glutes · Bodyweight · Beginner
Glute Kickback
The bodyweight glute kickback is a quadruped exercise you can do anywhere. It is light, so the point is the squeeze at the top of each rep rather than the range of motion.
Why it's in a glute program: A no-equipment finisher that teaches you to feel the glute working.
How to do the glute kickback
- Kneel on the floor or an exercise mat and bend at the waist with your arms extended in front of you (perpendicular to the torso) in order to get into a kneeling push-up position but with the arms spaced at shoulder width. Your head should be looking forward and the bend of the knees should create a 90-degree angle between the hamstrings and the calves. This will be your starting position.
- As you exhale, lift up your right leg until the hamstrings are in line with the back while maintaining the 90-degree angle bend. Contract the glutes throughout this movement and hold the contraction at the top for a second. Tip: At the end of the movement the upper leg should be parallel to the floor while the calf should be perpendicular to it.
- Go back to the initial position as you inhale and now repeat with the left leg.
Form cues
- Keep the knee bent at 90 degrees.
- Lift with the glute, not by arching the back.
- Slow on the way down.
Muscles worked
Primary: glutes. Movement pattern: hip extension. Equipment: bodyweight.
Programs that use the glute kickback
In Glute Max this exercise appears in 5 of the coach-built programs, including Bodyweight Booty Basics — 3 Day, Home Glute Overdrive — 5 Day, Home Peach Project — 3 Day. Every program shows the animated form guide above on the workout screen.
