11 Glute Activation Exercises For Runners: Wake Up Those Sleepy Glutes!

Have you ever heard of “sleepy glutes”?¹Buckthorpe, M., Stride, M., & Villa, F. D. (2019). ASSESSING AND TREATING GLUTEUS MAXIMUS WEAKNESS – A CLINICAL COMMENTARY. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 14(4), 655–669. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6670060/

They can result from long hours of sitting all day, which most of us do at work. When you are inactive, your hip flexors tighten, and glute muscles lengthen, leading to inefficient muscle activation.

Even though our weeks are packed with runs, strength, and cross-training sessions, our glutes can still “forget” their purpose (supporting the pelvis and keeping our bodies properly aligned) if we leave them inactive for too long throughout the day.

As a coach, I always advise my athletes to include at least two full-body strength sessions per week that include exercises specifically targeting the glutes.

Adding glute activation exercises to your routine isn’t just a performance booster—it helps correct imbalances, builds power, and safeguards against injury.

In this guide, we’ll provide our best set of exercises to help you combat sleepy glutes, run stronger and more efficiently, and lower your risk of injury.

The Best Glute Activation Exercises For Runners

Pick 2-3 of the following exercises and rotate them into your weekly strength training sessions. Switch things up each time to keep your routine fresh and effective while activating different muscles.

You can begin with three sets of 8-10 reps and increase from there, depending on your fitness level and training goals.

Before any strength training session, warm up with 5-10 minutes of light cardio and dynamic exercises focusing on similar movement patterns to those in the exercises.

Make sure you focus on proper technique and make slow, deliberate movements.

#1: Double Leg Glute Bridge 

Most likely, the most common glute activation exercise is the double-leg glute bridge.

Once you’ve mastered this basic glute bridge, add a mini band above your knees to increase tension and work your glutes even more.

You can also put your heels up onto a bench to activate your hamstrings or hold a weighted plate or a dumbbell on your hips for added difficulty.  

Here are the instructions for the basic version of a double-leg glute bridge:

1. Begin by lying on your back with your knees bent, arms by your sides, and heels on the floor at hip-width apart.
2. Engage your core and lift your hips, aligning them with your knees. 
3. Hold this position for a few seconds, activating your glutes and keeping your hips aligned. 
4. Lower your hips to the starting position. 

#2: Single Leg Glute Bridge 

Once you have dominated the double-leg glute bridge and need to add more difficulty, try it with one leg! This unilateral exercise is great for working out muscle imbalances.

1. Begin by lying on your back with your knees bent, arms by your sides, and heels on the floor at hip-width apart.
2. Lift your left leg and extend it in a straight line parallel to your right thigh. 
3. Engage your core and lift your hips off the ground, in line with your right knee. 
4. Hold this position for a few seconds, activating your glutes and keeping your hips aligned. 
5. Lower your hips to the starting position. 

Here, we perform the single-leg glute bridge as a bodyweight exercise, but if you can handle the weight, you can hold a dumbbell across your hips for an extra challenge.

#3: Lateral Leg Lifts With Resistance Band 

1. Begin by looping a resistance band around your ankles. 
2. Lie on your left side, leg extended and stacked one upon the other, propping yourself up on your left elbow. 
3. Lift your right leg toward the ceiling as high as possible without sacrificing proper form. 
4. For an added challenge, hold your leg in the active position for a couple of seconds. 
5. Lower your right leg back down to the starting position. 

#4: Monster Walks With Resistance Band

1. Begin by looping a resistance band around your legs, (mid-calf).
2. Stand with your legs a bit wider than hip-width apart, and bend your knees slightly. 
3. Keeping this wide stance, take a large step forward with your right leg and then with your left. 
4. Walk forward for a few steps and then backward for the same number of steps. 

#5: Clamshells With Resistance Band

1. Begin by looping a resistance band around your thighs, just above your knees. 
2. Lie on your left side, propping yourself up on your left elbow. 
3. Bend your knees at a 90-degree angle so that your feet are lined up with your glutes and your knees stacked one on the other.
4. Lift your right knee toward the ceiling while keeping your left leg on the floor. 
5. Lower your right knee to its starting position.

#6 Donkey Kicks

1. Begin on all fours, knees directly under your hips, and hands directly under your shoulders. 
2. Keep your knee bent and your foot flexed, and lift your left leg until it is lined up with your body.
3. Return your left knee to its starting position. 

Note: This can also be done with a resistance band to add difficulty.

#7: Standing Glute Kickback With Resistance Bands 

1. Begin by looping a resistance band around your ankles. 
2. Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart. 
3. Keeping your foot flexed and activating your glute, extend your left leg behind you. 
4. Hold your left leg in the extended position for 2 seconds. 
5. Bring your left leg back to the starting position. 

Note: When extending your leg behind you, only extend as far as you can without sacrificing good posture. Your body must be stable and firm at all times. If you need help balancing, hold on to a chair or countertop.

#8: Lying Kickbacks With Resistance Band

1. Begin by looping a resistance band around your ankles. 
2. Get into a high plank position. 
3. Keeping your foot flexed, lift your left leg off the ground toward the ceiling. 
4. Pause for two seconds in this active position. 
5. Bring your left foot back down to the ground. 
6. Alternate feet.

#9: Fire Hydrant 

1. Being on all fours, knees under your hips, and hands under your shoulders. 
2. Keep your knee bent, activate your glute to lift your left leg, and move your knee out to the side. 
3. Pause for two seconds in this active position. 
4. Bring your knee back to its starting position. 

Note: To increase difficulty, you can add a resistance band to this exercise. 

#10: Standing Abductor With Resistance Band

1. Begin by looping a resistance band around your ankles. 
2. Stand tall with your feet at hip-width apart.
3.  Keeping your foot flexed, lift your left leg out to the side while you stand on only your right foot.
4. Pause for two seconds in that active position. 
5. Bring your leg back to its starting position. 

#11: Squats With Resistance Band

1. Begin by looping a resistance band around your thighs, just above your knees.
2. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. 
3. Sit back as if you were going to sit in a chair, lowering yourself to 90 degrees. Engage your glutes and push against the resistance band to keep your knees from collapsing inward. 
4. Push yourself back up to a standing position. 

You can add even more exercises to your glute workouts to build glute strength, such as the single-leg squat, step-up, lunge, deadlift, and hip thrust.

For a complete guide on the hip thrust, check out our next guide:

How To Do A Hip Thrust + 6 Hip Thrust Variations To Try

References

• 1
  Buckthorpe, M., Stride, M., & Villa, F. D. (2019). ASSESSING AND TREATING GLUTEUS MAXIMUS WEAKNESS – A CLINICAL COMMENTARY. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 14(4), 655–669. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6670060/