5 Glute Exercises to Help With Your Rowing

These five glute exercises help your rowing because the glutes extend your hips on every drive and hold your pelvis steady late in a piece. Do banded squats, skater squats, elevated split squats, lateral lunges and glute bridges twice a week, for about 25 minutes a session, with a mini band and a step.

Why glutes matter to rowers

On the drive, the hips and knees extend together. The glutes do much of the work of straightening the hips, and they help hold the pelvis steady as the trunk swings. If they are weak or slow to switch on, the quads and lower back often pick up the slack. Our guide to rowing with weak hips covers the signs and technique points.

Those demands add up. A 30-minute row at 20 strokes a minute is 600 hip extensions. Strength work won’t replace that volume, but it gives each stroke more reserve. It belongs in a balanced leg programme; see how to build strength in your legs for rowing.

The five exercises at a glance

Exercise	Sets and reps	Rest	What it adds
Banded squat	3 x 12 to 15	60 to 90 s	Knees tracking over toes
Skater squat	3 x 6 to 10 each side	60 to 90 s	Single-leg strength and balance
Elevated split squat	3 x 8 to 10 each side	60 to 90 s	Loaded hip and knee extension
Lateral lunge	3 x 8 to 10 each side	60 to 90 s	Side-to-side range rowing doesn’t cover
Glute bridge	3 x 12 to 15	60 to 90 s	Hip extension with a stable trunk

Warm up first

Spend 5 minutes with easy rowing or a brisk walk, then add 10 bodyweight squats, 10 glute bridges and 10 leg swings each side. See the ultimate rowing warm-up if you want a longer routine.

1. Banded squats

Place a mini band just above your knees and squat, pressing your knees out against it. This teaches you to keep the knees tracking over the toes, and it wakes up the outer hips. Keep your weight through your whole foot and your chest up. Three sets of 12 to 15.

2. Skater squats

Stand on one leg, hinge and bend, and lower your other knee towards the floor behind you before standing again. Hold a support if you need it. These train balance and single-leg strength, which matters because the stroke is rarely perfectly even from left to right. Three sets of 6 to 10 each side.

3. Elevated split squats

Put your back foot on a bench or step and lower your back knee towards the floor, keeping the front shin close to vertical. Drive up through the front heel. A slightly longer stance biases the glutes more, and a shorter stance biases the quads. Add dumbbells when 10 reps feels easy. Three sets of 8 to 10 each side.

4. Lateral lunges

Step wide to the side, sit back into the hip and keep the other leg straight, then push back to the middle. This works the glutes and inner thighs through a range that rowing doesn’t cover. Three sets of 8 to 10 each side. Keep the torso upright and the knee over the toes.

5. Glute bridges

Lie on your back with knees bent and drive your hips up, squeezing at the top for 1 second and keeping your ribs down so your lower back doesn’t arch. Progress to single-leg bridges, then add a weight on your hips. Three sets of 12 to 15.

A simple weekly plan

Split the five exercises into two short sessions.

Session	Work	Sets in total	Time
A	Banded squats, elevated split squats, glute bridges	9	About 25 minutes with warm-up
B	Skater squats, lateral lunges, glute bridges	9	About 25 minutes with warm-up

The sum: 9 sets at about 2 minutes each, including rest, is 18 minutes, plus 5 to 7 minutes of warm-up. Do one or both sessions in a week, depending on how you recover. The NHS guidelines for adults ask for strengthening work on at least 2 days a week, so two sessions covers your legs and hips for that target.

As a rule of thumb, progress one thing at a time over 6 weeks:

Weeks	Reps	Progression
1 and 2	Bottom of the range	Bodyweight, with support if needed
3 and 4	Top of the range	Slow the lowering phase to 3 seconds
5 and 6	Back to the bottom of the range	Add a pause at the bottom, or add weight

To pair leg work with rowing intervals, follow a rowing workout for strength and speed.

Common mistakes

• Letting the knees cave inwards. Press the knees out, and use a band as feedback.
• Arching the lower back on bridges. Tuck the ribs down and stop the hips where the glutes, not the back, are working.
• Rushing. Speed makes these exercises easier and less useful. Allow 2 to 3 seconds for the lowering phase.
• Going too heavy too soon. If the last 2 reps of a set look different from the first 2, drop the weight.

How to fit them in

Keep these away from your hardest rowing sessions, with at least a day between them if you can. Keep the movements controlled, and stop if you feel sharp pain. Extend the work with strength training for rowing, and add the pulling side with rowing movements with weights. If you have hip or knee pain, speak to a GP or physio before adding loaded work.