Top 6 Exercises for Skinny girls trying to Build Glutes
The subject of this email is exactly as it sounds
I was recently by a young lady what exercises I’d recommend for women who are long limbed, naturally skinny and trying to build their lower body.
As working with taller individuals is a specialty of mine, I thought about what my most recommended exercises would be, and this is what I came up with. These are not in an exact hierarchal order.
To be clear, this list applies to ALL women wanting to grow their glutes, not just taller girls.
Understand also this is not a complete program, just a set of exercises. An ideal glute workout would be some type of thrust or hinge, then a squat, lunge, or split squat, and then some type of glute medius exercise.
That said, lets get to the movements
Why this exercise? Women with very long legs often struggle to develop mind muscle connect (a common problem for long limbed lifters in general). Because the muscle bellies are longer and because more of of the stress of the exercise is felt in the joints, it can be difficult to achieve an ideal setup with constant tension on the target muscle.
Enter the DEFICT split squat.
I favor this exercise because you can load the front leg hard, and by using DBs, and even a weight vest, you can get heaver loading on the working leg than you’d be able to achieve during a regular squat (with much better muscle mechanics at the same time). Taller women sometimes CANT back squat because of how long their legs are in comparison to torso, the back squat turns into a good morning.
By using a split squat with a roughly 60/40 front to back weight distribution, and by using added weight with DBs, you can progress a woman to using half her bodyweight or more on this exercise. For a 120lb women holding 30lb DBs in each hand, thats 130lbs of loading on the front leg.
To achieve the same loading in a squat, you’d need 260lbs on the bar, and she’d never be able to get into the same ROM as with the split squat.
This phenomenon where you can load One leg heavier than comparatively could load two legs is called the bilateral deficit.
I prefer working sets in the 6-15 range, and waving rep ranges week to week.
For glute development, a good long term goal would be 1/2 bodyweight for 10 reps, and beyond that, 100% of bodyweight for 5 reps (that is 1/2 your bodyweight per hand. Straps to keep hold of the weights would be needed)
Hip Thrust are VERY popular. The only reason I dont have them as number one for taller women is that they can be awkward to setup and get into the proper position for. There are multiple ways to do the exercise, and you need to figure out what VERSION of the thrust works best for you. This can be done with the barbell, smith machine, hip thrust machines, there are lots of choices
If you can set up this exercise and perform it regularly, it absolutely will grow your glutes. Hip Thrust are to the glutes what the flat DB chest press is for the pectorals; done properly, you WILL achieve major growth and strength gains beyond almost any other exercise.
For Glute Development, bodyweight by 10 reps is a good goal, with an eventual goal of 1.5x bodyweight by 10.
3. Weighted 45 degree Hyperextension
Why this exercise? It builds tremendous innervation (mind muscle connection) to the glutes, and it also trains a person how to contract their glutes that does not know how.
Its also a great postural exercise in that it works glutes, hamstrings, can train the spinal erectors, and can be modified to work the postural muscles of the upper back as well.
While this is typically thought of as a higher rep exercise, it can be done with weight, and even for low reps (not something I recommend often though).
For glute development, working up to doing sets of 10 with 1/2 bodyweight is a good goal.
Lunges get overlooked for glutes, and I dont know why. If you are strong at lunging, you are guaranteed to respectable leg development, as there is no way to cheat lunges; they require full muscular ROM in the hamstrings and glutes, and if you struggle to do them, you very obviously lack muscle.
Performing reverse lunges with a glute emphasis is easy; lean forward, with the torso at about a 45 degree angle. Dont try to reach a 90/90 position with an upright torso, that forward lean and emphasis on the front leg is what makes the exercise posterior chain dominant. Then step backwards, and repeat.
In regards to weight, Im not very favorable to heavy lunges (form gets compromised quickly).
Start off with bodyweight, doing 8-10 lunges per leg. Gradually add weight each set over 3-4 sets.
5. Romanian Deadlift
This is a compound exercise, a loaded hip hinge. These are best done with the barbell. Dumbbells can be used as well, although the form will be a bit different.
The key to maximizing glute growth on these is keeping the range of motion to hip extension only. The weights will not touch the floor. You should feel these in your butt, not your low back. A properly performed RDL works the entire glute muscles, along the hamstrings and back (isometrically). RDLs work for all body types, and work especially well for women with long legs.
Sets and reps, do 2-3 sets in the 5-10 rep range. Progress weight slowly, and make sure to always maintain pristine technique. A good strength goal is bodyweight for 10 reps.
This is an isolation exercise. Again, this can be done many different ways. Like the thrust, there is no ultimate version, you have choices. It works the “outer” glutes, ie the glute medius and minimus. Why this exercise? Similar reasoning as prior; skinny girls with long legs dont get the structural advantage of having every lower body exercise they do be felt directly in the glutes. This isolates the glutes, and having long legs gives you and advantage doing it because the of the lever arm, it does not require much weight for this exercise to work.
Sets and reps, do 2-4 sets in the 10-20 rep range. Weight doesnt really matter, its never going to be done very heavy.
And there you have it.
Ive always found women to respond well to higher frequency training, and I suggest training lower body 2-3x a week, for about 6-10 working sets each time.
Remember that along with training, muscle growth depends on recovery and nutrition. You will not GROW if you do not EAT. Nutrition is paramount and cannot be ignored.
What about SQUATS?
Regular barbell back squats can be awesome for glutes and overall the leg growth. The reason they are not listed is because for taller women with longer legs, they are not always the best exercise and more back movement than a glute movement. If your body is proportionate though and you dont have the long femurs that some women have, traditional squats could work excellent.
Questions, ask in the comments
What should underweight women try to keep in mind for these types of exercises? Do you recommend gaining weight first just by calorie overtake? I am naturally skinny with a high metabolism & my problem is gaining & retaining weight.