The Key to Sidestepping Knee Pain on the Run? Strengthen Your Glutes (2025)

Each year, nearly half of all runners in the U.S. wrestle with some type of pain or injury. The most commonly affected area, totaling 27 percent of running injuries is—you guessed it—the knee.

If you have knee pain while running, your first instinct may be to zero in on the joint itself, but surprise! Strengthening muscles further up the kinetic chain is a better bet, and that’s where glute exercises can come into play to protect you from the discomfort.

“The glute, in my mind, is one of the first places that I look when somebody’s telling me they’ve got knee problems,” says exercise physiologist Janet Hamilton, C.S.C.S., Georgia-based running coach with Running Strong.

Why is knee pain a common symptom of weak glutes? We break it down, plus explain exactly how to strengthen these muscles without aggravating the knee so you can keep running long and strong.

The Benefits of Glute Exercises for Knee Pain

You may be surprised that a knee pain story starts with a quick glute anatomy lesson, but stick with us: Three muscles make up your buttocks—the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus—and they are involved in stronger, faster, longer running.

The glute max is the biggest muscle of the group and helps push your body forward when you run. The gluteus medius, a smaller muscle located to the outside of the glute max, helps stabilize the hips with every foot strike and prevents the knees from falling inward (and thus taking on extra stress) while you stride. Finally, the gluteus minimus, the smallest of the three, assists the other two with stabilization during running.

When you run and walk, the glutes help move your body forward and position your moving leg to its landing spot. When these muscles aren’t as strong as they need to be, others—like the quads and hip flexors—pull the body forward to make up for the lack of push from the glutes. Because the quads cross the knee joint, overtraining them can lead to knee pain.

“Our bodies are really smart,” explains Ali Marty, P.T., D.P.T., a physical therapist in Las Vegas. “If one area is weak and not working to its full capacity, something else will pick up the slack.” In other words, if the glutes are weak, then the front-of-leg muscles will have to do extra work that they probably can’t handle, leading to aches and potential injuries.

There’s more: Without proper glute support while you run, you may step too far to the inside or outside, instead of straight forward, when your foot lands. Your knee adapts by also moving inward or outward to protect you from falling. “If our knee has to do that too many times, it’s going to have pain,” Marty says.

By strengthening the glutes, you can increase your chances of landing in a good position so that your knee doesn’t have to work to counteract a bad step.

The 5 Best Glute Exercises to Address Knee Pain

The most effective glute exercises for runners work all major movements that rely on the glutes, including front-to-back, side-to-side, and rotational. Likewise, they also hit all three muscles without excessive bending and straightening (such as in squats and lunges), as that can sometimes aggravate knee pain, Marty explains. Instead, the joint stays in place.

How to use this list: Perform the following five exercises as a circuit. The right number of reps will depend on your current strength abilities, but as a starting point, do 10 reps on each side. Adjust up or down as needed, with the goal of doing as many reps as you can until you feel like you could only manage two more with good form. Repeat the circuit two to three times, and aim to do this workout three times a week.

Avoid doing the circuits on a rest day. Instead slot them in on cross-training days or running days. If you do them on a run day, tackle them before your run if you’re not training for a race. Do them after a run if you are training.

You will need a looped resistance band and ankle weights or a light dumbbell.

1. Standing Glute Kickback

Why it works: This exercise strengthens the gluteus maximus and medius of the standing leg for improved stabilization, and also strengthen the glutes of the working leg.

How to do it:

1. Stand in front of a table, counter or wall, with a band around thighs, shins, or ankles. (The lower the band, the more challenging the exercise.) Lightly touch the table for balance.
2. Shift weight to right leg, slight bend in knee, and slightly lean forward from ankles while engaging core and glutes. This is the starting position.
3. Keeping left leg straight and foot flexed, lift leg back behind you, engaging glute. Avoid arching back.
4. Slowly lower leg back down to starting position.
5. Repeat for reps.
6. Then switch sides.

2. Standing Hip Abduction

Why it works: This exercise works the gluteus medius, which is the main muscle that stabilizes our hips as we run. Steady hips mean the knees don’t fall inward, leading to more stress. The glute med fires on both the moving leg, as you bring it out the side, as well as on the standing leg as it stabilizes, Marty explains.

How to do it:

1. Stand with right side next to a wall or table, touching it lightly for balance. Place band around thighs. With tall posture, engage core and glutes, and slightly bend right knee.
2. Flex left foot and lift left leg straight out to side, away from body, engaging glutes. Avoid leaning to side.
3. Lower leg back down.
4. Repeat for reps.
5. Then switch sides.

3. Standing Donkey Kick

Why it works: This move fires up your glute max with the intention of bolstering that muscle so that it’s able to do its job while you run, Marty says, ultimately reducing stress on the knee caused by weak glutes. It also engages the gluteus minimus.

How to do it:

1. With ankle weights on, place hands on the edge of a counter or chair and step feet back. (If you don’t have ankle weights, place a light dumbbell behind knee, or place a mini band around thighs.)
2. Lean slightly forward and position body into one, long straight line with no break at the hips.
3. Lift right foot and bend that knee 90 degrees, foot flexed. Maintain slight bend in standing left knee. This is the starting position.
4. Engage core, and drive right heel up and back, keeping knee bent. Avoid arching or twisting spine.
5. Pause, then return to starting position.
6. Repeat for reps.
7. Then switch sides.

4. Lateral Band Walk

Why it works: Another exercise that really hits the glute medius (and also ignites the minimus), this exercise reinforces good landing positioning by keeping the knee over the foot as you step (instead of letting it cave inward), Marty explains. By practicing this positioning outside of a run, you can up your chances of doing it during a run, thus reducing strain on your knee caused by poor mechanics.

How to do it:

1. While standing, place band around thighs and slightly bend both knees to a quarter squat, feet facing forward.
2. Engage core and step right foot to the right, feeling tension on band. Lead with heel (not pinky toe) and keep both feet pointed parallel, with knees aligned over feet—don’t let them cave inward.
3. Step left foot toward the right, keeping tension on the band.
4. Repeat until you reach the end of the mat or your pace.
5. Go back in the other direction.
6. Continue alternating directions.

5. Clamshell

Why it works: This move, which works all three glute muscles, can help the backside take on more force while running so that the knees don’t work as hard, Marty explains.

How to do it:

1. Lie on right side and place band just above knees.
2. Bend knees, placing feet slightly behind you. Stack hips, knees, and ankles.
3. Engage core, and rotate left hip, lifting knee upward, keeping feet together. Keep hips stacked.
4. Pause at the top, then lower leg back down.
5. Repeat for reps.
6. Then switch sides.

When to See a Doctor about Knee Pain

While glute exercises may alleviate chronic knee issues by improving alignment, they won’t combat acute pain due to an injury. This is when you should see a doctor or physical therapist, according to Marty.

• You can’t put weight on your leg.
• You feel a pop and your knee swells up within two hours.
• Your knee catches and locks in a position where you can’t bend or straighten it.
• You have knee pain that keeps you up at night.
• You have new, intense pain at the joint.
• You still have pain after 10 to 14 days, even after trying to rest it or using ice or heat.
• You have knee pain that returns every time you run, or when doing any glute exercise (not just moves in which you bend and extend the knee).