Why You Should Be Working Your Gluteus Medius—Plus the Best 8 Exercises to Target It

The gluteus medius is the most underrated of glute muscles. It’s outshined by the limelight-stealing glute max (aka the gluteus maximus), and not as endearing as the small-but-mighty gluteus minimus.

But much like stretching your wrists, the gluteus medius shouldn’t be ignored. That’s because when it’s weak, you’re more likely to hurt yourself. Luckily, gluteus medius exercises to strengthen this overshadowed butt muscle can help you stay strong and safe.

What Is the Gluteus Medius Muscle?

The gluteus medius muscle is one of the muscles of your glutes. You’ve got one on each side of your pelvis. The glute med helps you rotate your hip, move your hip away from the middle of your body, and stabilize your torso as you move, according to the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).

Where Is the Gluteus Medius Located?

The gluteus medius gets its name from its placement: It’s in the middle of the gluteus maximus and gluteus minimus muscles, the two other main glute muscles. It’s not the biggest muscle of your glutes (that’s the gluteus maximus), so it doesn’t make up much of the shape of your butt. It’s a little higher up, closer to your pelvis, according to the National Institute for Fitness and Sport.

To feel it, stand up straight and place your hands on the sides of your hips, underneath your hip bones. Lift one leg out to the side: The muscle under your hand on that side that you feel contract is your glute med, according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

How Each Glute Muscle Powers Your Movement 

The three main gluteal muscles—the maximus, medius, and minimus—all have different roles to play in helping you move safely and efficiently.

Gluteus Maximus

The glute max, the largest glute muscle, is responsible for most of the power and strength in your butt and hips, says Max Cantor, vice president and physical therapist at Connections Physical Therapy. It makes it possible to push your leg back behind you when you’re walking or running.

Gluteus Minimus

Along with the glute med, the small gluteus minimus muscle helps move your leg out to the side, and "It helps with hip movement and stabilization, playing a role in activities like walking and maintaining balance,” as Peloton Instructor Adrian Williams, previously mentioned in The Output.

Gluteus Medius

“The glute medius is more of a stabilizer muscle that helps to support the trunk and the hip as you’re moving,” Cantor says. “It's not going to make you jump higher or run faster, but it's going to make the quality of those motions much better and much safer.”

The Benefits of Gluteus Medius Exercises

The glute med can get a little overlooked because it’s not the muscle that gives your butt that round, lifted appearance. But it’s a really important muscle to strengthen for avoiding pain.

“Strengthening this muscle is like giving your hips a superhero cape,” says Peloton Instructor Assal Arian. “The biggest benefit of strong gluteus medius muscles is reducing your risk for injury, especially during activities like running.”

That’s because weak glute med muscles mean less stability through your core, which could make you more likely to feel off-balance while running and sprain an ankle, or land funny doing plyometrics and tweak a knee, Cantor says.

In fact, one small study in the European Spine Journal found people with chronic low back pain were more likely to have weak glute medius muscles than people without back pain.

Exercises to strengthen these muscles can therefore lower your risk of injury and help you maintain balance and stability, according to the NASM.

How to Activate the Gluteus Medius

But if your gluteus medius is weak or you don’t use it a lot, you might need to wake it up, so to speak, with some activation exercises. This is especially important before a lower body workout involving big movements like squats and lunges, Cantor says.

Side-to-side movement is key, because those are the movements the glute med is involved in. A banded lateral walk is a great example of an activation exercise for your gluteus medius. Here’s how to do it:

If you’re up for even more glute medius activation, try moving the band to your ankles or even your feet. One small study in the Journal of Athletic Training found this recruits the gluteus medius even more than keeping the band just above your knees.

If you’re getting ready to run, play a team sport, or cycle, for example, Cantor says a dynamic warm-up that includes some lateral movement will do the trick. That might look like adding 30 seconds of shuffling side to side and 30 seconds of jumping jacks to your five-minute warm-up routine.

How the Gluteus Medius Muscle Becomes Weak

If your glute meds are a little sleepy, you’re definitely not alone: “The most common reason for weak glute meds (and most glute muscles) is sitting for long periods,” Assal says. Even though you probably know all that sedentary time isn’t the best idea for your health, sometimes—like at work or on a long commute—it’s simply unavoidable.

Another reason for glute med weakness is the very nature of our day-to-day activities: Most of the time we’re moving forward in space, whether we’re going up and down stairs, walking down the street, jogging on the treadmill, or standing up from a chair, Cantor says. These movements are powered by the glute max and the quads; the gluteus medius is more involved when we move laterally, so it doesn’t get as much use in our natural movements.

That leaves a lot of people with relatively weaker glutes (and hamstrings) compared to their quads. When you’re quad dominant like this, it can take an even more focused effort to get your glute medius back in action.

8 Gluteus Medius Exercises to Target This Muscle

That’s where gluteus medius exercises come in. Assal, who has more than 70 lower-body workouts on the Peloton App, says the following moves are her favorites to target the glute med. They’re sure “to add some fire to your fitness routine,” she says.

Pick a couple of these exercises to add to your next lower body workout.

1. Side-Lying Leg Lifts

This move is a two-for-one: You’ll also work your glute minimus. Start with just your body weight. You can work up to using ankle weights as you get stronger.

1. Lie on your right side with your legs stacked and straight. 

2. Keeping your left leg straight, lift it toward the ceiling.

3. Lower your left leg back down slowly and repeat for your desired number of reps.

4. Repeat on the other side.

2. Clamshells

You can work your gluteus medius and your hips with the clamshell exercise using just your body weight. Or, you can ramp up the intensity by adding a mini loop resistance band just above your knees.

1. Lie on your right side with your legs stacked and about a 45-degree bend in your knees. 

2. Prop up your head with your right arm.

3. Gently rest your left palm on the floor in front of you.

4. Keeping your heels together and your back stable, open your left knee as far as you can. 

5. Bring your left knee back down and repeat for your desired number of reps.

6. Repeat on the other side.

3. Standing Hip Abduction

Hip abduction means moving your hips away from each other, and that’s one of the primary responsibilities of the glute med. You can make this move even more challenging for that muscle by looping a mini resistance band around your ankles.

1. Start standing with your feet together and your hands on your hips, core engaged.

2. Shift your weight onto your right foot. Squeeze your left glute to lift your left foot up and out to the side, keeping your torso upright. 

3. Bring your left foot back to center but don’t let it touch the ground.

4. Repeat for your desired number of reps, then switch sides. 

4. Fire Hydrants

While you work your glutes with this move, you’ll also challenge your core and shoulders to stabilize you.

1. Start on all fours with your palms planted directly below your shoulders and your knees directly below your hips. Keep your spine neutral and your core engaged.

2. Keep your right knee bent as you lift your right leg out to the side from the hip. Lift until your knee is at hip height and pause there briefly.

3. Lower your right leg to the starting position.

4. Repeat for your desired number of reps, then switch sides.

5. Hip Thrusts

Traditionally a barbell exercise, the hip thrust can also work with dumbbells or a heavy kettlebell carefully positioned on your hips. You’ll get a bigger range of motion if you prop your shoulders up on a bench or box for this glute exercise, according to the NASM.

1. Start with your back and shoulders up against a bench or box with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.

2. Position a barbell above your hips or place a dumbbell on each hip bone. Gently hold the weight in place.

3. Press through your feet to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line between your knees, hips, and shoulders.

4. Slowly lower your hips back down to the floor.

5. Repeat for your desired number of reps.

6. Donkey Kicks

Like fire hydrants, donkey kicks also work your core while strengthening your glute muscles, according to the ACE.

1. Start on all fours with your palms planted directly below your shoulders and your knees directly below your hips. Keep your spine neutral and your core engaged.

2. Keep your right knee bent as you kick your right foot up. Imagine pressing the sole of your foot toward the sky. Lift until your knee is at hip height and pause there briefly.

3. Lower your right leg to the starting position.

4. Repeat for your desired number of reps, then switch sides.

7. Side Plank with Leg Lift

This glute exercise amps up the intensity of standing hip abduction by adding a plank.

1. Lie on your right side with your left foot stacked on top of your right foot. 

2. Brace your core and glutes and press up into a side plank, balancing on the outside of your right foot and your right palm or forearm.

3. Squeezing your glutes, lift your left leg up until your left foot is at hip height. Pause here briefly.

4. Lower your left foot to touch your right foot, then repeat for your desired number of reps.

5. Repeat on the other side.

8. Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Doing a glute bridge on just one leg at a time works your gluteus medius more than a standard bridge, according to a 2020 International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy review.

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor.

2. Engage your core and extend your left leg toward the ceiling directly above your left hip.

3. Tuck your hips under slightly and shift your weight into your right foot.

4. Press through your right foot to lift your hips off the ground. Lift until your body forms a diagonal line between your right knee, hips, and shoulders. Pause briefly here.

5. Slowly lower your hips to the floor.

6. Continue for your desired number of reps, then repeat on the other side. 

The Takeaway

The gluteus medius helps rotate your hip, move your hip away from the middle of your body, and stabilize your torso. But many people have weak glute medius muscles, especially if they spend a lot of time sitting. Strengthening the gluteus medius with targeted exercises can help you maintain balance and avoid injury during activities like running and jumping. Some of the best gluteus medius exercises to try include clamshells, fire hydrants, and side planks with leg lifts. You can find these moves and more glute exercises in many of the glute workouts available on the Peloton App!