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BY NOW YOU know a lot about Dylan Larkin, the Detroit Red Wings center who helped bring home a gold medal for the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team for the first time since 1980. But you may not know that before all that, Larkin was the star of a viral advertisement that highlighted a condition among athletes of his sport.
“My name is Dylan Larkin, and I have hockey butt,” Larkin said in the ad for a clothing company, which went on to feature Larkin in some form of a squat more than a half dozen times. (Yes, I counted).
“[Hockey players] have relatively small waist, big quads, big thighs, and a big butt [emphasis added],” Larkin said, further explaining the condition. And then he delivered an unfortunate symptom: “Every time I bend down I feel like I’m going to bust through the seams [again, those italics are mine all mine].”
While the origin of the term “hockey butt” is unknown, I was able to trace its use back well over a decade. “This is a real defining characteristic of a hockey player,” retired NHL winger Mike Knuble told ESPN in 2012. “There’s not a guy in here without a hockey ass. They would get a lot of shit if they didn’t have one.”
But now “hockey butt” seems to have reached a palm-sweaty pitch, as at least 40 percent of the shots in the HBO Max series Heated Rivalry center directly on it. In many ways, hockey butt has become the antidote to gluteal amnesia, otherwise known as dead butt syndrome or Hank Hill ass.
You might even be wondering if there’s any way you can build your own hockey butt. The good news is that with the right moves and dedication, yes, you can. The even better news is that you don’t have to risk a front tooth playing hockey to do it.
Sure, hockey is a particularly effective glute workout because skating requires powerful, explosive pushes from the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus muscles, says Men’s Health advisor Daniel Giordano, DPT, CSCS, at Bespoke Physical Therapy.
Getty Images/Men’s Health
“[Hockey] players also stay in a low athletic stance, almost like a partial squat, for much of the game. That constant tension and repetition can help build strong, developed lower body muscles,” Giordano says.
Ryan Carter, a former Stanley Cup–winning NHL forward and partner with the training program ETS Performance, says that skating strides are very different than running strides, in that the power comes from the glutes more than the hamstrings. Classic sprinting and running strides taxes your glutes and hamstrings in tandem as you push off the ground. Skating strides, though, utilize your glutes much more than your hamstrings.
As a result, “other athletes that would have similarly sized glutes, they would have hamstrings that would maybe match that size.” Hockey is unique because “we don’t use a lot of hamstring, or a lot of the calf either, so the glute becomes predominant and very noticeable.”
The 5 Exercises to Build Your Hockey Butt
Although hockey is an effective butt workout, Carter and Giordano realize that not everyone has regular access to a rink and equipment. That said, whether you’re training to play the game or just trying to build up a hockey butt in the gym or at home, both experts shared several glute exercises to help you get closer to your goal off the ice.
Slider Lateral Lunge
Why: As much as reverse and forward lunges work the glutes, slider lateral lunges help you develop the hip mobility necessary to develop a true hockey butt. This exercise helps refine the smaller muscles in the glutes, such as the deep hip rotators. Since hockey players often skate on one leg, slider lateral lunges help your core develop the balance to do that. “It’s almost like a skating stride simulation,” Carter says. Add resistance with weights, a kettlebell, or resistance bands as needed.
How to Do It:
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Place one foot on a towel or sock on a surface you can glide easily, like a hardwood floor.
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Slowly slide that foot straight out to the side, push your hips back, and bend the knee of your standing leg.
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Make sure to keep your sliding leg straight, your chest up, and your core engaged.
Sets and reps: 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps per leg
Bulgarian Split Squat
Why: Bulgarian split squats are important for hockey players because they mimic the one-legged movement of skating. The exercise forces one leg to bear nearly all of your body weight while maintaining a stable core, which can help improve balance and stride power. By targeting the quadriceps and glutes, Bulgarian split squats are crucial for gaining and maintaining a hockey butt. “If you are new, start with bodyweight,” Giordano recommends. Then, add load as you progress.
How to Do It:
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Place one foot on an elevated bench, and step forward with the other foot, roughly shoulder-width apart.
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Lean slightly forward, engage your glutes, and lower your hips until your front knee is at 90 degrees, keeping most of your weight on that front leg.
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Push off the floor with your front foot, squeezing your glutes as you stand back up into hip extension.
Sets and reps: 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps per leg
Deadlift
Why: Deadlifts are an effective way to build glutes, quadriceps, and other posterior chain muscles that are essential for playing hockey. That said, if you just want to build up some confidence on the back-end, this exercise should similarly be a staple in your routine.
How to Do It:
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Start with your feet about shoulder-width apart, standing with a barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells just in front of you. If you use a barbell, your feet should be under the bar with your shins close to or actually touching the bar.
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Push your butt back and hinge at the waist to bend down to grab the weight on either side of your legs.
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Make sure your hips are lower than your shoulders. Squeeze your shoulder blades together to set your lats, then engage your core. Keep your neck in a neutral position; don’t look up.
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Push your feet through the floor and pull the weight up, keeping the bar close to your body. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the lift to extend your hips, but don’t lean back.
Sets and reps: 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Lateral Squat
Why: Carter swears by lateral squats because they help simulate a hockey stance and skater’s stride. This exercise is great for hip mobility, which reduces the risk of injury on and off the ice, because an improved caboose does no one any good if you’re in too much pain to haul it around.
How to Do It:
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Start in a wide stance, about 1.5 to 2 shoulder-widths apart, with your feet forward.
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Lower your hips slowly down to one side, bending that knee, while your other leg is straight.
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Then straighten the bent leg, return to the center, keeping your heels planted, back straight, and chest up.
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Repeat on the opposite side.
Sets and reps: 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Russian Box Plyometrics/Skater Jumps
Why: This one is a little bit more sport-specific and requires specialized equipment probably not found at your local gym. Russian box plyometrics are for hockey players because they are a unique way to build muscle power through explosive, jumping movements. Plyos also build muscle by utilizing the “stretch-shortening cycle” (SSC), which occurs after a powerful muscle contraction during each jump. This improves speed and agility on the ice, but the exercise will enhance your glutes, even if you never lace up a pair of skates. You can mimc the movements on flat ground to get some of the same benefits.
How to Do It:
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Start standing with your weight on your right foot. Bend your knees slightly, then leap powerfully to your left.
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Land softly on your left foot, allowing your right leg to trail behind you. Crouch into the landing, loading up to leap back to your right. Focus on jumping powerfully, not moving quickly.
Sets and reps: 3 to 4 sets of 3 to 5 reps per side
The Bottom Line
As much as these exercises can help build your glutes and other supporting muscles, don’t expect an Olympic-level hockey butt immediately. As Giordano puts it, “consistency is key.” And remember, even the world’s most famous fictional hockey butts weren’t built with the same back-end experience as the pros. When Hudson Williams shared details about his workout plan with us, he noted that he was training strictly for aesthetics, not performance—with his focus directly on the backside.
There are plenty of benefits beyond just achieving the aesthetic ideal you’d see in the rink. Still, building strong glutes—especially as you get older—is important for mobility and overall quality of movement. Making these exercises part of your regular routine will help you to be stronger, more athletic, and importantly, reduce the risk of pancake ass—and the pain that comes with it.
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