Build Your Upper Glutes: Exercises for a Rounder, Lifted Butt

Building Your Upper Glutes: Workouts for a Rounder, Lifted Butt

Having strong, sculpted gluteal muscles (your butt muscles!) provides many functional and aesthetic benefits. The gluteus maximus is actually the largest muscle in the human body. This muscle group plays a crucial role in stabilizing the pelvis, supporting efficient movement patterns, and protecting against injuries.

While most basic lower body moves like squats and lunges train the entire glute complex, the upper portion of the glutes often requires more targeted attention. We’ll explore the importance of upper glute workouts and the best exercises to round out and lift your rear for a perkier profile.

Anatomy of the Gluteal Muscles

The gluteal muscles consist of three main muscles:

• Gluteus Maximus – Largest butt muscle that moves your thigh and stabilizes the hips
• Gluteus Medius – Helps abduct your thigh from the hip joint
• Gluteus Minimus – Rotates thigh inward and stabilizes the pelvis

The upper fibers of the gluteus maximus merge with the gluteus medius, together forming the upper glute area. This region often gets overpowered by dominant lower glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors, making targeted training critical.

Benefits of Strong Upper Glutes

Prioritizing upper glute strength provides tremendous functional and physique rewards including:

• Better posture and spinal alignment
• Injury prevention for hips and knees
• Elimination of hip/lower back pain
• Increased calorie burn and fat loss
• Enhanced sports performance potential
• Reduced risk of falls as we age
• More lifted, rounded, prominent butt contour

Common Weaknesses and Muscle Imbalances

Our sedentary modern lifestyles full of sitting often leave the upper glutes severely underworked and inactive. Tight hip flexors, quadriceps and erector spinae commonly dominate over inhibited glutes and hamstrings as well.

These inefficient movement patterns translate into what’s known as “gluteal amnesia” – where your butt muscles literally forget how to fire properly. This drops the hips back, tilts the pelvis forward, rounds the lower spine, and ultimately beats down the glutes so they appear flat and saggy.

Activating and Strengthening the Upper Glutes

Turning on your upper glutes requires re-educating activation through targeted sets of bodyweight and resistance band exercises before moving to more demanding strength training.

Approaching upper glutes workouts with a combination of muscle isolation, progressive overload, and intense burnout techniques helps transform your backside for eye-catching lift, tone, and symmetry!

12 Best Upper Glute Exercises for a Rounder Butt

Focus your glute training efforts on these highly effective upper glute moves 3-4 days per week for increasing muscle development, lift, and definition.

Banded Hip Abduction

This top upper glute toner zeroes in on your gluteus medius and minimus for outer lift.

• Wrap band around knees or ankles
• Spread knees/legs open powerfully against band resistance
• Control return to start position

Banded Clamshells

This small subtle motion ignites upper glute muscles.

• Wrap band around knees in sidelying position
• Lift top knee upward, rotating hip open while preventing pelvis/torso from rolling back
• Slowly return to start position with control

Hip Thrusters

This advanced move builds serious upper glute strength and roundness.

• Sit with upper back resting on bench holding dumbbell/barbell across hips
• Drive through heels to lift hips sky-high, squeezing glutes hard at the top
• Control return to start

Pull-Throughs

This dynamic hip hinge pattern brings the upper glutes through an awesome strength curve.

• Secure resistance band around anchor point at hip height
• Hold band with arms extended, feet hip width.
• Hinge at hips, allow glutes to kick back powerfully against the band, then reverse back to standing.

Fire Hydrants

This quadruped move targets the gluteus medius and minimus tremendously.

• Hands and knees position like a puppy
• Lift one leg straight out to the side, engaging upper glute to lift knee above hip level
• Alternate sides

Seated Banded Abduction

This subtle isolated motion honed in on upper glutes for heightened mind-muscle connection gains.

• Sit on floor, knees bent, band wrapped above knees
• Spread knees wide against band tension
• Slowly return knees to start

Prone Hip Extensions

Hitting upper glutes from a facedown position challenges stability for greater strength adaptations.

• Lie prone with legs straight, arms at your sides
• Raise one leg a few inches off the floor by squeezing glute, hold 2 seconds
• Alternate sides until failure

Band Squat Walks

This explosive combo move engages the upper glutes through additional range of motion.

• Place band above knees or ankles
• Perform squat pulses, taking tiny steps to one side then the other

Cable Hip Rotations

This dynamic rotation challenges your upper glutes in all directions.

• Stand sideways next to cable machine, attach D-handle to low pulley
• Place handle in front of hip bone and rotate hips forward and back across body
• Return to start and repeat

Single Leg Glute Bridges

Raising one leg during this move forces greater upper glute activation to stabilize the hips.

• Lie faceup, one foot planted, other knee bent lifting foot off floor
• Drive through heel, push hips skyward
• Squeeze glute at top then control return to start

Goblet Sumo Squat Pulse

The sumo stance, pulsing motion, and light resistance bands make this quirky squat variation exceptional for upper glute sculpting.

• Hold dumbbell or kettlebell at chest in wide stance, feet turned out
• Initiate squat by first sticking butt back
• Pulse hips low up and down just a few inches with continual tension

Designing Your Complete Upper Glutes Routine

With so many phenomenal upper glute moves at your fingertips, structuring your workouts for maximum effectiveness is simple. Follow this formula:

Train 3-4 Days Per Week

Aim for a twice a week minimum, but shoot for 3-4 days weekly if possible. Recovery days in between sessions are crucial.

Prioritize Compound Moves First

Begin every session emphasizing bigger full-body lifts like squats, deadlifts, lunges and hip thrusts. Go heavier here before fatiguing muscles.

Incorporate Isolated Moves Second

After warming up the glutes, transition into targeted upper glute moves. Stay in 8-20 rep range with intense focus on proper form and a robust mind-muscle link.

Finish with Burnout Techniques

Conclude each workout torching upper glutes with high rep sets to failure of bodyweight moves, band walks, mini band fire hydrants or seated abductions. Imagine pouring lighter fluid on the area and setting it ablaze!

Follow Workouts with Tissue Work

Always make time for post workout self-massage using foam rollers, massage balls or percussive massage guns on upper glutes. This speeds recovery and muscle relaxation.

Additional Strategies for Maximizing Upper Glutes Growth

Beyond curating the right exercises, sets, reps and frequency into your regimen, a handful of supplemental training and lifestyle methods help supercharge upper glute gains.

Up the Intensity with Added Resistance

Challenge your upper glutes by progressively increasing resistance week to week with heavier weights, doubling up bands, lifting the working leg higher, extending range of motion or slowing tempo.

Go Unilateral

Zero in one one glute at a time during hip abduction, fire hydrants, hip thrusts, clamshells and glute bridges. The standing leg works overtime, amplifying upper glute activation.

Use Intentional Form Cues

Visualize rotating thighs outward throughout every reps to keep upper glutes engaged. Concentrate on squeezing upper glutes hard and pulling hips/pelvis upward.

Prioritize Protein Intake

Aim for 0.6-1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily to supply muscles with essential amino acids for repairing and rebuilding bigger upper glutes.

Hydrate Optimally

Drink at least 80-100 ounces of water daily for cellular energy production, muscle volumization, waste elimination and metabolism. Proper hydration enhances muscle development.

Reduce Sitting Time

Constant sitting leaves upper glutes "offline" for too long. Take standing or leisurely walking breaks for 5 minutes every hour to energize upper glutes.

Transform Your Butt with a Strong Upper Glute Foundation

Sculpting eye-catching, lifted glutes with the perfect amount of roundness and tone starts with building muscle density in the upper glutes. By incorporating several upper glute targeted moves into your weekly training routine, prioritizing proper form, increasing intensity progressively, and optimizing nutrition, you’ll begin transforming your backside from flat to fabulous!

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.