Glute Exercises At Home for Lower Body Strengthening After 50
Benefits of Glute Strengthening After 50
Our gluteal muscles are vital for good health as we get older, especially for those of us who love doing our regular fitness walks. Think about each time you've had to push yourself up a moderately steep hill. You got a lot of support from your gluteal region, whether you were consciously aware of it or not.
A consistent and targeted backside exercise routine will help you achieve and maintain optimal function of your hips, hip flexor muscles, and lower back to keep you active.
Strong glutes power our fitness and a sense of our well-being, including better posture, which will help you stand up straight and feel fantastic.
Barre-Inspired Glute Exercises You Can Do at Home
Let's find ways to keep your glute muscles working for you now and, as you get older. Try this home workout with Mighty Health's Mary, but feel free to mix up your routine with any other exercises you find.
Mary's barre exercise session for gluteal muscles is challenging at first, but it is fun, effective, and sure to bring you great results when you commit to a workout routine.
Mary uses some common aspects of barre class to start the seat (glute) work, describing two distinct positions: parallel and turned out. Using the parallel position is like it sounds, keeping your feet parallel to each other.
For the turned out position, Mary asks that you turn out your feet like there is a slice of pizza between them. She also gives a refresher on the crucial tuck position to help you keep that in mind.
Once you've warmed up, here are two barre glute exercises at home from Mary's barre exercise series, starting in parallel and moving to a turned out feet position before cooling down.
Tuck Hold Exercise in Parallel Position
When doing this standing exercise, stand next to a sofa, the kitchen counter, or a wall, and place your hand on the steady object. Try to ensure you can get a grip. You don't need to hold it tightly. It's just to give you more security while doing the exercise properly.
Here are the key steps to this exercise:
Ensure you have good hip stability and balance.
Keep your legs hip-width apart and soften your knees.
Extend your arm opposite the one close to the support object. Hold it straight out and parallel to the floor, then pull it around and wrap it across your abdomen to the support object.
Draw your abdominal muscles back and away from the forearm across your abs.
Take your outside leg, and flex your foot, drawing your heel toward your seat until you feel some tension at the ledge of your glute. The ledge is right where the leg and seat meet each other.
Let the drawn leg inch back.
From this position, draw your seat back and create a tuck position with your tailbone. Tuck in and squeeze for 8-10 repetitions before switching to the other side.
Remember to breathe throughout the exercise on both sides.
Fold Over Exercise
Here, Mary reminds everyone about the turnout seat position that conjures the image of a low-carb pizza slice. It's a visual most of us can relate to and consider making for a post-workout lunch.
Ideally, you can do this exercise as a fold over position, but if you need to, you can do it standing straight. The fold over position helps protect your lower back.
Let's look at the specifics of doing this exercise correctly:
Find a counter or the back of a sofa that is slightly above hip-height, and stand facing it.
Lean over, and cross your arms over each other on a countertop with your arms parallel to the edge of the countertop.
Walk your feet back, and rest your forehead on your forearms.
Soften both knees with your heels directly beneath your hip bones in the turnout position.
Extend one leg back behind your body with your foot flexed.
Your extended knee is facing in the outward direction since you are in turnout position.
Avoid opening all the way through the hips with the hips remaining in place, facing down toward the floor.
Tuck in your lower tailbone, and use that to let your heel lower to the ground, then use your outer seat muscles to lift your leg back up.
Repeat this movement slowly on counts of two, squeezing your glute muscles each time you raise your leg.
Remember the movement is small, but you need to focus on the squeeze.
Do 8-10 repetitions, then repeat on the other side.
Don’t Forget to Stretch
Stretching after a workout is a great way to protect your muscles from injury! After exercising, taking a few minutes to stretch ensures that your muscles relax and cool down.
Figure Four Stretch
This stretch targets your glute muscles and the outside of your hips. It can be done standing, while holding on to a steady surface, or in a chair.
For this figure four stretch:
Stand firm on your left leg. Cross your right shin over your left thigh and place your foot or shin onto the thigh.
Flex your right foot.
Sink into a chair pose and feel the stretch along your glute.
Repeat on the opposite side.
Seated Figure Four Stretch
If you are struggling with your balance or dealing with joint pain, consider doing the figure four stretch while in a chair. You get the same glute and hip stretching benefits in this seated version.
Would You Like to Learn More About Keeping Your Bottom in Tip-Top Condition?
If you want to find the right glute home workout for you, you need help developing an overall exercise routine, or you'd like some assistance focusing on better nutrition, or managing health issues with diet and nutrition, our Mighty Health team of health experts is here to help!
We know it can be challenging and concerning finding the best exercises to stay fit as we get older without causing injury. That's why we make it our mission to help you navigate it all, empowering you to stay fit and enjoy life at 50+ and far beyond.
