Body & Balance Studio

Quadruped Glute Kickback

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Content last reviewed: 2026-07-14

Quadruped Glute Kickback demonstration

How to do it

  1. Start on all fours with the hands under the shoulders and knees under the hips. For feedback, balance a light dowel along the spine so it contacts the back of the head, upper back and tailbone.
  2. Brace your abdomen and, keeping a soft bend in the knee, drive one leg back and up by squeezing your glute until the thigh is roughly in line with your torso.
  3. Keep the neck neutral and all three dowel contact points as you lift only to torso level.
  4. Lower under control and repeat, then switch legs.

Form cues

  • Use the dowel only if it stays secure; perform the movement without it as a simpler regression.
  • Keep the pelvis square and stop before the lower back arches or rotates.
  • Move slowly without swinging the leg.

Dosage

2 × 15 reps per side

Muscles worked

gluteus maximus — anatomical illustration
gluteus maximusAnatomical illustration derived from BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, licensed under CC BY-SA.
gluteus medius — anatomical illustration
gluteus mediusAnatomical illustration derived from BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, licensed under CC BY-SA.
hamstrings — anatomical illustration
hamstringsAnatomical illustration derived from BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, licensed under CC BY-SA.
core stabilizers — anatomical illustration
core stabilizersAnatomical illustration from Z-Anatomy (derived from BodyParts3D), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Strengthens: gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, hamstrings, core stabilizers

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