What are V-ups? | What Muscles Do They Work? | The Exercise | The Benefits | Different Variations of V-ups 

Follow along with Pat Chadwick in this fire glutes and hamstrings workout that you can do at home or at the gym to stimulate hypertrophy in your legs. This is a bodyweight routine that will contain combinations of dynamic, isometric, and tempo reps which will make this workout very fun and challenging! All you will need is a chair and a little space. 

This workout will consist of 9 exercises and the timer will be on throughout the video for 45 seconds of work, followed by 20 seconds of rest. Focus on performing every rep with good form, as quality is better than quantity. If you need breaks - take them! You will improve over time if you practice this consistently.

Stronger glutes will improve your athletic performance in different sports from running to soccer and to football. Research suggests that your gluteus maximus is one of the primary hip extensors. This is a foundation movement in daily life and athletic capacities. Thus, in order to maneuver well and be fully mobile, you need to have strong activated gluteal muscles.

What Muscles are Worked by this Glutes and Hamstrings Workout?

The primary muscles worked are the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings adductors, hip flexors. The secondary muscles worked are the abdominals, obliques, and calves. The majority of these exercises are compound movements which mean many muscle groups are being worked to execute a single motion.

What Level is this Glutes and Hamstrings Workout?

This workout is for all fitness levels which means it is suitable for beginners. The movements demonstrated in this routine are basic movements, that are not hard to perform. This workout also contains small breaks to allow you to catch a breath! - If this is not enough, you can pause the video to rest longer, and resume when you are ready.

Glute Bridge 

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet on the floor, and being hip-width apart. Your arms are down by your sides and palms flat on the ground.
2. Exhale as you contract your core and your glutes to push your hips upwards until your knees and torso are in line, keeping your knees fixed in the same position. Hold the top position for a second.
3. Inhale as you slowly lower down to the starting position.
4. Repeat this movement for 45 seconds.

Bulgarian Split Squats 

1. Stand in front of an elevated surface that is around knee height. Place your right foot flat onto the elevated platform, or on its toes. Your leading leg should be approximately half a meter in front. Brace your core.
2. Inhale as your lower down by bending the front leg until your thigh is parallel to the ground. You can clasp your hands together in front as you do this to counterbalance. Avoid letting your front knee go beyond your toes. Keep your core tight and your torso upright. 
3. Exhale as you drive through your front heel and return to the starting position. Squeeze your glutes at the top position.
4. Repeat this movement for 45 seconds, followed by switching to the opposite side and working for another 45 seconds. You can learn more about the Bulgarian split squats form and its variations in this Bulgarian split squats tutorial.

Elevated Hamstring Bridge

1. Lie on your back with your heels being placed on an elevated surface such as a chair. Your knees should be stacked on top of your hips and your arms are down by your sides.
2. Exhale as you pull your heels down towards the ground by contracting your hamstrings and glutes to push your hips up towards the ceiling. Rise until your knees are in line with your torso. Hold the top position for a second. Keep your core tight.
3. Inhale as you slowly return to the starting position
4. Repeat this movement for 45 seconds.

Single-Leg Box Squats

1. Stand tall with an elevated surface such as a chair or a plyometric box being placed behind you. Reach your arms straight out in front. The rule is that the higher the surface, the easier it will be as this will reduce the range of motion.
2. Inhale as you lower down by bending your right knee as if you are sitting back on a chair. Lower down until your butt touches the surface. Your opposite leg should be extended forward as you do this to counterbalance. 
3. Exhale as you drive through your right heel to extend your leg and return to the starting position.
4. Perform this action on the opposite leg and repeat this movement for 45 seconds. We have demonstrated pistol squat stretching routines, along with 2 different progressions so that you can achieve this awesome skill! Check it out in this pistol squat tutorial.

Single-Leg Hamstring Bridge 

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and heels resting on an elevated surface hip-width apart. Extend your left leg so that it is straight. Your arms are down by your sides with your palms pressed down into the ground. 
2. Exhale as you squeeze your glutes and pull your right heel down towards to ground to lift your hips off the mat into a bridge. Pause for a second when your knees are in line with your torso and squeeze your core!
3. Inhale as you lower the hips down to return to the starting position.
4. Repeat this movement for 45 seconds, followed by switching sides, and also work for 45 seconds.

Donkey Kicks 

1. Begin on all fours where your shoulders are stacked on top of your wrists and your hips are stacked on top of your knees. Engage your core to keep your back straight. 
2. Exhale as you squeeze your glutes and kick your right feet up whilst keeping your right leg bent at 90 degrees. Lift until your knee is in line with your torso. Hold at the top position for a second.
3. Inhale as you return to the starting position followed by repeating on the opposite leg.
4. Repeat this alternating movement for 45 seconds.

Side-to-side Squat

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, feet pointing outwards, and arms down by your sides. 
2. Inhale as you squat down by bending the knees until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Brace your core throughout this movement.
3. Exhale as you extend your legs and return to the starting position. Followed by taking one step to the right with your right foot, and one step to the right with your left foot.
4. Descend into a squat and rise back up, followed by taking two steps to the left.
5. Repeat this squat side-to-side tempo for 45 seconds. Want to learn more about this exercise and its variations? Check out this bodyweight squats tutorial to find out more.

Sumo Squat

1. Stand tall with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, your arms down by your sides, and your feet pointing outwards. 
2. Inhale as you bend your knees to lower down as if you’re sitting back on a chair. Lower until your knees are at 90 degrees. Keep your core tight.
3. Exhale as you push through your heels to extend your legs and return to the starting position. Squeeze your glutes at the top position.
4. Repeat this movement for 45 seconds. You can increase the difficulty of this exercise by holding a dumbbell in front of the center of your chest. Check out this goblet squats tutorial to find out more!

I want to congratulate you on completing this workout. It is one thing to decide to work out and another to follow through and complete it! I recommend switching up your workouts to give your muscles enough time to recover and to target different muscle groups. If you want to challenge your body, check out this chest and back workout and upper abs workout - See you there!

About the Author

My name is Pat Chadwick, I am a calisthenics coach with over 4 years of experience in helping people from all backgrounds to achieve their calisthenics goals. My goal is to become the number one calisthenics coach in the world as it is my passion to help people change their lives through inspiring bodyweight movements. I believe everyone deserves the right to feel good about their health, body, and be delighted inside and out.