How to Activate Glutes
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How to Activate Glutes (and why it matters)
Struggling with weak glutes, hip pain, or lower back niggles? You’re not alone. Glute activation is one of the most common things we work on at Barefoot Physiotherapy — and for good reason.
Your glutes aren’t just there for looks. They stabilise your hips and pelvis, support your lower back, and even affect how your knees and ankles move. When they’re not firing properly, the rest of your body picks up the slack — and that can lead to pain or injury.
The good news: with the right exercises and cues, you can get your glutes switched on and working for you again.
Why do Glutes ‘switch off’?
There are a few reasons glutes sometimes go missing in action:
Pain inhibition: When there’s pain (hip, knee, ankle, even back), glutes often stop firing properly. And just because the pain goes away doesn’t mean the glutes automatically “wake up” again.
Too much sitting: Long hours at a desk can stretch your glutes out and tighten up the opposing muscles (hip flexors). Over time, this changes how your glutes activate.
Compensation: Smaller muscles (like deep hip rotators) can start overworking if the glutes aren’t pulling their weight, which can lead to tightness or injury.
The bottom line: if your glutes aren’t doing their job, the rest of your body feels it.
How to know if your glutes are working
When your glutes are switched on, you’ll feel:
Stability in your hips and pelvis (even on one leg)
Knees tracking steadily (not collapsing inward)
Power when walking, running, lifting, or climbing stairs
If you’re not sure, don’t worry — these exercises will help you find and fire them up.
5 Glute activation exercises to try
Slow marching
Stand tall and march on the spot. Place a hand on your upper glutes — you should feel them switch on when you stand on that leg. Go slowly to build awareness.Squats
Before moving, think about squeezing through the glutes. Sit back and down as if into a chair, then drive your hips forward to return. Start with bodyweight and progress to single-leg or weighted squats as you get stronger.Crab walks
With a slight bend in knees and hips, step sideways with control. Add a resistance band above your knees for extra challenge. Focus on keeping knees pushing gently apart.Hip hinges
Stand with feet hip-width, soften the knees, and send your hips back while keeping your spine neutral. You should feel your glutes switch on as you drive back up. This is the foundation for deadlifts and powerful hip extension.Step-ups
Place one foot on a low step. Keep your pelvis level and knee tracking straight as you step up. Lower with control. Progress by adding weight or using a higher step.
Scroll to the bottom to read more detailed descriptions of each of these if you need the info.
Why Glute activation matters long-term
Strong, well-activated glutes are key for:
Preventing lower back and hip pain
Reducing risk of knee and ankle injuries
Improving performance in running, lifting, and everyday movement
At Barefoot, we don’t just give you generic exercises. We assess how your glutes are working as part of your whole system, and then design a plan to get them firing properly for your body and your goals.
Ready to get your glutes working?
If you’re dealing with back pain, hip tightness, or just want to move with more power, book in with a Barefoot Physio today. We’ll help you activate your glutes, uncover the root cause of what’s holding you back, and build strength that lasts.
Call us on 1300 842 850 or book online.
Exercises from above in detail
Slow Marching
When people are first learning how to activate glutes, walking on the spot is a really great way to feel what is happening. In most cases, if you feel the upper glute muscles with your hands whilst walking on the spot, you can feel them switch on when you stand on that leg and switch off as you swap sides. You can use this both to learn how to activate my glutes as well as to strengthen them
- March on the spot – the slower the better
- Use a mirror to ensure the pelvis is staying square – not dropping down to one side or rotating
- To progress, you can hold a weight in close to your chest
Squat
Squats are one of the most well-known glute exercises. Important points to remember are:
- Start with activating the glutes before moving (try some of the cues above)
- Send the hips backwards and down (like sitting down), also allowing the knees to bend. The upper body will have to come forwards slightly however avoid collapsing forwards
- Return to the start position, being sure to initiate the movement at the hips – driving them forward and up
- Squats can be done on both legs at the same time or progressed to single leg where suitable. You can also modify the depth of the squat depending on your strength/experience
Crab walk
Walking sideways is a great way to work the gluteus medius and minimus as it really targets hip abduction.
Start with a small bend in your hips and knees and think of switching on your glute muscles
Then take slow, purposeful steps to one side (10-20 steps) before returning in the opposite direction
You can add a resistance band around the knees for extra challenge – just ensure that you are still focusing on pushing the knees apart, rather than rotating them outwards
Hip hinge
To really activate the gluteus maximus, this exercise targets hip extension
- Start with feet hip width apart, slight bend in knees and activating the glutes
- Keeping the spinal in neutral, send the hips backwards whilst keeping the knees in the same position. Your body should resemble a shape similar to the number 7
- Focusing on initiating movement from the hips and return to the start position
- As with squats, you can make this more difficult by working into more range, adding weight or doing it on one leg
Step up
This exercise is very important for how to activate glutes as most people will go up/down stairs during their day and having good muscle activation is important. It is also a good exercise for those who do a lot of running or walking for exercise
- Place one foot on a low box or step and activate the glute muscles
- Ensuring the pelvis stays square and stable and the knee does not collapse inwards, step up onto the box
- Keeping the same control and activation, lower back to the start position
- Do all on one side, then swap legs and repeat on the other side
- You can make this more difficult by adding weight or increasing the box height