Nicole Kidman built lower-body strength in her 50s with this simple 3-move glute workout
It might be simple, but these lower-body exercises are the challenge you may need to grow your glutes
The 59-year-old Hollywood A-lister has been walking the red carpet this summer with co-star Sandra Bullock to promote their new film, Practical Magic 2.
Nicole stars in the film with Joey King, who previously shared the brutal glute exercise routine the Australian taught her on set for another film the two co-starred in. Nicole is known for doing low-impact Pilates and Lagree workouts, so it’s no wonder she’s become a pro at working these essential muscles.
“She taught me the most epic, awful butt workout I've ever learned in my life," Joey told Jimmy Fallon. "It was so intense. I was like, 'I'm a youngster. I can hang. I'm young, and I'm agile’. I thought I could hang, but I couldn't hang."
Melissa Leach, a strength and conditioning coach at Yoga-Go, says: “The glutes play a crucial role in supporting the body through everyday movement. When they’re strong, they help improve stability, posture, and overall strength. When they’re weak or underused, which is increasingly common due to sedentary lifestyles, it can place significant strain on the lower back, hips, and knees.”
Nicole's go-to strength exercises include donkey kicks, the rainbow, and fire hydrants. These make up a 15-minute glute workout, or they can be done as part of a wider session.
Donkey kicks
Donkey kicks are a great exercise for isolating the gluteus maximus and building strength in the back of the hips, helping improve lower-body control and stability, says Melissa.
Here's how to do it:
- Start on all fours, with hands under shoulders and knees under hips.
- Keep your core engaged and spine neutral.
- Lift one leg, keeping the knee bent at 90 degrees, and press your foot up toward the ceiling.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top, then lower back down slowly.
- Perform 10 to 15 reps per leg.
Expert tip: “Avoid arching your lower back as you lift. Focus on keeping your hips square and the movement slow and controlled,” she says. If you have any joint pain, try resting on a thick yoga mat for this exercise.
If you find it too easy, wrap a resistance band between your knee and ankle on the working leg to make it feel harder.
Rainbow
There are a couple of variations for this exercise. You can do it with a bent or straight leg, but we’re going to explain how to do the flexed-leg version below.
Here's how to do it:
- Start in an all-fours position with a neutral spine and your hands below your shoulders.
- Lift one bent leg up behind you with the foot flexed and a 90 degree angle in your knee.
- Imagine you’re drawing an arc shape with your big toe and rotate your leg in and out.
- Keep the rest of your body still, with your glutes and core engaged throughout.
- Try doing these for 30-45 seconds on each leg.
Fire hydrants
Fire hydrants are another bodyweight exercise that focuses on the glutes, while also working your hip flexor muscles and core.
Here’s how to do them:
- Start in all fours again with your hands below your shoulders and knees below your hips.
- Keeping one knee bent and your foot flexed, lift the leg out to the side.
- Raise it as high as you can, without feeling a rotation in your hips.
- Lower it back down to meet your other knee.
- Repeat 10-15 times on each leg.
If you want to increase the intensity of this exercise, you can add a resistance band or put a Pilates ball behind your raised knee. This will give you a deeper glute workout. Other effective glutes exercises include the clamshell, glute bridge and bird dog.
