However you want to refer to your rear, a strong booty is considered the key to injury free running. After a few bouts in Physical Therapy, I’ve come to appreciate how essential it is to do some Booty Building.These are a few my favorites.
Booty Building Exercises For Runners
There is no need to spend a ton of time on working on your booty. Devoting 10 minutes a few times a week makes a world of difference. Strengthen your hips and glutes with these 5 moves. Many hip, knee and ankle injuries stem from weak or inactive glutes.
Glute Bridge
Long considered a PT staple for a reason. Glute Bridges allow you work on strengthening both your hips and your glutes. To up the rewards use a looped resistance band right above your knees. Keep it taught to keep those hips and glutes engaged.Squeeze your butt as you lift your hips. Hold for 5 seconds at the top, release to the ground. Repeat 15 times. Progress to one legged bridges to isolate each side.
Clam Shells
Another basic with real results. Work your entire posterior chain to ward off running injuries.
- Lie on your side, with legs stacked and knees bent at a 45-degree angle.
- Rest your head on your lower arm, and use your top arm to steady your frame. Be sure that your hipbones are stacked on top of one another.
- Engage your abdominals by pulling your belly button in to help to stabilize your spine and pelvis.
- Keeping your feet touching, raise your upper knee as high as you can without shifting your hips or pelvis.
- Lower down and repeat 20 times on each side.
Side Steps With Looped Band
Position a looped resistance band right above your knees. Begin in an athletic stance, with knees bent and hips behind you. Step out to the left side, keeping the band taught. Take 3 steps to the left followed by 3 steps to the right. Repeat 5 times. You will feel that Booty Building. Variation: step out to the side, squat and add in a lateral leg raise.
Straight Leg Donkey Kick with Resistance Band
You will need a longer resistance band for this booty builder. Position yourself on all fours. Hold a band in your right hand directly under your shoulder. Attach the band to the ball of your right foot. Keep the band taught while extending your foot back to straighten your leg. Keep foot flexed to keep the engagement in your glute area. Return knee in and repeat 10 times on each side.
Bent Knee Donkey Kick with Resistance Band
A variation on the above Donkey Kick. This time, bend your knee to a 90 degree angle and “kick” up to the ceiling.Squeeze at the top, lower and repeat 10 times on each side.
Yes, you do have time to add in these 5 Glute and hip exercises. I’ve noticed a huge difference since I have consistently been performing them. Strong Glutes and Hips = strong runner. Who is ready to start doing some Booty Building?
Linking up with Kim, Zenaida, Debbie and Rachel
Great exercises! I do some of these 3 times a week. Thanks for the reminder!
I also like the “skater walk”: with a rubber band above your knees, skate-walk for 1 minute, followed by 20 squat jumps. I have sore muscles every time!
The skater walk is great and I always feel those as well
These are all amazing reminders to do an enable my hips to open up.. haven’t done them in 2 years+ and will start again this weekend. Thanks
I’ve been doing all of these religiously lately and I believe they make a big difference. Let me know how they work for you
These are all amazing reminders to do to enable my hips to open up.. haven’t done them in 2 years+ and will start again this weekend. Thanks
Great exercises! I have been doing a lot of squats and double-stair climbs while I’ve had my cold and a) my hamstring and arse is feeling less sore, b) I am feeling stronger. Will deffo add (back) in some clamshells and donkey kicks. Glute bridges might have to wait a bit longer!
Glad you are feeling better! The bridges really helped my hamstring issue and made me feel stronger
When I do my PT maintenance exercises, I do clamshells and glute bridges. If I’m going a leg workout and want to amp up glutes bridges, I add a band and at the top push my knees out. It seems easy but after a few reps it gets challenging.
They definitely get challenging quickly
Yesterday in clinic, I referred to a little guy’s bottom as his booty. He corrected me, telling me it’s a ‘butt’, lol! Anyhoo, you’ve got some great exercises here! SJ has me do the glute bridges with a weighted bar bell and let me tell you, that’s a whole new kind of booty builder!
Oh I bet it is! Thanks for checking them out
i love a good booty workout! One move I need to get better at doing is the single leg hip bridge. I can tell that one side is stronger than the other so I definitely have a little bit of an imbalance.
I think most of us have an imbalance that’s why I like the one legged moves. Forces you not to over compensate with the stronger side
While I do do many of these (and think bridges are SUPER important!), it tends to be I do it when something is bothering me, then slack off when I feel better. Isn’t that always the case?
You’re so right, Deborah, we all have the times for these — and we need them, too!
Yes that is the case for me too! I am determined to stick with them this time
I love this! I’ve added a few of these into my booty days, but haven’t done a few of the others (like the fire hydrant as shown). My hips are horrible and cause a lot of over compensating from my knees and ankles, so I really try to strengthen and stretch them as much as possible. Thank you!
Thank you for checking them out. I hope they really help you as much as they have helped me. Happy booty building
I definitely need these! I am training for my first 5k in a while and man I can feel it in my hips! Love clamshells but I’ll add the others as well!
Oh good I hope you find them helpful as well
I love love love these moves. I do them a lot with bodyweight, but now you’ve got me wanting to take it up a notch with a band.
I really like the added challenge of the bands and they kind of force you to stay engaged.
All great moves!! I need to get back to “booty maintenance” and these would be great to do more consistently. Thanks!
Thanks! Hope you find them helpful too
These are some of my favorite exercises. In fact, I just had my track kids doing them yesterday!
That’s a great idea too!
I cannot WAIT to start building my glutes again, especially on my right side. It’s all an atrophied mess over there. However, i still can’t put too much pressure on the bottom of my foot, so I’m easing into everything, with my PT’s blessing.
You will get there very soon I am sure hang in there
These are all great exercises. I do them myself, I have my running clients do them, and I even have my regular personal training (non-running) clients do them too. Everyone needs strong glutes!
Yes you cannot go wrong with strong glutes!
Those clam exercises are everything when you’re a runner!!
Yes they sure are helpful
I did a couple of these at Pilates the other day..,no wonder my booty hurt the next day. Time to pull out the bands and do them at home! Thanks Deborah for a routine to follow.
You are welcome and I hope you find them helpful
THese are such great moves! I need to be doing these more often! Love them demo photos.
Thanks Julie and happy booty building 🙂
These are all such great exercises. I have recently started working with a Personal Trainer and we are doing some of these exercises. Glute strength is definitely key to running!
I think so too!
I love a good booty building workout!
Me too thanks for checking them out
Yes. Yes I should. I should.
Thanks.
I think they will really help you with some of your running injuries as well. Let me know how it goes
All great moves! I need to get back to doing my glute exercises consistently!
I am finding they really help!Would probably be good for your hip
Oh I agree that we do have time for these exercises! We just don’t want to. Yep, I am guilty of it and I know I should be doing them. Glute bridges and clamshells are two that I always hear a lot. Yeah, I need to add it to my routine.
Hope you find them helpful as well!
Resistance band moves always get my glutes! I used to have a bunch of resistance bands, but they got lost in my last cross-country move. I need to get new ones!!
They are very helpful!
I have been working on my hips and glutes in PT and have added most of these exercises into my routine (those that I wasn’t already doing). I’m hoping for great things for when I get back to running!
I do believe that doing these has helped me return to running stronger. Hope the same happens for you