Hi, I’m Gina — a perinatal fitness trainer and mom of four — and if you’ve ever looked in the mirror postpartum and thought, “Where did my booty go?”, you’re not alone. That flattened “pancake butt” look is incredibly common after pregnancy, but here’s the good news: your glutes are still there, and we can bring them back.
In this blog, I’ll break down why this happens, what’s going on with your posture, and exactly how to rebuild and strengthen your glutes in the postpartum stage.
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Why Your Glutes Disappear Postpartum
During pregnancy, your body shifts in a big way to make room for your growing baby. As your belly grows, your center of gravity moves forward and upward. To stay balanced, most of us naturally begin to arch our lower back and push our hips forward.
Here’s the problem:
This posture often comes with clenching your glutes for stability.
Constant clenching shortens the glute muscles and limits their range of motion.
Short, tight muscles can appear smaller and flatter — giving you that “pancake” effect.
After birth, many of us keep this same arched posture even without the belly, continuing the cycle of glute tension and underuse.
Step 1: Release Tension with Hip Shifts
Before we can build strength, we have to restore length and mobility. That starts with releasing your glutes and pelvic floor.
Hip Shift Exercise:
Start with your left foot back and your right foot forward.
Open your torso to the left, like opening a book.
Hinge forward from your hips (hips move back, not down) and reach your right hand toward the floor.
Shift 80–90% of your weight into your left foot, pressing through your left big toe.
Let your left knee rotate slightly inward, belly toward your thigh.
You should feel a deep stretch in your back “hip pocket” (where your jeans’ back pocket would be).
Breathe into your lower back and pelvic floor for 1–2 minutes.
This helps release clenching, improve mobility, and prepare your glutes for stronger contractions.
Step 2: Add Rotation to Single-Leg Exercises
Once you’ve released tension, it’s time to move with more range of motion. Adding slight rotation to lunges or single-leg movements can help lengthen your glutes before contracting them.
For example, in a lunge:
As you lower, rotate your belly toward your front thigh.
At the bottom, you’ll feel a bigger stretch in your glute and hamstring.
As you rise, rotate your hip open slightly for a stronger contraction.
This lengthens the muscle at the bottom and fully shortens it at the top — a powerful combo for growth.
Pro tip: Keep your front knee aligned over your ankle. If it caves outward, you’ll lose that glute stretch.
Step 3: Integrate Myofascial Slings
The body works best as a connected system. Your glutes and the opposite lat muscle work together through what’s called the posterior oblique sling. Strengthening both can help stabilize your pelvis and allow your glutes to fire better.
Lunge with Banded Row:
Step into a lunge with a resistance band anchored in front of you.
As you lower into the lunge, reach forward with your rowing arm — lengthening the lat and opposite glute.
As you rise, row the band back — contracting the lat and glute together.
This builds strength and stability across your whole backside.
Step 4: Lift Heavy Weights
If you really want to grow your glutes, bodyweight alone won’t cut it. You need progressive overload with heavier resistance.
Some of my postpartum glute-building favorites:
Hip thrusts
Squats
Deadlifts
Weighted lunges
Start with a challenging weight you can control with good form, and gradually increase over time.
The Postpartum Glute Blueprint
To sum it up:
Release tension with hip shifts and back expansion breathing.
Increase range of motion in single-leg exercises with hip rotation.
Integrate your lats and glutes for better stability.
Lift heavier weights to actually grow muscle.
Your glutes haven’t disappeared — they just need the right approach to wake them up and build them stronger than before.
If you’re ready for a full program that walks you through these steps (and way more), check out MamasteFit’s postpartum fitness programs. You can use code YouTube10 for 10% off, and bundle programs for even bigger savings.