Top 10 Glute Exercises For Lower Back Pain
For adults with lower back pain, building strong glutes is the most important thing you can do to maintain your lifestyle as you get older. Your glute muscles are the big, strong muscles that surround your hip and set the foundation for your spinal alignment. Unfortunately, today’s lifestyle entails a lot of sitting. When we sit our glutes don’t have to do anywork, leading to weakness and dysfunction. Weakness in these muscles leads to more impact on the spine and more lower back pain as you get older. Let me show you how to build strong glutes with the the best glute exercises for lower back pain.
Top 10 Glute Exercises For Lower Back Pain
For those with lower back pain, it’s important that the exercises you pick are both SAFE and EFFECTIVE. You need to choose exercises that target your glutes while limiting impact on your spine. This is the key to building strength without aggravting your lower back pain.
The Glute Bridge
The glute bridge is easily the safest and most effective way to strengthen your glutes for less lower back pain. There are many variations of this exercise but it’s best to master the basics before progressing to more challenging versions.
Learn How To Perform The Glute Bridge
Banded Glute Bridge
In order to build strength to limit impact on yoru spine, it’s important to progress your exercises. One reason traditional physical therapy fails is that they often fail to continually challenge your body. You can easily progress the glute bridge by adding resistance with a rubber resistance band.
Learn More Reasons Why Physical Therapy Can Fail To Solve Back Pain
Kettlebell Glute Bridge
Another way to add resistance to the glute bridge is with a kettlbell (dumbells also work). Simply hold the weight directly above your hips while performing the glute bridge. You can make this as chellenging as you prefer by going as heavy as you feel comfortable.
Single Leg Glute Bridge
One common cause of lower back pain is side to side imbalances in strength. This is common in people who have had an injury or surgery to one leg. And sometimes when performing a two legged glute bridge, the stronger side takes over. The single leg glute bridge is a way to strengthen each glute individually and improve these imbalances.
Hip Thrusts
The Banded Hip Hinge
The hip hinge is an important movement for those with lower back back as it teaches you how to maintain a neutral spine while bending forward. It also targets your glutes and hamstrings for less lower back pain. The banded hip hinge is an easy, low impact way to practice this movement before adding too much weight.
Learn How To Perform The Perfect Hip Hinge
Kettlebell Romanian Deadlifts
The Romanian Deadlift is a simple weighted hip hinge movement that also targets your glutes and hamstrings. While traditional performed with a barbell, the kettlebell variation is a much safer place to begin for beginners or those with back pain.
Reverse Lunge
The reverse lunge is another great glute exercise for lower back pain. While the forward lunge strengthens the quads, the reverse lunge targets the glutes and hamstrings. It’s also a functional exercises, meaning it helps improve your ability to do activities you use in your real life. If this is too difficult to begin with you can also start with single leg step ups.
Can’t Lunge? Learn How To SAFELY Work Up To Lunges
Squats
The squat is another full body strengthening exercise that targets the glutes. Make sure that you sink low enough into the squat (thighs parrallel to floor) to engage your glutes. Stopping too short with primarily work the quads.
Learn How To Do Squats
Kettlebell Deadlift
The Deadlift is a full body strengthening exercise that, when done correctly, helps limit impact one your spine. This movement helps ingrain important movement patterns, targets your glutes and hamstring, and builds core strength for less lower back pain. The Kettlebell Deadlift is a safe and effective variation that’s perfect for those with lower back pain.
Learn How To Perform The Perfect Deadlift
Improving movement and building strength is the most important thing you can do to maintain your lifestyle as you get older. The best glute exercises for lower back pain help strengthen your muscles without stressing your joints. These ten exercises in this article are both safe and effective and should be included in your plan to treat lower back pain.
For the last 12 years I’ve been helping adults 40+ build the strength and confidence to live active, healthy, and happy lives. To help you get started, I’ve put together a free step-by-step strength program to help adults build a solid movement and strength foundation. Check it out down below!
