Best 20-Minute Workout To Sculpt Glutes And Abs

When your glutes and abdominal muscles collaborate, the effects are remarkable. They form a robust base that enhances your posture, boosts stability, and increases power during various movements.

Additionally, ensuring a balance between the strength of your glutes and abs is vital in preventing complications such as hip and lower back discomfort. If one of these muscle groups is disproportionately stronger, it can misalign your pelvis, resulting in poor posture and unnecessary strain on the spinal column.

“It is crucial to balance glute work with training all your other muscle groups, including your abs,” states Kelsey Wells, a personal trainer for the Sweat app. “This helps you avoid muscle imbalances and reduces your risk of injury, while maximizing the benefits of your strength training.”

Are you ready to establish that balance and enhance your workout? This 20-minute session—crafted by Wells—focuses on your glutes and abs, demonstrating how they perfectly complement each other in building overall body strength.

Join the movement

For those participating in our October 2024 Movement of the Month Club, these exercises are for week 3. You will perform one exercise each day from Monday to Sunday for either 60 seconds or 30 seconds on each side, repeating for a total of 3 rounds.

As an added bonus, you can train alongside Wells with the full-length workout provided below! This express routine follows Wells’s signature training approach and includes seven exercises: an activation, two supersets, and a final 60-second burnout.

Your glutes and abs workout

1. Glute bridge

This foundational glute exercise activates and strengthens the glutes while improving hip stability and decreasing lower back strain.

1. Lie on your back, bend your knees, and keep your feet hip-width apart. Allow your arms to rest by your sides, palms facing down.
2. Engage your core, press your heels into the mat, activate your glutes, and lift your pelvis off the ground until your body forms a straight line from your chin to your knees, supported by your shoulders.
3. Inhale while lowering your pelvis back down to the starting position in a controlled manner.
4. Repeat for 30 seconds.

2. Dead bug

This core-building move enhances stability, coordination, and safeguards the lower back by reinforcing proper movement patterns. And true, you may feel like a dead (or dying) bug.

1. Lie on your back with your arms extended straight in front of your chest, palms facing each other. Bend your knees and bring your legs into a tabletop position, with your knees above your hips and shins parallel to the ground.
2. Engage your core as you lower your left arm toward the floor beside your head and extend your right leg, lowering it toward the floor.
3. Inhale and bring your left arm and right leg back to the starting position.
4. Exhale while lowering your right arm beside your head and extending your left leg toward the floor.
5. Inhale and return your right arm and left leg to the starting position.
6. Continue alternating sides for 30 seconds.

3. Dumbbell deadlift

This comprehensive movement targets the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back, building strength while enhancing posture through proper hinging techniques.

1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with an overhand grip (palms facing your body) in front of your legs, and position your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Pull your shoulder blades down and back, while slightly lifting your chest.
2. Inhale and hinge forward at your hips, letting the dumbbells glide down the front of your thighs and halfway down your shins.
3. When the dumbbells are halfway down your shins, exhale, pushing through your heels. Engage your glutes and hamstrings as you extend your knees and hips to rise back to standing.
4. Repeat for 12 repetitions.

4. Weighted scissor kick

This dynamic exercise focuses on the lower abs and strengthens the hip flexors while challenging core stability. Furthermore, holding a dumbbell above your chest during scissor kicks engages your upper body as well.

1. Lie on your back with your arms and legs extended, gripping one dumbbell above your chest with both hands, palms facing each other. Engage your core by pulling your belly button toward your spine.
2. Elevate your right leg slightly while lowering your left leg at the same time, ensuring neither leg touches the ground.
3. Switch sides by raising your left leg and lowering your right leg, maintaining control and making sure neither leg touches the floor.
4. Continue alternating legs in a scissor-like motion for 12 reps.

5. Squat and pulse

This squat variation uses the principle of time under tension, which increases the duration spent in the most challenging part of the exercise. By maintaining tension on the quads, glutes, and hamstrings, you’ll develop greater lower-body strength and endurance.

1. Position your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Look straight ahead and bend at your hips and knees, keeping your knees aligned with your toes.
3. Lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor, ensuring that your back stays at a 45- to 90-degree angle to your hips.
4. Push through your heels to slightly extend your legs, lifting yourself just a few inches out of the squat.
5. Lower your knees again to return to a full squat.
6. Continue this pulsing motion, alternating between slightly extending your legs and returning to the full squat position, for 12 repetitions.

6. Heel tap

Don’t underestimate this simple yet effective ab exercise; it engages your lower abs and enhances core stability, especially in the hip flexors.

1. Lie on your back with your arms beside you, knees bent, and feet hip-width apart.
2. Gently lift your head, shoulder blades, and arms off the ground while drawing your ribs toward your hips to activate your core.
3. Bend your torso to the right, reaching your right hand toward your right ankle.
4. Return to the starting position, then bend your torso to the left, reaching your left hand toward your left ankle.
5. Continue alternating between sides for 12 repetitions.

7. Oblique crunch

While many of your ab workouts should focus on exercises that engage your entire core, some targeted isolation work can be beneficial. This crunch variation specifically targets your obliques (the muscles on the sides of your torso), fostering core stability and strong lateral movement.

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart while holding a dumbbell in your left hand, placing your right hand behind your ear.
2. Inhale and then exhale as you engage your right obliques to perform a crunch toward your right side. Raise and straighten your torso to return to the standing position.
3. Repeat for 30 seconds on each side.