Even for the most dedicated male gym rat, glutes exercises fall short of the top-five areas of focus. It’s women who concentrate more on this body part, no doubt inspired by the Kim Kardashian West posterior effect. But ignore the gluteus at your own peril. Lee Bennett, cofounder of Evolve Fitness gyms in London, says that building the glutes helps with overall strength and power.

Buns of steel
Bennett admits that most men aren’t looking for buns of steel. “There aren’t many guys in my gym who really want to focus on making their ass look good”, he says. Luckily, a well-sculpted rear tends to be a byproduct of the more popular exercises among men, including squats and deadlifts.

Squats
However, one part of the gluteus muscle gets shortchanged. “The gluteus medius at the side is rarely used and it’s a big weakness for a lot of guys, especially when they squat”, Bennett says. “What happens is the glute major or the quads do all the work, whereas if the glute med were activated you could increase your max lift”.

Sprints
Lateral band walking, where you step sideways with an exercise band across your knees, is a great way to activate the gluteus medius. As for activating other parts of the muscle? Within the gym, Bennett suggests big compound movements like squats, deadlifts and stiff-legged deadlifts. (Bennett suggests incorporating glutes work within a leg workout instead of writing an entire regimen around it.) Outside the gym, he says functional movements like sprinting work well. “Instead of going for a run, go out to a park, do 100-meter sprint, rest and then go again. You want short, sharp, high-intensity bursts”.

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