The least important of the three gluteal muscles is the gluteus minimus. Your buttocks can be shaped by exercises that work this muscle. It helps make the top look rounded and molded.
It also keeps you from getting hurt and makes your lower body stronger, more stable, and more toned.
Because of this, gluteus minimus workouts can help a lot of people, from athletes to people who are recovering from an injury. Still, doing them right with the right number of reps and sets is important for building strength and activating muscles.
This blog post explains in detail how to do the seven best gluteus minimus workouts. To help you get the most out of each workout, we list the best number of reps and sets. We also give you an example of a glute workout that you can use as part of your three-day workout plan.
7 Top Gluteus Minimus Exercises
It’s important to have a variety of exercises to grow and strengthen your glutes effectively. Below we detail the seven best ones.
1.Fire Hydrant
You can use your own body weight to do the fire hose exercise, which works the gluteus medius and minimus. These muscles support your pelvis and are on the outside of your hips.
The name of the exercise comes from the way it looks like a dog lifting its leg at a fire hydrant. One leg is lifted out to the side while the knee is bent. You do it on all fours, hands and knees.
Over time, this can make your lateral hips stronger and more stable, as well as shape the outside of your bottom. A resistance band or ankle weights can help you get better at the exercise. This can make the perks listed above even better.
Also See:8 Must-Try Upper Body Dumbbell Workouts For Strength & Size 2024
2.Glute Bridge
The glute bridge is a common exercise that you can do with your own body that works the gluteus maximus. The biggest and most visible of the three gluteal muscles is this one. It adds bulk to your bottom, making it look fuller.
It can also jump higher, fly longer, go faster, and have more power if you make it stronger. Bridges work the core, hips, lower back, and gluteus medius and minimus, as well as the gluteus maximus. So, this practice can help you get the most out of your core stability and glute muscle engagement.
It’s safe for people with joint problems and people who are healing from accidents because it has low impact. Anyone can do it, no matter how fit they are, and it’s easy to change to make it harder. That can be done by adding weights or doing the version with only one leg.
3.Cable Hip Abduction
One of the best ways to work out your gluteus medius and minimus is to do a wire hip abduction. Moving the leg sideways away from the middle of your body is what it means. The side hip muscles are mostly used for this move.
These muscles are very important for keeping your hips and pelvis stable when you walk or climb stairs. The cable machine gives you more freedom of movement while you work out.
Moving the joint all the way through its range of motion can help it move more freely. It’s possible that this will make life better in general.
The cable also keeps the gluteus minimus tight all the time, which can help muscles grow and power levels rise.
4.Barbell Hip Thrust
If you want to get the strongest glutes possible, you’ve found them! People know that the dumbbell hip thrust can help you get strong, toned glutes. It works on the big gluteus maximus muscle, which shapes your buttocks and hips.
The core, quads, hamstrings, and gluteus minimus all play a supporting part in the movement. A raised area, like a bench, is used for this. If you compare this to a glute bridge, this lets your hip move in a wider range.
Your glutes will have to work harder and longer, which will make you stronger and help your muscles grow. Hip thrusts can also help sprinters do better in their sports.
It’s even more unique because you can load big weights while keeping your glutes separate.
5.Clamshell
Clamshells are a simple exercise that works well for the gluteus medius and minimus. Clamshells are a great way to work out these smaller muscles that get ignored a lot of the time.
Doing this exercise regularly can improve the function of your lower body and lower your risk of hurting your knees or lower back.
That’s because weaker gluteal muscles make you more likely to have knee valgus (knees falling inward) and an ACL injury. If you hurt your ACL, it means that the main ligament that holds your knee together is damaged.
Making your glutes stronger can help position your knees better and give you more control over your movements. Clamshells are a low-impact exercise that you can do while lying on your side. They are great for warming up and making you feel better after an injury.
Do something tough by putting a loop resistance band around your legs. In this way, it gets harder and works the hips even more.
6.Dumbbell Walking Lunge
Walking lunges with dumbbells work a lot of muscles at once. The hamstrings, quadriceps, and all three parts of your hips (maximus, medius, and minimus) are in this group.
You take a step forward with one leg and drop your hips until both knees are 90 degrees to each other. After that, you push off with your back foot to get back to the beginning. Your calf muscles help keep your knees and feet stable.
To work your legs harder, lift the heel of your front foot off the ground while you lunge. When you lunge, your lower back and other parts of your core work together to keep your body straight, which keeps you from leaning forward.
So, walking lunges with dumbbells are a good way to strengthen muscles and improve balance in the lower limbs. This can also help you do better in sports and make everyday things easy.
They are a great addition to any dumbbell workouts for the glutes because they shape and build muscle in the glutes.
7.Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat
The weights People think that the Bulgarian split squat is harder than the bodyweight lunge. It uses the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and core, just like lunges and squats.
For knee treatment, the Bulgarian split squat is great because it keeps the knee from getting too stressed while still making the legs stronger.
The hip can also be stretched out properly. Hip extension is what you do when you kick your leg backwards or stand up straight after bending your knee.
Doing workouts with only one leg, like Bulgarian split squats, can also help keep your legs’ muscles from becoming imbalanced. It uses the glutes more than other types of squats, which makes it a better way to build them.
This workout is harder when you hold a dumbbell in front of your body. It needs a stronger and more stable heart. It moves your center of gravity forward, which makes more muscles work.
Split squats are a safe way for newbies and people in rehab to strengthen their legs. They also help players get rid of imbalances and do better.