Forget squats – this knee-friendly workout builds stronger glutes in 20 minutes

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published 29 October 2024

Squats may be deemed the ultimate ‘booty builder’, but they can put a lot of strain on your joints, particularly the knees, especially if your form isn’t spot on. If you’re not a fan of the squat, but are on a mission to build a stronger backside, then this 20-minute workout is what you need. Not only are there zero squats involved (or lunges for that matter), but all of the exercises will actually help to strengthen your knees too— result!

If you’re sat there wondering how glute exercises can help your weak knees, let us explain. Your hip muscles, particularly your glute medius, are key when it comes to stabilising your knees. They control the positioning of your knee when you walk, run or squat, and basically make sure they don’t cave in. Many of the exercises in this workout target the glute medius and hip muscles, therefore reducing the amount of stress placed on the knees helping to keep them pain-free!

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Grab yourself a pair of dumbbells and a small resistance band for this workout. If you don't have a band, you can do the exercises without this, and if you don't have dumbbells, you can always opt for home items, like two large water bottles. Perform each exercise for 30-seconds (do this on both sides where applicable) followed by a 20-second rest between each exercises. Once you've completed one round, rest for 60-90 seconds and repeat two more times. Here's the workout:

Dumbbell straight-leg deadlift
Wall-supported banded glute kick-back
Banded glute bridge with openings
Dumbbell glute bridge
Single-leg glute bridge hold (body weight)
Side-lying leg raises (body weight)
Banded clam

If you now need a workout to target the quads, calves and hamstrings, look no further, this 20-minute dumbbell workout is ideal and still knee-friendly. Alternatively, if you want to give your glutes a little more TLC, check out this three-move Pilates-style workout. Although, don't be fooled by the fact it's Pilates, it will leave the booty burning!

Bryony’s T3’s official ‘gym-bunny’ and Active Staff Writer, covering all things fitness. In her spare time, you will find her in her natural habitat - the gym - where her style of training is a hybrid of bodybuilding and powerlifting. Bryony loves writing about accessible workouts, nutrition and testing innovative fitness products that help you reach your fitness goals and take your training to the next level.