Lunges—love ’em or hate ’em, they’re a staple in any fitness routine and great for your glutes, which is super important for moms.
Why? Strong glutes can:
- Support your pelvis and lower back
- Improve your stability and balance
- Take pressure off of your knees and back
- Support your pelvic floor health
- Boost your overall strength whether you’re chasing around a toddler or going for a run
If you’re trying to build a rounder, firmer backside, I’ve got some simple tweaks that will have you feeling the burn in all the right places. Because who doesn’t want a nice (and strong) butt?!
Feeling your Quads, not your Glutes?
If you’re having a hard time feeling your glutes and instead feel your quads and/or have knee or back pain when you lunge, you’re not alone. This is a common frustration, but thankfully all it takes is a couple of tweaks and variations to get that booty workin.
First, here’s 2 positional and execution housekeeping tweaks, then we’ll get into the meat of it (I tried to make a juicy booty pun there…don’t think I nailed it 😂)
- Adjust Your Step Length
First thing’s first: Your step length matters. If you’re taking short, stubby steps, you’re likely engaging your quads more than your glutes.
What you want is to take a big enough step so that your front and back legs make 90° angles. This length step allows a greater range of motion for your hips, which will naturally shift the focus to your glutes. If you’re taking a short step, you’re pretty much asking your quads to do all the work.
- Push Through Your Heel, Not Your Toes
It’s all about activating your glutes by using the posterior chain. As you press through the heel of your front foot, you’ll feel your glute engage. If you push off your toes, you’ll likely engage more quads. If your front knee is at 90° it’ll be easier to press off your heel.
Alright, now that you’ve nailed the basics, let’s increase the demand on your glutes. 🍑⇩🍑⇩🍑
Hinge Forward at your Hips
It’s super common to keep your torso completely upright when lunging, but when you do this, you’re missing out on a huge key to engaging your glutes – muscle length. By hinging forward from your hips (think bottom rib comes towards your front thigh) you’re automatically increasing the stretch and length of your front glute.
Add Rotation
Just like hinging forward, adding rotation increases the lengthening of your glute as you lower. The larger the range of motion your glutes can move through, the stronger they can get. As you lower, think about bringing the middle seam of your pants towards your front inner thigh, rotating your pelvis.
Hold the Weight In Just One Hand
Holding the weight in one hand increases the demand on your front glute. Whether you hold the weight in the opposite or same hand of your front glute, the uneven weight distribution forces your glute to work a bit harder to counteract the weight from pulling you off balance, resisting tipping or tilting. Bonus – this is also great for your core!
Try Split Lunges
Split lunges, where your feet don’t move, are especially great for pelvic pain or instability and returning to lunging postpartum. Using the same principles as above – step length, pressing through your heel, hinging forward, adding rotation, uneven weight loading – you can target both glutes in the split stance by squeezing and lifting your back butt cheek at the top of the lunge. So think, load the front glute on the way down, lift and squeeze the back glute at the top of the movement.
Bonus: Don’t Skip the Glute Activation Warm-up
Adding some glute activation exercises before lunging invites your glutes to the party. Try some bridges, clamshells, donkey kicks, or fire hydrants. This primes your body to engage your glutes effectively during lunges.
Ready to see these tips in action? Check out the video below!
Final Thoughts: The Glutes You Deserve
If you’ve been feeling your lunges in your quads, I hope these tweaks give you a fresh perspective (and a much-needed glute burn). By adjusting your form and focusing on the right muscles, you’ll start to see better results—and feel them too. More glutes, fewer quads. Simple as that.
Remember: Fitness isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey—it’s about making adjustments that suit your body and help you stay strong, supported, and empowered. Ready to tailor these tips to your unique needs and goals and unlock even more secrets for strength and confidence? Let’s chat! Book your free call below!