Glute exercises for the gym and home

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These are the 16 glute exercises in our library. Each one includes the correct technique, the muscles it works and alternatives if you lack the equipment. You can generate a free routine that includes them based on your level and goal.

Muscles you work when training your glutes

The gluteus maximus is the body's most powerful hip extensor, while the medius and minimus stabilise the pelvis and abduct the hip. Horizontal hip-thrust movements (hip thrust, glute bridge) work it maximally in a shortened position, while deep squats and deadlifts load it in a stretch. Abduction work covers the gluteus medius, key for knee stability.

How to train your glutes at the gym

The gluteus maximus extends the hip and the gluteus medius moves it out to the side, so a complete glute routine needs both functions. At the gym that means four pieces: a heavy hip extension, a hinge, a single-leg exercise and abduction work.

Depth matters: in the study by Kubo and colleagues (2019), full squats grew the gluteus maximus more than half squats, measured with MRI. So does volume: in Schoenfeld's meta-analysis (2017), each additional weekly set was associated with more muscle growth, so around 10 weekly sets spread over two days are a good starting point. If you are a woman, the generator automatically prioritizes glutes and hamstrings. It is explained in detail in glute exercises, and a real week in the 2-day gym routine for women.

How to train your glutes: sets, reps and frequency

For muscle growth, the meta-analysis by Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger (2017), covering 15 studies, found a dose-response relationship: more weekly sets per muscle lead to more hypertrophy, and the practical benchmark usually drawn from it is around 10 or more sets a week. Splitting them over two sessions works better than doing them in one (Schoenfeld and colleagues, 2016), and light or heavy loads give similar hypertrophy when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld and colleagues, 2017).

Hip thrusts and bridges train the glutes in a shortened position; deep squats, lunges and Romanian deadlifts in a stretched one. Combining both covers the full range, and hip abduction adds work for the glute medius. If you are starting out, stay at the low end of the sets and build up gradually. We explain it in how many sets per muscle you need.

Hip thrust or squat: what MRI found

The hip thrust activates the glutes more on electromyography, but activation is not growth. Plotkin and colleagues (2023), with Bret Contreras among the authors, randomly assigned untrained people to hip thrusts (18) or back squats (16) for nine weeks, with sets matched, and measured the muscle with MRI.

The glutes grew similarly in both groups; the squat grew the quadriceps and adductors more, and the improvement in the deadlift was similar. Combining both exercises covers the hips from different angles, but neither is essential.

Blog guides: Glutes

• Glute exercises: the guide to actually building them — Glutes are the most sought-after muscle group in the gym — and the most poorly trained. The best exercises, correct technique, and a plan that actually works.
• Bulgarian split squat: variations and programming — Bulgarian split squat guide: muscles worked, how to bias glutes or quads, variations, common mistakes and how to program it against the back squat.
• Barbell squat technique and its most common errors — Barbell squat technique: a full step-by-step guide (stance, depth, knees, back) and the common errors that stall your progress or get you injured.

The 16 glute exercises

Compound exercises (9)

Isolation exercises (7)

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