8 Cable Glute Kickback Alternatives You Can Do At Home

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You must be seen many women doing glute kickbacks on a cable machine. It is one of the popular glute exercises that most people do to get that strong and round-looking butt. However, a cable machine is not always accessible, especially if you are at home or in a hotel. Also, sometimes the gym is crowded and many people are performing different exercises on a cable machine making it difficult to perform cable glute kickbacks.

But that should not stop you from training your glutes. Because there are so many other great alternatives you can try instead of cable glute kickbacks that are more effective and good for improving the shape and size of the butt.

Here in this article, you will find some of the best alternatives to cable glute kickbacks that you can do at home easily even without equipment. Some exercises you will find here require some basic home equipment whereas other exercises are bodyweight. So you have many options even if you are stuck at home.

But before looking at the exercises, it is important to know that which muscles are worked during cable glute kickbacks.

What Muscles Are Worked During Cable Glute Kickbacks

Cable glute kickback is generally a famous glute exercise that works on the gluteus maximus. Along with that, the secondary muscles like hamstrings and lower back are also engaged to assist during the movement.

One of the important things to keep in mind is that when you do glute kickbacks, make sure that your abs are tight so that you can focus on your glutes and your lower back is less involved in the movement.

So when we select any alternative exercises, we need to see whether these three muscles ( gluteus maximus, hamstrings, and lower back) are used or not. By considering these things, I have selected some of the best alternative options for you all. So let’s see them one by one.

Cable Glute Kickback Alternatives

1. Glute Bridges

Glute bridges are one of the easiest and effective exercises to strengthen the glutes. Many people have lower back problems when they lift heavy weights with improper form. And glute bridges help in improving the posture and removing the lower back pain.

So if you have any lower back pain, then do 3sets of glute bridges, 20 repetitions each, before performing heavy squats or deadlifts. This will reduce your pain and the chances of injury.

How to do

1. Lay down on a flat surface. Bend your knees and bring both feet close to your hips.

2. Keep your knees pointed out and arms down to the side. This will be your starting position.

3. Start the exercise by lifting your hips while keeping your abs engaged. Pause at the top when your hips are maximally contracted.

4. Slowly bring your hips down to the starting position and then repeat the movement.

If you are at home or anywhere, you can do this exercise. You don’t need any type of equipment. So next time when you are at home and cannot fo cable glute kickbacks, then do glute bridges.

2. Banded Glute Kickbacks

Banded resistance band works similar to the cable glute kickbacks. Here you don’t need a cable machine, instead just a resistance band. Make sure that the resistance band is of good quality.

How to do

1. Hold a resistance band and roll it just above your knees.

2. Now stand at about 2 feet away from the wall. Lean forward and keep your hands on the wall. Your back should stay flat.

3. Start the exercise by raising one leg while keeping your abs tight. Your knee should be slightly bent.

4. Raise the leg and squeeze your glutes at the top. Then slowly return to the starting position. Do the same with the other leg.

This exercise can be easily done at home so whenever you are stuck at home and you want to train your glutes, do these banded kickbacks which will give you the next level pump.

3. Bent Knee Kickbacks

This is another great alternative to cable glute kickback. Here you will fo the same glute kickbacks on the floor instead of cables. This exercise will target the glutes and will make your glutes look round and sexy.

How to do

1. Sit on the floor and keep your hands down in a quadruped position. Your arms should be in line with the shoulder.

2. Keep your abs tight and start lifting your one leg as if you are kicking someone standing just behind you.

3. Pause at the top until your abs are engaged. Squeeze your glutes at the top.

4. Slowly bring your leg down to the starting position and then do the same from the other leg.

Make sure that as you lift your leg, your abs should be engaged. Don’t go too far up much that you lose the tension from the abs. Or else your back will arch too much and this will allow the lower back to get engaged.

4. Single Leg Glute Bridges

This exercise is an advanced version of glute bridges. Here you can focus on each side separately. So if your one aide is weaker than the other or if you have pain in one side of the lower back then do single leg glute bridges.

This will strengthen your glutes and your lower back which are very important muscles for your posture.

How to do

1. Lay down on the floor. Bend your knees and bring both feet close to your hips.

2. Keep your knees out and arms down to the side. Then raise one leg up while keeping your knees extended. This will be your starting position.

3. Start the exercise by lifting your hips while pressing your heels on the floor. Keep the tension on the abs as you lift.

4. Pause at the top when your core is engaged and glutes are fully contracted. Then slowly return to the starting position. Do the same from the other side.

Here, you should keep your toes up and press with your heels as you lift your butt. This will activate your glutes more and you can develop a good mind and muscle connection. You can do 15- 20 reps of this at home.

If glute bridges are difficult for you then a single leg will be more challenging. So I would recommend you to first be comfortable with glute bridges. Once it becomes easy for you then try single-leg bridges.

5. Dumbbell Sumo Squats

Sumo squat is a great exercise to strengthen the glutes and hamstrings. If you want to lift heavy squats or deadlifts, then do this exercise. This exercise will work on your weak muscles and will help you in lifting heavy as there are more strong muscles to lift the weights.

How to do

1. Grab a dumbbell from both hands and stand with both feet wide such that when you bend down, your shin is perpendicular to the floor.

2. Stand straight with your chest up and keep your hands straight down, holding a dumbbell at the center. This will be your starting position.

3. Now start the exercise by driving your hips back as you move down. Keep your chest up and knees out as you go down.

4. Stop at the bottom position until the dumbbell is almost touching the floor.

5. Then push your feet towards the ground and return to the starting position.

You can also do the same exercise with a barbell. But it might be uncomfortable for those who have hip mobility issues. So it’s better to start with dumbbells. After some time you can also do barbell sumo deadlifts in place of sumo squats.

6. Romanian Deadlift

Another best way to train your glutes at home! This time you are not doing any kickbacks. Here you are strengthening your glutes with a hip hinge movement which is necessary to improve the posture and technique while you perform any bending exercises.

Romanian deadlift will target your glutes and hamstrings and will give you a solid foundation to do any other compound exercises. So next time when you are stuck at home and wondering which exercise to fo instead of glute kickbacks, you should consider romaian deadlifts.

How to do

1. Hold two dumbbells and stand at a hip-width stance. Keep your feet pointing out and hands in front of the body. This will be your starting position.

2. Start the exercise by driving your hips back and going down while keeping your shoulders pinched back. The dumbbells should be almost in contact with your legs as you move.

3. Stop at the bottom until your back starts bending and losing form. Then push with your heels and then return to the starting position.

4. In the end, you should extend and squeeze your glutes harder at the top.

While performing a romanian deadlift, your lower back should work as a secondary muscle. Your glutes and hamstrings should work the most otherwise you won’t get the whole benefits from this exercise.

And for that, make sure that you squeeze your glutes harder before performing each rep. This will engage your hips more and there will be less tension on the lower back.

7. Kettlebell Swings

The kettlebell swing is another great exercise you can do at home. This will help you in strengthening your glutes and hamstrings and is a great alternative to cable glute kickbacks. All you need is a kettlebell and that it.

If you are an athlete or you play any sport, this exercise is very helpful in improving the power and speed of your lower body. Most of the sport you play will require you to bend, jump run and drift. And for that, you need to develop a great technique and strength to perform the movement effectively without injury. So this exercise will help you to perform better in the field.

How to do

1. Grab the handle of the kettlebell with both hands and stand straight with both feet wider than the shoulder width. Keep your hands down. This will be your starting position.

2. Start by bending with your knees and bringing your hips back as you go down. Don’t bring your knees in front of the toes. Keep it back always.

3. Keep your chest up and back tight and stop at the bottom when your hamstrings are stretched at max. The kettlebell should move back in stead ofgoing straight down.

4. From the downward position do a hip hinge movement by powerfully swinging the kettlebell up and driving your hips forward at the same time.

5. Extend your hips completely at the top and squeeze your glutes. Then repeat the movement.

You can go heavy on this but make sure that you do not too much lower back here. There is a tendency of putting extra tension on the lower back instead of the glutes during this exercise. So always start with light weights and try to learn the form properly.

Once you master the form and you can feel your glutes working well. Then you can try with a heavy kettlebell. Never compromise your form for the safe of lifting heavy. Or else you can injure yourself.

8. Jump Squats

The jump squat is another great exercise to target the glutes. This exercise works the entire posterior chain. Glutes, hamstring lower back, and calfs all are engaged during the movement. So you can replace glute kickbacks with jump squats as your glutes and hamstrings are working the most here.

How to do

1. Stand straight with both feet at about shoulder-width apart. Keep your toes pointing out at about 60° angle and keep your hands close to your chest. This will be your starting position.

2. Start the exercise by lowering down while keeping the weight on your heels and the outer part of the feet. Keep your chest up and drive your hips back as you go down.

3. Stop at the bottom when your quads are parallel to the ground. Then push the floor with your heels and then go straight up and jump at the end while engaging your hips.

4. Land on your feet and set yourself back to the starting position. Then repeat the movement.

Make sure that as you go down to the bottom position, your knee should always be behind the toes. Other wise you can put extra tension on your knees and is not good for your knee joint.

You can make this exercise difficult by holding a plate in your hand and keeping your arms straight up. You can do this when bodyweight jump squats are easy for you and you can do 15- 20 res easily.

Final Words

So these were some of the best alternatives to cable glute kickbacks which you can do at home. All these exercises can be replaced with glute kickbacks but make sure that you design your workout program properly by focusing on targeting every part of the muscle. Use different angles and positions to train your glutes rather than doing the same movement.

You should also train your hamstrings and quads too otherwise you will have an asymmetrical look. So make sure that you choose the right combination of exercises.

Also, remember that glute kickback is an isolation exercise. You should also do compound exercises like deadlifts squats and lunges along with glute kickbacks to get amazing-looking glutes and legs. So take those things into account when selecting your exercise.

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