Easy Glute Exercises for Kids

In last week’s episode, we spoke about using tall and half kneeling positions to strengthen some very important muscles groups including our lower core, hips, and gluts. The gluts have become a very popular muscle group in fitness arenas largely for the aesthetic benefits that well developed gluteal muscles can provide. As a PT working with children, the importance of gluteal muscles extends far beyond aesthetics.

The gluteal muscle group are made up of three distinct muscles that cover the buttocks. The gluteus minimus, medius and maximus.

• The Gluteus Minimus: The smallest of the gluteal muscles is the gluteus minimus. It is positioned under the gluteus medius and helps to abduct our hips.
• The Gluteus Medius: This smaller gluteal muscle extends from the side of the pelvis to the outer portion of the femur. The job of gluteus medius is very interesting. It assists the hip with abduction and internal rotation. But, more importantly is the job of the gluteal medius is to keep the pelvis stable during walking. When you take a step with your right foot, your pelvis should dip toward the floor. However, the gluteus medius on the left side of your body prevents that from happening.
• The Gluteus Maximus: The large, fleshy outer layer of muscle laying over the buttocks. This muscle extends from the lower portion of the spine and pelvis and attaches to the femur, the large muscle in our thigh. The main actions the gluteus maximus performs are: hip extension and external rotation (turning out).

The gluteal muscles are an incredibly important group of muscles within our body. They are an essential part of so many movements including walking, running, stepping up, and climbing to name a few. They also help us with important transitions like getting up and down from the floor, standing up from a chair, and getting in and out of a car. In children these muscles are important to so many gross motor skills like crawling, walking, running, jumping, and playing on playground equipment.

If the gluteal muscles are weak and need strengthening, there are some simple exercises that can be used to do that. In the next section I’m going to review the exercises and then put them together into a short workout routine that can be followed.

Bridge: 

• Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Slowly raise your bottom up until your body makes a straight line from your chin to your knees.
• Hold the position for 5-10 seconds and then slowly lower your bottom to the floor.

Single Leg Bridge:

• Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Slowly raise your bottom up until your body makes a straight line from your chin to your knees.
• Holding this position, straighten one leg out in front for 5 seconds.
• Repeat with the other leg.

Quadruped Leg Kicks:

• Get on the floor on your hands and knees.
• Slowly kick a single leg out behind you squeezing your bottom as you do it.
• Repeat on the other side.

Quadruped Arm and Leg Extensions:

• Get on the floor on your hands and knees.
• While raising one arm out in front of you, slowly lift the opposite leg out behind you. *Be sure to keep your back and abdomen (trunk) as still as possible.
• Repeat on the other side.

3 Direction Standing Leg Lifts:

• Standing near a support surface, lift one leg.
• Slowly lift that leg to the front, then back to the start position.
• Next, lift the same leg out to the side, then back to the start position.
• Finally, lift the same leg to the back, then back to the start position.

These exercises are available in a downloadable PDF in the store. I hope you enjoy these exercises and find them helpful.

-Heather