Your glutes are among the most important muscles in your body, acting as powerful stabilisers that help you walk, climb stairs, stay balanced, and keep your spine and pelvis supported. Protecting them now can also protect your future health, according to experts.
The engine of your movement
Dr Andrew Gorecki, a doctor of physical therapy and author of The Truth About Lower Back Pain: The Hidden Culprits, says: “The glutes are the engine that power nearly every movement you do. They power standing up, walking, climbing stairs, catching your balance when you stumble, even just holding yourself upright. All of it runs through the glutes. They are stabilisers too. They hold your pelvis level while you walk, keep your knee tracking straight when you take a step, and prevent your spine from doing work it wasn’t designed for.”
Strong glutes, he adds, “are also what let you keep doing the things that make life worth living into your 70s, 80s, and beyond.”
What your bottom is made of
The largest muscle in your behind is the gluteus maximus, a chunky, fan-shaped muscle stretching around 15 to 20cm from the base of your spine and hip bones to the top of your thigh bone. It’s the muscle we use most when we run, step, squat and climb, and it’s the main structure giving your bottom its shape.
But the gluteus medius, on the side of the hip, is vital too. “Its main job is to stabilise the pelvis and hold you steady with every step you take,” says Gorecki. “This is the muscle whose weakness causes the most trouble in older adults. But it gets the least attention in typical exercise programmes.”
Then there’s the gluteus minimus, the smallest and deepest of the three, tucked underneath the medius. It works alongside it to control hip stability and contributes to inward rotation of the hip. “While it’s a small muscle, it has a meaningful role,” Gorecki says.
Modern life weakens our glutes
Our ancestors walked, ran, squatted and climbed throughout the day. But modern life—commuting in cars, working at desks, relaxing on sofas and scrolling on phones—means we spend far more time sitting on our gluteal muscles than using them. This underuse leads to loss of strength over time. Research has also found that regularly sitting for long periods can even make our bottoms bigger.
A study published in the Biophysical Journal in 2014 found that when fat cells in our behinds get compressed, like when we sit for long periods, it changes the distribution of fat tissue, encouraging it to expand. Lead author Professor Amit Gefen from Tel Aviv University explained: “We found fat cells exposed to sustained, chronic pressure, like what happens to the buttocks when you’re sitting down, experienced accelerated growth of lipid droplets, which are molecules that carry fats. Contrary to muscle and bone tissue, which get mechanically weaker with disuse, fat deposits in fat cells expanded when they experienced sustained loading—by as much as 50%. This was a substantial discovery.”
Why your bum droops and gets dimples
As we age, our bottoms can become flatter and “deflated.” Our bottoms contain a network of collagen-rich fibres that weave vertically from deep muscle fascia, through fat layers, and into the underside of the skin, keeping it firm. As we get older, these stretch and become less elastic, contributing to a droopier appearance. Declining levels of collagen, elastin and other connective tissues also make the skin lose firmness. Unless we actively maintain muscle strength, our glutes start to shrink from our 40s onwards.
More than nine out of 10 women develop cellulite at some point in their lives, particularly around the hips and buttocks. Women’s hormone patterns encourage fat storage in this area, and their connective tissue bands are arranged more vertically, allowing fat cells to push up towards the skin’s surface, creating a bumpy “orange peel” effect. Men have more connective tissue fibres arranged in a criss-cross pattern, holding fat more securely, and typically have 25% thicker skin in this area, making their buttocks look smoother.
How to strengthen your glutes
Dr Gorecki recommends targeting your glutes directly: “Two to three sessions a week is enough. Exercises like glute bridges, single-leg glute bridges, side-lying leg lifts, clamshells, sit-to-stands, and single-leg deadlifts all belong in the mix. No gym equipment needed.”
Work on each side separately too. “Two-legged exercises let your strong side compensate for your weak side. Single-leg exercises expose and correct asymmetries, and they train the exact pattern you use when you walk,” he says.
Move throughout the day. “Standing up every 45-60 minutes, walking after meals, and building in movement breaks prevents the gluteal amnesia that hours of sitting create. Ten minutes of movement every hour matters more than one intense workout at 6pm.”
And don’t let age get in the way. “Adults in their 70s and 80s still respond to glute training. The gains are meaningful and often show up quickly, within six to 12 weeks of consistent work. Don’t accept muscle loss as inevitable,” says Gorecki.
Weak glutes can increase the risk of back pain, affect posture and balance, and make trips more likely. Physiotherapist Tim Allardyce of surreyphysio.co.uk says: “Strong glutes help to stabilise your hips and lower back, which can in theory, help improve posture and reduce the risk of back pain. They also give you better balance and stability, which becomes increasingly important as we age.”
Walking speed is considered by many researchers to be one of the best signs of healthy ageing, and strong glutes provide the power needed to push your body forwards with every step. Dr Gorecki’s main takeaway: “Strong glutes aren’t simply about how the buttocks look. They’re about whether you can climb the stairs at 70, walk on uneven ground at 75, get up off the floor at 80, and stay independent at 85. Everyone in the fitness industry sells the appearance of strong glutes. Fewer people talk about what they actually do—which is to keep you moving through your life.”
