Valentin Bosioc
Avoid valgus collapse
The inward collapse of the knees, also referred to as valgus collapse and medial knee displacement, is a very common sight in the weight room. It’s characterized by hip adduction and hip internal rotation when the hips are in a flexed position. When this happens, the glutes and hips lose a significant portion of their capability to contract. The best way to avoid it is by screwing your feet into the floor and pushing your knees slightly outward. Another great way to correct the valgus knee collapse is the plate squat. To perform it, place your feet slightly wider than shoulder width, take a few 45-pound plates stacked on top of each other, place them between your spread legs and squat.
SEE: 5 Glutes Exercises Better Than Squats
Windmill planks
The windmill plank requires a great coordination and force transmittal between the upper torso, core and hip muscles, making them work together to perform this high-tension movement. In fact, this is one of the most effective core stabilization exercises that requires intense activation of hip muscles that are difficult to target with many other exercises. Start with both feet stacked, and as your form progresses try lifting the top leg while keeping both feet parallel to each other.
Single-leg hinges
All eccentric single-leg hinges work great for strengthening your glutes as well as working the smaller butt muscles. For example, single-leg Romanian deadlifts are perfect for building immense gluteal power and stability. This movement will actually strengthen your whole posterior chain by making the gluteus muscles, hamstrings and adductor magnus work together synergistically to extend the hips, while the lower back extensors take the role of stabilisers. In addition, the single-leg Romanian deadlift will help you develop dynamic flexibility in the hamstring muscles, which will consequently improve gluteal function.
READ: Why You Should Consider Single Leg Squats
Correct strength imbalances
More often than not, lifters have one glute that’s superior in strength and function compared to the other and this imbalance can be visible in many lower-body exercises. To fix it, you need to isolate and target the weaker glute by performing unilateral exercises such as single-leg hinges and single-leg hip thrusts. In addition, you should intentionally focus on placing equal stress on each side during bilateral movements, since one side will always have a natural tendency to dominate the movement.
