@raykay Feels like this post belongs to the wrong subreddit. For something like the fitness subreddit or xxfitness subreddit, definitely. But definitely not for a bodyweight training subreddit.
For a glute training specifically for bodyweight training these are what matters most:
- Thoracic bridge progressions is not only an incredibly important mobility exercise, it also scales incredibly well for bodyweight strength exercises. From helping to counter-balance the amount of hollow strength built up for high level bodyweight strength, acting as “test” for opening up hips for high level bodyweight strength, used as a progression for developing headstand push-ups, or to help to develop the hollowback/reverse planche etc. If someone wants to venture out into the world of tumbling, the thoracic bridge only continues to grow in importance.
I could go on and on about the possibilities, progressions, benefits, as well as the effects on of the thoracic bridge progressions on glutes. Especially if you put that into context vs exercise like hip thrusts or a glute bridge. Exercises like hip thrusts may be good for bodybuilding (especially when weighted heavily), but for bodyweight training, these would be equivalent to doing exercises like incline push-ups. Good and useful at a certain time in a person’s progression, but definitely as important as the post puts it.
There are lots of more important beginner exercises for glute in bodyweight training such as arch body variations or table variations that all falls under the umbrella of thoracic bridge instead of over-focusing on hip thrusts and glute bridge. If you can do a reasonable amount of sets/reps of hip thrusts/glute bridge, I would quickly move on to these exercises I talked about for glute development for thoracic bridge
- Besides thoracic bridge, another important gluteus maximus development for bodyweight training is focusing on “reverse leg lift.” The post did mentioned reverse-hypers. But I felt like it significantly under-appreciate the importance of this exercise for bodyweight training.
The movement “reverse leg lift” is extremely critical for bodyweight training - this is what you are working on in press handstands. By working on Press handstands, it exposes you to a whole avenue of strength and mobility that you are simply not exposed to in traditional strength training. Again just like in thoracic bridge - this can be scaled in countless ways, from doing reverse leg on benches, to doing them on stall bars, rings etc. From doing them inverted like headstands to forearm headstands. From doing them in tuck, straddle, Pike etc. And once you get to press handstand, it just continues to scale on and on. From a standing press handstand, pressing from L-sits, to doing one arm press handstands.
- Besides glute max development (especially covered in thoracic bridge and reverse leg lift movements), glute medius development is also heavily featured in bodyweight strength training.
This is where exercises like straddle, pancake mobility, and middle split mobility comes into focus. Glute medius for mobility is extremely important in bodyweight training. For glute medius for bodyweightmobility, that’s a huge topic in itself.
But so is glute medius for bodyweight strength. Especially when we’re talking about properly performing Straddle-L or even straddle positions like in straddle planche or straddle front lever. When you see someone who has their legs sagging while doing a straddle planche, it is because of glute medius weakness. And not doing bodyweight training-specific gluteus medius exercises.
This one in particular is one of my favorites for beginners:
https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/gymfit/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Prone-Half-SPL.jpg
Great for straddle developement, and again, this has numerous options to scale for beginners
