30 Day Glute Challenge

Having sculpted glutes is a fitness obsession. Maybe it has something to do with glute workouts giving you a fuller, more fabulous booty? Ok, that’s some pretty good motivation to add glutes workouts to your routine. But did you know the glutes are actually one of the most important muscles for overall stability, alignment and posture? That’s the best thing about this fitness craze. It seems a little superficial at first, but strong glutes can actually be transformative for your posture and overall health. 

I support anything that encourages women to celebrate their curves and have strong healthy bodies. That’s why I created this 30 Day Glute Challenge. You don’t need to leave your house or buy any equipment. The exercises don’t require much time either. You only need to set aside between 5 and 15 minutes per day to complete the challenge.

Not only will it get you a gorgeous sculpted booty for very little effort, but you will gain more stability and better alignment, which means longer hikes, more elevation gains, steeper bike rides, and deeper squats. Whatever you love doing, stronger glutes will help you do it better.

What are glutes?

The glutes are a strong group of three muscles that work to drive leg and core power, as well as stabilise other joints and muscles. They support the spine and are an integral part of keeping your posture aligned. They also make your butt look pretty damn good.

The glutes are made up of three muscles: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. These muscles will support your body and keep you pain-free when they are activated and used often. Unfortunately, our culture of sitting for most of the day causes glutes to become weak and dormant. This leads to bad posture, as well as pain and injury. All of this can be avoided with a little glute conditioning.

What causes weak glutes?

Our culture encourages sitting. Many people spend their day sitting at a desk, sitting while they eat, sitting in vehicles to get around and then sitting some more when they relax at home. Your glutes are not being used for most of the day, so your body thinks you don’t really need them. In response, your body switches your glutes off and they become inactive, making them weak.

When we eventually do something active, like a bike ride or hike, the body compensates for the weak glutes, not by activating them, but by using other muscles instead, like your quads or calves. This creates a vicious cycle where the glutes continue to get weaker, other muscles become tight and overstressed, and posture problems and pain start to emerge. 

Don’t think that you’re safe because you have an active lifestyle either. You can still have ineffective glutes even if you are a very active person that gets a lot of exercise. You may have started with weak glutes, or you sit for most of the day because of your job, despite being very active. Unconsciously using other muscles to compensate for weak glutes can be a habit developed over many years and you may not be aware that you’re doing it. Some telltale signs of weak glutes are chronic pain in your knees, hip flexors and/or lower back.  

Why should I strengthen my glutes?

Is preventing a saggy bum a good enough reason? More importantly, you can develop painful chronic posture problems because your spine and pelvis are not correctly supported. You can also develop muscle degeneration and chronic injuries from biomechanical imbalances. In other words, weak glutes can lead to a lot of discomfort and pain that requires tonnes of physiotherapy and hard work to correct.

Strengthen your glutes now with my 30 Day Glute Challenge so you can get out and enjoy doing the things that you love better. Not only will it help you avoid injury and endless hours of physiotherapy, but it will also give you a spring in your step and help you enjoy your favourite activities more.

Oh, and a firm sculpted booty too. Did I mention that? Let’s do this!

30 Day Glute Challenge

There are the four glute exercises that you will need to perform during the 30 Day Glute Challenge:

Glute Bridges

1. To do a glute bridge, lay on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. 
2. Keep your arms straight and down by your sides. 
3. Lift your hips up until torso is in a straight diagonal line from shoulders to your knees. 
4. Hold this position at the top for five seconds before lowering back down to the floor.

Step-Ups

1. You will need something to step up onto for this exercise, like a step, box or low bench. 
2. Stand in front of the box, feet hip-distance apart.
3. Step one foot up on the box, and then step the other foot up in front of you until your knee is bent at a 90-degree angle.
4. Lower the raised leg down behind you to the ground without touching the box on the way back down.
5. You can bend your arms up at your side as if you are marching or walking to stabilise you through the movement.
6. Repeat on the other side.

Kickbacks

1. Kneel on the floor on all fours with your palms flat on the floor and directly under your shoulders. Your knees should be positioned directly under your hips.
2. From this position, raise one leg up behind you until your thigh is directly in line with your back, your toes are pointing up towards the ceiling and your knee is at a 90-degree angle.
3. Lower your leg with control back to the ground.
4. Repeat on the other side.

Lunges

1. Stand up with your feet hip-distance apart.
2. Step your right leg forward, keeping the other one behind you. Ensure that your right heel strikes the ground first.
3. When your right foot is flat on the ground, lower your body down, bending at the knee. Stop when your right thigh is parallel with the floor and right shin is vertical. Don’t let your knee extend over your toes. 
4. Let your left knee touch the ground lightly if you are able. Don’t worry if you don’t have the flexibility to do this, and definitely stop if it’s painful. 
5. Press into your right heel into the ground and push yourself back up to standing.
6. Repeat on the other side.

Now that you have the glute exercises you need to complete the challenge, here is your workout calendar for the next 30 days, including rest days. You don’t need any equipment. 

The exercises should only take between 5 and 15 minutes to complete, so you can easily squeeze them into a busy schedule.

Start the challenge and say hello to your new sexy strong glutes! Let us know in the comments how you are progressing.