Wake Up Your Muscles: How to Activate Glutes Before Squats

The Danger of “Sleepy Glutes”

You load up the barbell, unrack the weight, and drop into a squat. But as you try to stand back up, your knees aggressively buckle inward toward each other. This is called knee valgus, and it is a one-way ticket to an ACL tear. This collapse happens because of “glute amnesia.” Because we sit all day, our brains literally forget how to fire the gluteus medius—the muscle responsible for keeping our hips and knees pushed outward under heavy loads.

Studies analyzing gluteal muscle activation during common therapeutic exercises confirm that utilizing resistance bands prior to heavy lifting dramatically increases the mind-muscle connection.

The 5-Minute Pre-Squat Banded Circuit

Before you ever touch an empty barbell, put a heavy-duty fabric booty band around your thighs, just above your knees, and perform this rapid circuit:

• Banded Monster Walks (20 steps forward, 20 backward): Stay in a quarter-squat position. Step wide and fight the band’s tension. You will feel a deep burn on the outside of your hips.
• Seated Hip Abductions (30 reps): Sit on the edge of a bench. Keep your feet together and drive your knees outward as far as you can against the band.
• Banded Bodyweight Squats (15 reps): Perform slow, controlled squats. The band will actively try to pull your knees inward; your job is to forcefully push them out to stretch the fabric.

If you have ever wondered why your knees hurt when squatting, a lack of warm-up activation is likely the culprit. Throw away those cheap rubber bands that roll up and pinch your skin. Get our Non-Slip Fabric Booty Bands at Bolt & Bound to build a bulletproof lower body.