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Home sumo squat (not hitting the glutes?)
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2026
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Typically a deadlift will activate the glutes more than a squat.
If you have weak glutes then it can be a bit hard to get them to fire properly too - doing some targeted work to strengthen them may be a good idea.
While i understand it it's hard to wrap my head around the glutes not activating when they are weak, like don't weak muscles activate more? But maybe like you said I should isolate them more, but I don't have a gym so no equipment really, anything you'd recommend? I know you have bodyweight exercises but will these be enough? or do they just work kinda like cardio?
Find form videos for roman deadlifts. You can do single leg roman deadlifts without any weight, but pretending you have a bar for balance.
Physically squeeze your glutes when you come up and while not locking your knees, push your hips out. That should be able to get you to feel the muscles activating. You won't be doing huge growth without weights, but it is good for building the mind-muscle connection for that muscle group.
Your body will generally compensate for muscle weaknesses by having other muscles make up for the deficiency, and/or limit your range of motion for certain movements.
While weights are preferable, you should be able to get some mileage out of bodyweight exercises. Glute bridges are a classic for glute activation, and they require no equipment.