Give Your Backside Some Attention With the 11 Best Glute Stretches 

Why do it: The lying figure-four stretch is an excellent static stretch for the glutes and tight hips. It’s gentle on your joints because your body weight won’t impact your joints.

How to do it: 

1. Lie face up on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. 
2. Lift your left foot and cross your right ankle over your right knee, forming the shape of the number 4 with your legs. 
3. Thread your left hand through your legs and your right hand around the outside of your right thigh. 
4. Clasp your hands together behind your legs (or grab the back of your legs depending on your mobility) and gently pull your right leg toward your chest until you feel a gentle stretch in your left hip. 
5. Hold this position and take deep breaths for 20 to 30 seconds. 
6. Release your grip and repeat the same steps on the opposite side. 

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Why do it: The seated figure-four stretch is ideal for performing at your desk or between sets during a workout. It’s quick and easy to do and can offer relief to your low back and glutes from prolonged sitting. 

How to do it:

1. Sit straight up in a chair or one of the best plyo boxes with both feet flat on the floor. 
2. With your right foot firm on the floor, pick up your left leg, bend at the knee, until you can reach your left ankle over your right thigh. 
3. Keep your torso upright and gently pull your left knee toward your chest until you feel a stretch. 
4. For a deeper stretch, hinge from the hips to bend forward slightly until you get a stretch through your outer thigh and glutes.  
5. Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds while taking deep breaths. 
6. Release your grip and repeat on the other side. 

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Why do it: The pigeon pose is an excellent way to stretch gluteal muscles, piriformis, and hip flexor muscles like the iliacus and psoas muscles. It’s an advanced technique of the figure four stretch, requires fairly good mobility, and puts more strain on the joints than the lying figure four.  

How to do it: 

1. Start by getting into a plank position, quadruped position, or downward facing dog. 
2. Slide your left foot behind your left wrist and lower your left knee down to the floor at a 45-degree angle. 
3. Once your shin and pelvis is on the floor, fully extend your right leg straight behind you and allow the top of your right foot to rest on the floor. 
4. Square your hips and keep your left glute slightly lifted off the floor.
5. Walk your hands back to get your back straight and in an upright posture. 
6. In your bent leg, you will feel a stretch around the hips and glutes. In your back leg, you will feel a stretch through the hip flexor. 
7. Hold the pose for 20 to 30 seconds, breathing deeply. 
8. To release the pose, unfold your left leg and return to your starting position. 
9. Repeat the same steps on the opposite side. 

Benefits: Pigeon pose is highly effective, but—let’s call it how it is—it can be super hard to get in and out of the pose, especially if you’re a beginner who suffers from chronic muscle tightness The 90-90 stretch offers a modified version of the pigeon pose, targeting the same key regions without requiring as much elasticity up front.

How to do it:

1. Sit on the floor with your knees bent.
2. Shift your weight to the right, bending your right knee as you move. Extend your left leg to the side simultaneously, bending your left knee to form a 90-degree angle as well.
3. Lean your upper body forward, keeping your shoulders square and your back straight, until you feel a gentle stretch in your lower body.
4. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds, then release.
5. Repeat the stretch for your other side.

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Why do it: Downward-facing dog offers a position that can help lengthen tight glutes and hamstrings and offer relief from sitting. 

How to do it:

1. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and hinge forward, reaching your hands to the floor. 
2. When you begin to feel a stretch through the back of your legs, gently bend your knees enough that you can place both palms on the floor. 
3. With your hips high in the air, walk your hands out in front of you until your body makes a triangular shape at a 45-degree angle.
4. You can hold the down dog in a static position or gently bend one knee at a time. 
5. Take deep breaths and remain in the position for about 30 seconds. 

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Why do it: The seated twist offers an excellent static stretch for the outside of your glutes and hips. If you feel comfortable sitting on the floor with your legs extended, this is a great stretch with an added bonus of a spinal twist for extra mobility through your thoracic spine. 

How to do it:

1. Start by sitting on the floor with both legs extended out in front of you. 
2. Bend your right knee and place your right foot over your left leg so it’s on the outside of your left thigh. 
3. With your right hand on the floor for support, place your left elbow on the outside of your right knee as you twist your torso to the right. 
4. Take deep breaths as you hold the twisted position for 20 to 30 seconds. 
5. Return to the starting position and repeat on the opposite side. 

Why do it: While the half kneel hip flexor stretch is not a direct glute stretch, releasing your hip flexors may be a missing piece of the puzzle when you’re trying to find relief for tight hamstrings. Tight or shortened hip flexors—usually caused by sitting or overuse—can lead to muscle tightness or pain in the glutes. 

How to do it:

1. Start in a half-kneeling position with your left leg in front of you, knee bent, and right leg in a kneeling position behind you. 
2. With your torso upright and upper body relaxed, tilt your pelvis upward toward your belly button, scooping your glutes under your tailbone. 
3. Flex the glute muscle of the left leg and hold the hip flexor stretch position. You may feel a stretch in the quad as well. 
4. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds and repeat on the opposite side. 

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Why do it: Our experts think the world’s greatest stretch is just that—pretty great. It’s an ideal dynamic stretch to start your workouts and create blood flow and muscle activation through the entire lower body. The thoracic spine rotation makes it even more beneficial. 

How to do it:

1. Start in a plank position with your hands and toes on the floor. 
2. Step your right foot forward toward the outside of your right wrist. You can keep your back knee off the ground or gently rest it on the floor. 
3. Stabilize your weight on your left hand and rotate your torso and reach your right hand toward the ceiling. 
4. Rotate your head with your torso and hold the stretch at the top when you can’t rotate any further. 
5. Place your right hand back on the floor and go back to plank position to repeat on the opposite side. 

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Benefits: The knee-to-chest stretch is classified as a “Williams back exercise,” which, according to StatPearls³, is designed to “improve lumbar flexion and strengthen the gluteal and abdominal muscles” for those suffering from low back pain. A 2021 study in the Journal of Experimental Orthopaedics⁴ found that regular stretching, including stretches like this one, may improve hip range of motion and reduce pain and disability associated with non-specific low back pain.

How to do it: 

1. Lie on your back with your legs extended and your arms at your sides.
2. Lift one leg, bend your knee, and place both hands on your shin.
3. Slowly pull the knee into your chest until you feel a stretch.
4. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds, then release and return to the starting position.
5. Repeat the stretch, this time using your opposite leg.

Benefits: “The glute bridge is a simple movement with tons of versatility,” says Caine Wilkes, OLY, USAW-L1, and GGR senior staff writer. “They’re great as a standalone exercise for strengthening the glutes and opening the hips, they work well as a warm-up before you get into your big lifts, and they can be turned into a unilateral exercise, so you can focus on one side at a time and correct muscle imbalances.”

How to do it: 

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
2. Brace your core, press your lower back and feet into the floor, and lift your butt into the air until your hips reach full extension.
3. Squeeze your glutes at the top.
4. Release and return to the starting position.
5. Repeat for reps.

Benefits: The Journal of Athletic Training⁵ found that foam rolling “effectively reduced [delayed onset muscle soreness]” by a “moderate to large amount in the days after fatigue.” It may feel uncomfortable at first, but rolling a foam roller over those tender glutes may reduce tightness and recovery time after those tough training days.

How to do it: 

1. Place your foam roller on the floor and sit directly on top of it.
2. Cross your left ankle over your right knee and shift your weight onto your glute muscle.
3. Slowly roll back and forth for between 30 and 60 seconds.
4. Switch sides and repeat.

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