Muscle guide · Lower body

The Best Exercises for Glutes

The best glute exercises are deep squats, Romanian deadlifts, hip thrusts or glute bridges, lunges and step-ups, plus hip abduction for the gluteus medius. Combining a stretched exercise (RDL, deep squat) with a squeeze-at-the-top exercise (bridge) covers the whole range.

Includes: Gluteus Maximus, Gluteus Medius · also called Glute Max Left, Glute Max Right, Glute Med Left, Glute Med Right

Written by the FitStack training team. Last reviewed .

Front view: muscles worked by glutes training. Primary: glutes.
Back view: muscles worked by glutes training. Primary: glutes.
Primary

What the glutes do

  • Extends the hip (driving it forward), as in standing up from a squat.
  • Moves the leg out to the side (abduction) and rotates it outward.
  • Stabilises the pelvis when you stand on one leg.

The gluteus maximus is the large muscle that extends the hip. The gluteus medius and minimus sit higher on the side of the hip and stabilise the pelvis. Hip thrusts and bridges load the maximus hardest at full extension; deep squats and RDLs load it at long lengths; abduction trains the medius.

7 best glute exercises

  1. Deep barbell squat — Full-depth squats grew the glutes more than half squats.
  2. Barbell glute bridge — Heavy load at full hip extension.
  3. Romanian deadlift — Loads the glutes in a stretch.
  4. Walking lunge — Single-leg; long stride biases glutes.
  5. Dumbbell step-up — Single-leg, home-friendly.
  6. Hip abduction machine — Gluteus medius.
  7. Kettlebell swing — Explosive hip extension.

Sample glutes workouts

Gym glute workout

Gym · Intermediate

Gym glute workout: exercises and sets × reps
Back squat to full depth 4 × 6–8
Romanian deadlift 3 × 8–10
Barbell glute bridge 3 × 10–12
Hip abduction 2 × 15–20

Home glute workout

Home · Beginner

Home glute workout: exercises and sets × reps
Goblet squat 3 × 10–15
Dumbbell RDL 3 × 10–12
Glute bridge 3 × 15–20
Side-lying hip abduction 2 × 15–20 per side

Sets × reps. Finish each set with one or two reps left in reserve, and rest 2 to 3 minutes after compound lifts and 1 to 2 minutes after isolation work.

How many sets for the glutes?

The glutes tolerate a lot of work. 10 to 20 hard sets a week across squats, hinges, bridges and lunges suits most lifters.

Muscle growth rises with weekly volume: in a meta-analysis, 10 or more hard sets per muscle per week produced more growth than fewer than 5 (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), and training a muscle at least twice a week beat once a week when volume was matched (Schoenfeld et al., 2016). Start near the low end and add sets while you are still recovering between sessions.

More glutes exercises by equipment

Body Weight

Barbell

Band

Dumbbell

Sled Machine

Smith Machine

Cable

Assisted

Resistance Band

Stability Ball

Leverage Machine

Roller

Kettlebell

Filter every glutes exercise in the library →

Exercises that also work the glutes (50)

Glutes training FAQs

Are hip thrusts better than squats for glutes?

They complement each other. Hip thrusts activate the glutes more at the top (Contreras et al., 2015), while deep squats grow them by loading them in a stretch (Kubo et al., 2019). Do both.

Can I grow my glutes at home?

Yes. Single-leg work such as step-ups and split squats, plus dumbbell RDLs and bridges, lets you train them hard with little equipment.

How often should I train glutes?

Two or three times a week, splitting your weekly sets across sessions.

Why do I feel squats in my quads but not my glutes?

Squat deeper, take a slightly wider stance and let the hips travel back. Adding hinges and bridges also helps.

Sources

  1. Contreras B, Vigotsky AD, Schoenfeld BJ, et al. A comparison of gluteus maximus, biceps femoris, and vastus lateralis EMG activity in the back squat and barbell hip thrust. J Appl Biomech. 2015;31(6):452-458.
  2. Kubo K, Ikebukuro T, Yata H. Effects of squat training with different depths on lower limb muscle volumes. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2019;119(9):1933-1942.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass. J Sports Sci. 2017;35(11):1073-1082.
  4. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of resistance training frequency on measures of muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2016;46(11):1689-1697.

General fitness information, not medical advice. Speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.