Forget turning back the clock with fancy skin creams or facial serums. There’s one anti-ageing hack that could beat your skincare routine …
Your glutes!
Before I reveal how and why, let’s just take a look at where the glutes are and how each one helps us.
What makes up the glutes?
Our glutes consist of a group of muscles:
Gluteus Maximus: The largest, most superficial muscle, responsible for hip extension and external rotation. This muscle gives a bottom a nice youthful pert shape!
Gluteus Medius: Situated on the outer hip, this muscle abducts the leg and stabilises the pelvis during walking – which I know many of you love doing, especially now spring has sprung.
Gluteus Minimus: Located directly beneath the gluteus medius, it aids in hip abduction and inward rotation.
Additional Deep Rotators: While the three gluteus muscles are primary, the broader gluteal region includes smaller deep muscles (known as the ‘Deep Six’) that function as lateral rotators of the femur. These muscles are essential for stabilising the hip joint and controlling lower limb movement. In particular, they support balancing on one leg and rising up from being seated. They are:
Piriformis
Quadratus Femoris
Gemellus Superior and Inferior
Obturator Externus and Internus
Health benefits of strengthening glutes
Harvard Health reports that the average 30-year-old will lose about a quarter of their muscle strength by age 70 and half by age 90! That’s why exercise is so important.
From a scientific perspective, the glutes stabilise the pelvis and lower back, reducing strain on other muscles and joints. This leads to better movement efficiency, less fatigue and maintained muscle mass: all critical factors for long-term health. Strong glutes also enhance metabolic function, which supports energy levels, recovery and overall vitality.
Anti-ageing benefits of strengthening glutes
Working on your glutes can actually help keep your body feel younger – and look younger. When your glutes are strong, your your joints are better aligned and your posture improves.
Strong glutes also support hormone balance, which plays a role in collagen synthesis, skin elasticity and skin repair. On top of that, improved circulation helps deliver nutrients to your skin, leaving it looking fresher and more radiant.
All of these things can add up to making a real difference to your overall health in ways that skincare can’t alone.
How to avoid lazy glutes!
It goes without saying that if your job means you’re sitting down for hours at a time, your glutes will become super lazy and your hips and lower back will too. If planning a walking trip or training for a marathon, I urge you to pay more attention to your glutes to fully prepare yourself.
I always target the glutes in my mat Pilates, bone density Pilates and HIP Pilates classes, where we use weights and bands to add extra resistance. Strong glutes are also essential for fall prevention, which is a big focus in my senior strength and balance class.
As well as strengthening the glutes, it’s also super important to stretch these muscles and the ones in our hips to massively help your lower back. Why not give my 9am Saturday stretch class on Zoom a go?
Join in my classes and discover how to help get those bottoms bikini (or trunks) ready. No butts about it!
For details, please get in touch
