Glute Stretches: 7 Moves to Loosen Tight Hips and Glutes

If your hips feel locked up, your squats bottom out early, or your lower back is stiff after a day at a desk, tight glutes and hips are usually somewhere in the story. The glutes are big, strong muscles that spend most of a modern day switched off and folded up in a chair, and that combination leaves them stiff and your hips short on movement. Stretching them back out is quick, needs no kit beyond a mat, and pays off in how you move, how you lift and how your back feels.

Worth understanding first: this is largely a sitting problem. Hours in a chair keep your hips bent, which shortens the muscles at the front of the hip and leaves the glutes lengthened and idle, so hip mobility quietly drops over months of desk work. The good news is that stretching works. A randomised trial found that stretching tight hip flexors increased hip range of motion, whether done passively or actively (randomised trial on stretching hip flexors and range of motion). Do these seven regularly and your hips will thank you.

The 7 best glute stretches

1. Lying figure-four stretch. Lie on your back, cross one ankle over the opposite knee to make a "4", then reach through and pull the supporting thigh toward your chest. You will feel it deep in the glute of the crossed leg. This is the safest, most scalable glute stretch there is, and the one to start with.

2. Seated figure-four. The same shape done in a chair: cross the ankle over the knee and hinge forward with a flat back. Ideal for a desk break, because you can do it in work clothes without lying on the floor, and it directly counters hours of sitting.

3. Pigeon stretch. From all fours, bring one shin forward across your body and extend the other leg straight back, then lower your torso over the front leg. It is a deeper glute and hip stretch than the figure-four, so ease into it, and slide a cushion under the hip if the knee complains.

4. Standing figure-four (chair or wall). Balance on one leg, cross the other ankle over the knee, and sit your hips back as if lowering into a chair, using a wall or chair for support. Good for loosening the glutes before a squat session when you would rather not get on the floor.

5. Supine knee-to-chest. Lie on your back and hug one knee toward your chest, keeping the other leg long. Simple, gentle, and a good opener before the deeper stretches. It eases the glute and the lower back together.

6. Kneeling lunge (hip flexor and glute). From a half-kneeling position, tuck your pelvis under and push your hips forward until you feel a stretch across the front of the back hip and into the glute. Because sitting shortens the hip flexors that pair with tight glutes, opening them up matters; a daily lunge-and-reach style stretch has been shown to improve hip flexibility and gluteal function (study on lunge-and-reach stretching and hip flexibility).

7. Foam roller glute release. Sit on a foam roller, cross one ankle over the opposite knee, and roll slowly over the glute of the crossed leg, pausing on tender spots. It is not a stretch exactly, but it releases tension and makes the held stretches that follow feel deeper.

Why this matters for training

Loose, mobile hips are not just about comfort. Tight glutes and limited hip extension change how you squat, hinge and run, often shifting load onto the lower back. Free the hips up and your squat depth improves, your hip thrusts and glute exercises work through a fuller range, and your back tends to settle. Stretching also fits the flexibility side of the NHS activity advice, which recommends strengthening and moving all the major muscle groups regularly (NHS physical activity guidelines). Pair these stretches with actual glute strengthening, like the glute bridge, and you get hips that are both mobile and strong, which is the combination that holds up.

Common mistakes

Forcing the stretch. Pain is not progress. If you are gritting your teeth, back off until you feel a firm but tolerable pull, then breathe into it.

Holding for two seconds and moving on. The muscle needs sustained time to release. Thirty to sixty seconds, not a quick bob down and up.

Only stretching one side. People often stretch the side that feels tight and ignore the other, which builds imbalances. Do both, even if one feels fine.

Stretching cold before heavy lifting. Long static holds on cold muscles right before a heavy squat are not the warm-up you want. Move dynamically first, save the long holds for after.

Recommended reads

1. Glute exercises to build strength
2. How to do a glute bridge
3. Hip thrust technique
4. The best foam roller in the UK
5. More workout and exercise guides