The 6 Best Exercises to Strength Your Weak Gluteus Medius

A weak gluteus medius can cause body pain from head to toe. Here’s what you need to know to diagnose and fix any gluteus medius issues.

It happens to the best of us. We get older, we get injured, and then we wonder where we went wrong. You did a good job–alright, maybe an okay job–of taking care of yourself, so why does it feel like you’re falling apart?

Chances are you’ve got a neglected gluteus medius, and it’s ready to wreak some havoc to get your attention. Maybe you’ve started noticing back pain or hip pain. But honestly, even if you’ve got neck pain or ankle pain, it could all be coming from a weak gluteus medius.

Several years ago, I went through physical therapy after I broke my neck. Right after my therapist got my neck back to a normal range of motion, she started drilling me with gluteus medius exercises. She said having a strong gluteus medius is the only way to keep your body entirely pain-free.

Honestly, in the years since I’ve been given this valuable advice, the times when my body has felt the worst have been when I’ve been ignoring my gluteus medius. And, although my personal neglect isn’t ideal, it does make me a pro at knowing which exercises are best at strengthening a weak gluteus medius.

Here’s everything you need to know to figure out:

• whether you have a weak gluteus medius (it could be the right side, left side, or both),
• what may have caused your weakness, and
• exactly what you need to do to stretch and strengthen your weak gluteus medius to relieve your pain and keep it gone.

Psst! Want to learn how to relieve your hip and back pain and keep it permanently gone? Click here to receive your free copy of The Fast + Easy Way to Relieve Hip + Back Pain.

How do I know if I have a weak gluteus medius or a tight gluteus medius?

I’ve got good news for you–you don’t need to keep worrying whether you’ve got a weak gluteus medius or a tight one. The truth is, when it comes to muscles, weakness and tightness are so closely related that they’re pretty much the same thing.

And, honestly, even if you have a strong feeling that your gluteus medius muscle is struggling more in one way than the other, you’re going to want to use both strengthening and stretching exercises so you can get your gluteus medius muscle back into tip-top shape.

That’s why this post contains the three best exercises to stretch your tight gluteus medius and the three best exercises to strengthen your weak gluteus medius.

Where is your gluteus medius?

In technical terminology, the origin of the gluteus medius is on the upper outer surface of the ilium. It inserts on the lateral surface of the greater trochanter (top notch) of the femur. This means that this muscle originates and inserts on the side of your pelvis.

In plain English: Take your hands and put them on the top, back part of your pelvis. Now, slide your hands a little bit away from each other. Push in with your fingertips, and you’ll find you’re pushing on where your gluteus medius muscle starts. It might even be a little tender.

Slide your hands on a slight diagonal line to the very tops of your thighs. You probably can’t feel it, but your femur (or thigh bone) has a little bony knob that sticks out. This is where your gluteus medius inserts.

What caused your weak gluteus medius?

Remember, weakness and tightness are tied together when we’re working on muscles. And, when you’re trying to figure out what caused your weak gluteus medius, it can be a real chicken-and-the-egg situation.

Which came first–your gluteus medius weakness or its tightness?

Was the muscle tight so your body didn’t use it correctly, and it got weaker? Could be.

Was the muscle weak so your body didn’t know how or when to use it and the disuse caused your muscle to get tighter? Could be.

Unless you know you have a specific gluteus medius injury that you’re trying to recover from, it’s best not to spend too much time dwelling on this question. Instead, move on to figuring out how you’re going to fix your gluteus muscle and start feeling better!

What can you do about weak gluteal muscles?

In short, you can stretch and strengthen the gluteus medius to make it stronger and healthier.

However, it’s not good enough to just pay attention to the gluteus medius. Instead, you also need to pay attention to other muscles that help balance the forces of the hip joint–like the adductors.

In order to strengthen your weak gluteal muscles and keep them strong, you’ll want to make sure you’re doing gluteus medius stretching exercises, gluteus medius strengthening exercises, adductor stretching exercises, and adductor strengthening exercises.

Psst! The Baddha konasana yoga pose (#3 below) is a great way to stretch both the gluteus medius and the adductors. I love to use this simple stretch!

Why should you stretch your weak gluteus medius?

I bet you’ve already got a good idea of a couple of reasons why you need to stretch your weak gluteus medius.

First of all, try though you might, if all you do is strengthening exercises for your weak gluteus medius, you’re not going to get stronger. You have to also stretch in order to experience strength gains.

Second, because tightness and weakness are so closely tied together in muscle health, it’s tough to know for sure if you’re struggling with a weak gluteus medius or a tight one. Instead of spending time trying to figure out which you’re dealing with, simply take five minutes to do a gluteus medius stretching exercise and a gluteus medius strengthening exercise, and move on with your day.

Finally, stretching is an important component to completely relieving gluteus medius pain. If you don’t take time to stretch, you’re never going to feel 100% pain-free.

The 3 Best Exercises to Stretch Your Tight Gluteus Medius

To be fair, there are a ton of exercises and stretches you can do to stretch your tight gluteus medius. However, the following are my three favorite stretches.

The reason why I picked these three stretches is because each of them also stretches a complimentary muscle to the gluteus medius. As you might recall, when you stretch and strengthen your gluteus medius and its neighbors, you’ll be able to be 100% pain-free.

1. Pigeon pose

I love the Pigeon pose for so many reasons. It stretches the gluteus medius, the piriformis, and the psoas; but the reason why I love it is because it’s so easily adaptable.

Below are the directions for how to do the most advanced version of Pigeon pose, but even the most basic form of Pigeon will help you get the stretch you need.

Check out this post to learn how to do all levels of Pigeon pose.

1. Inhale and exhale through your nose.
2. Begin in Downward facing dog with your hips lifted and your bottom sticking out toward the wall behind you.
3. Hug your belly button in and up toward your spine.
4. Lift your right leg and reach it for the top corner of the wall behind you.
5. Inhale and, on the exhale, lift your belly as you bring your right knee to the mat just to the outside of your right hand.
6. Keep your left toes curled under to make sure that your foot stays straight.
7. Keep your pelvis neutral, and start lowering your upper body. First, come down to your forearms. Then, if you can lower further, lower so you’re resting on the ground. As you are lowering, pay attention to your pelvis. Make sure it stays in neutral and level from side to side. There is a tendency to want to drop the left hip toward the floor here. Instead, keep the lift so your pelvis is even.
8. Once you are set, you can uncurl your toes if your foot can stay in neutral. If your foot turns in or out, curl your toes under until your foot and ankle can learn how to be neutral.
9. Hold here for 5 or more breaths. If you’re really working on a deep hip opening, you may want to hold here for a minute or more. Be careful, though. You don’t want to overdo it.
10. To come out of this pose, plant your hands, curl your left toes under, and lift from your low belly and pelvis. You should be able to smoothly press back into Downward facing dog.
11. Repeat steps 3-10 for the other side. Make sure to spend as much time on the left side as you did on the right.

2. Paschimottanasana

In this seated forward fold, you get the benefit of stretching your gluteus medius and your hamstrings.

Pro tip: Don’t worry about how far you fold (or don’t fold) forward. Instead, make sure you’re using the absolute best form.

1. Inhale and exhale through your nose.
2. Take a seat on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Make sure that your femurs are rotated inward and that you can feel your SITs bones pressing firmly into the ground. (Your SITs bones are the bones you feel in your bottom.)
3. Lift your spine nice and tall so you feel like you’re lifting out of your hips.
4. Let your pelvis hinge forward as you keep a straight spine.
5. Place your hands on your knees, calves, ankles, feet–wherever is most comfortable and lets you keep a straight spine. If this feels uncomfortable, place your hands beside you. Wherever you place your hands, make sure that you are not grabbing anything. Grabbing will cause injury.
6. When your pelvis cannot hinge forward anymore, allow your spine to soften and round forward.
7. As you inhale, think of lengthening the spine and allowing the pelvis to rotate further. On your exhale, think of softening into this pose.
8. To create a nice traction for your legs, think of pressing your SITs bones down and back while you reach away with your heels.
9. Hold for 8 breaths.
10. On your last exhale, draw the belly button to the spine, lengthen, and come up to your starting position.

3. Baddha konasana

Baddha konasana, also known as Butterfly pose, is a great way to stretch your gluteus medius and your adductors.

Pro tip: Don’t worry about how far you fold (or don’t fold) forward. Instead, make sure you’re using the absolute best form. Take nice, deep breaths and try to relax into the stretch.

1. Inhale and exhale through your nose.
2. Take a seat on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Make sure that your femurs are rotated inward and that you can feel your SITs bones pressing firmly into the ground. (Your SITs bones are the bones you feel in your bottom.)
3. Bring the soles of your feet together. Press your right and left feet evenly into each other. Make sure you still feel your SITs bones pressing into the mat.
4. Allow your heels to come toward your perineum. As your feet move, make sure to keep contact between the right and left foot.
5. If your knees are higher than your hips, you can sit up on a bolster or increase the distance between your heels and perineum. Do what you can to bring your hips higher than your knees.
6. Loop your pointer finger and thumb around each foot’s big toe.
7. Lengthen through your spine, lifting your ribs away from your hips and hugging your belly button toward your spine.
8. Hinge from your hips to lower the upper body forward. For the moment, keep a straight spine. Be aware that, in order for your spine to move forward, your pelvis must rotate. As the pelvis moves, so will your SITs bones.
9. Round forward and relax.
10. Take 5-8 long breaths.
11. Engage your abdominals and lift up. You can repeat this or just practice it once.

The 3 Best Exercises to Strengthen Your Weak Gluteus Medius

If you’re searching for a whole treasure trove of gluteus medius exercises and wondering, How can I quickly tell if an exercise will strengthen my gluteus medius?, I’ve got an easy answer for you.

Ask yourself, Do I have to balance?

If balance is involved, so is your gluteus medius.

As you might have guessed, there are tons of exercises out there that will help you strengthen your weak gluteus medius. However, I’ve listed my three favorites below.

1. Side Plank

Side plank is such a powerful exercise to strengthen a weak gluteus medius. However, there’s a lot going on in this exercise. In order to do the full version of Side plank, you’ll want to have a strong core and strong shoulder muscles.

So, just in case your shoulders or abs aren’t quite ready for the full Side plank exercise, I’ve included the Side plank prep.

Don’t be fooled–the prep packs just as much punch as the full exercise and will still be a powerful tool to fix your weak gluteus medius.

Side Plank Prep

1. Take a seat on the floor.
2. Bend your left leg like you’re going to sit cross-legged.
3. Bend your right leg and place the sole of your foot on the floor scooted away from, but in line with, your left knee.
4. Place your left hand in line with your left knee. Roll your left shoulder onto your back and away from your ear.
5. Inhale through your nose.
6. Exhale (either through your nose or pursed lips is fine), press down through your right foot, and lift from your waist. Bring the left knee so it’s in line with your left hand and the right foot.
7. You can leave the right leg bent, or you can straighten it and bring it in line with the left leg’s knee.
8. Reach the right arm away from the left arm.
9. Inhale and exhale.
10. On an exhale, lower your hips and return to your starting position.
11. Do two or three reps on this side.
12. Then, reverse the directions to switch sides.

Move on to the full Side Plank exercise when you feel really comfortable with this prep exercise.

The Full Side Plank

1. Take a seat on the floor.
2. Bend your left leg like you’re going to sit cross-legged.
3. Bend your right leg and place the sole of your foot on the floor scooted about a foot away from, but in line with, your left knee.
4. Place your left hand in line with your left knee. Roll your left shoulder onto your back and away from your ear.
5. Inhale through your nose.
6. Exhale (either through your nose or pursed lips is fine), press down through your right foot, and lift from your waist to lift your hips off the ground.
7. Slide your bottom leg out straight. Make sure you are on the outside edge of your bottom foot.
8. Push the floor away with your left arm.
9. Engage the adductors (inner thighs) to bring the right leg out to hug the left leg.
10. Reach the right arm away from the left arm, which is still pushing the floor away.
11. Inhale and exhale.
12. On an exhale, lower your hips and return to your starting position.
13. Do two or three reps on this side.
14. Then, reverse the directions to switch sides.

2. Warrior 1

Warrior 1 is such a great way to combine stretching and strengthening the gluteus medius. Your front leg’s glute medius works while the back leg’s glute medius stretches. I love a good multi-tasking exercise!

Pro tip: Don’t be afraid to take your back leg’s foot toward the outside edge of your mat. This extra space helps you correctly open up tight hips.

1. Begin standing at the front of your mat with your feet about a fist’s distance apart, hands on your hips.
2. Press down through your feet so you feel like you’re standing up nice and tall.
3. Inhale through your nose, put a soft bend in your knees, and reach your right leg back into a lunge as you exhale through your nose. Make sure your legs are on parallel tracks (as opposed to being on the same line) and your left knee isn’t reaching past your mid-foot.
4. If you have tight hips or issues with your lower back, sacrum, or SI joint, you should have your legs on tracks that are wider than hip distance apart. For example, I have SI joint issues so when I send my right leg back, I scoot it out to the side of my mat. When my toes lower, they touch the outside edge of my mat.
5. Spin your right foot to a forty-five-degree angle and anchor your foot to the ground. Feel your toes, heels, and the outside edge of your foot press into the mat.
6. Make sure your pelvis is level and encourage it to face the front of your mat.
7. Feel your rib cage lift away from your pelvis.
8. Lift your arms up to shoulder level with your elbows in line with your shoulders and your hands directly above your elbows.
9. If you’d like to take your Warrior 2 to the next level, soften your upper back to create an upper back backbend. Make sure you only feel movement from the part of the spine in line with your shoulder blades and up. Also, make sure your head stays in line with your spine.
10. Reach both arms straight toward the ceiling with your palms facing each other.
11. Hold this position for 5-8 breaths.
12. When you’re finished, exhale your hands down to your hips.
13. Lift from your low belly to step your right foot up beside the left.
14. Switch sides.

3. Eagle pose

When you’re working on strengthening your weak gluteus medius, this pose is a must! It can be a doozie because you’re putting your whole body weight on your supporting leg and asking that gluteus medius muscle to work and keep everything upright. However, you will be able to feel yourself become stronger while you do it.

1. Inhale and exhale through your nose.
2. Stand up nice and tall. Feel the four corners of your feet (under your big toes, under your little toes, and on the inside and outside of your heels) pressing into the mat or floor.
3. Shift your weight to your right leg.
4. Lift your left leg and deeply scissor your legs high on your inner thigh. Use your hands to help move tissue if you need to.
5. Stick your SITs bones out toward the baseboard behind you as you sit back like you’re sitting into a chair.
6. Keep your shoulder blades on your back as you reach your arms straight in front of you.
7. Cross your right arm over your left (make sure to deeply cross your arms), bend your elbows, and join your hands. If your hands don’t clasp, press the backs of the hands into each other.
8. Take 5-8 breaths here. Inhale to lengthen; exhale to soften.
9. Mindfully unwind your arms and legs, and stand up.
10. Follow steps 3-10 to do the other side. Remember, this time your left foot will be the base, and your left arm will cross on top.

How long does strengthening the glute medius take?

As long as you don’t have a tear or rip in your gluteus medius, you should start to notice improvement fairly quickly after you start doing your exercises. It wouldn’t be odd to think you could strengthen a weak gluteus medius in one to three months.

However, if you do have a rip or tear in your gluteus medius and you’re trying to recover, it might be about a year before you feel fully recovered and able to use your hip like you used to.

Regardless of your situation, you need to realize that if you’re going to fully fix your weak gluteus medius, you will need to do gluteus medius exercises regularly for the rest of your life.

How often should you do these exercises?

Oof! That phrase “for the rest of your life” sounds like an exercise-related prison term. But, I promise, it isn’t.

When you’re trying to strengthen your weak gluteus medius, do a combination of the exercises you’ve just learned (make sure to incorporate both stretching and strengthening) three or four times a week.

If it were me, I’d pick three exercises to do Monday, I’d do the other three Wednesday, and then I’d finish off the week with my three favorites of the whole bunch on Friday. Any exercises on Saturday or Sunday would be a bonus.

After about three months of this, your gluteus medius should be strong enough that you could move to a maintenance mode where you would just make sure to do a combination of two or three of those exercises a week.

No big deal, right?

Frequently Asked Questions About a Weak Gluteus Medius

You’ve already learned so much about the gluteus medius, but perhaps you still have questions. Here are the answers to the most common questions people ask about a weak gluteus medius.

1. What happens if your gluteus medius is weak?

If your gluteus medius is weak, you’ll most likely start noticing pain. Maybe, you’ll notice hip or lower back pain. But, pain at other joints–even up in your neck–can be caused by a weak gluteus medius.

Of course, there are plenty of people walking around with weak gluteus medius muscles who aren’t in pain at all!

Really, it just depends on how your body is set up as to what a weak gluteus medius will do to you.

2. How do I know if my gluteus medius is weak?

Chances are, if you have a hunch that your gluteus medius is weak, it probably is. Many people have gluteus medius weakness and don’t even know it.

Whether you feel like you’ve got hip pain or whether you’ve got pain in another part of your body, a weak gluteus medius could be the cause.

A few years ago, I broke my neck. When I was all healed, I went to physical therapy. After I got most of my range of motion back in my neck, my PT started me on gluteus medius exercises.

That’s because no body will ever truly be 100% pain-free with a weak gluteus medius.

So, if you’re experiencing pain–even if it’s all the way up in your neck, a weak gluteus medius could be the cause.

3. How do you treat a weak gluteus medius?

Lucky for you, a weak gluteus medius is easily treatable! The best way to treat a weak gluteus medius is to strengthen and stretch it.

When you do both strengthening and stretching exercises, you’re guaranteeing that your gluteus medius will become strong, flexible, and stable. This is exactly what you need to fix a weak gluteus medius permanently.

4. How do I strengthen my weak gluteus medius?

The best way to strengthen your weak gluteus medius is to challenge yourself with some exercises that involve balancing on one leg. The gluteus medius is tremendously important if you’re going to balance on one leg. Plus, if you do an exercise like Warrior 1, Eagle Pose, or Tree Pose; you have the benefit of one gluteus medius working while the other one stretches.

5. How long does it take to rebuild a weak gluteus medius?

Honestly, it’s going to take a little bit of time to rebuild a weak gluteus medius. I wish I could say that you can just do a couple of reps of this exercise and that and you’ll feel like a whole new person, but that’s not the case.

But, the good news is that if you’re willing to mindfully stretch and strengthen your gluteus medius a couple of times a week, you should feel some really progress after a couple of months.

Once you feel like your gluteus medius is strong and working like it should, you can move into maintenance mode where you still exercise your gluteus medius but less regularly.

Want to learn more about how to fix your weak gluteus medius yourself?

For more detailed information about the anatomy of the gluteus medius, check out Kenhub.com’s post.

Or, if you’re really here reading all the way to the end of this post because you’re searching for the absolute best way to relieve pain from your weak gluteus medius, download your free copy of The Fast + Easy Way to Relieve Hip + Back Pain. It’s just a sample of what you’ll learn when you take my course, Spinal Rejuvenation.