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Strong glutes are crucial for explosive performance and safeguarding your low back and joints. Here’s how to develop yours.
We’re in the midst of a glutes renaissance. Thanks to Instagram, the increased focus on functional fitness, men and women are trying to build stronger, better butts. And with that goal comes the quest for better, more creative glute exercises.
But with all due respect to the #fitspo folks, the glutes aren’t just for modeling yoga pants. Combined with the hamstrings, calves, and back, the glutes are the most powerful muscles in the human body.
This muscle group—collectively called the “posterior chain”—generates more force than any other human movement, whether that means power cleans, deadlifts, box jumps, or simply lifting a heavy suitcase off the floor and into the overhead compartment.
Related: 50 Best Arm Exercises of All Time
And regardless of what some Instagram influencers might have you believe, building a strong butt doesn’t require any mysterious voodoo. Nor does it require doing 1,000 squats a day.
Instead, you’ll need to attack these crucial muscles with a barrage of proven glutes exercises.
By varying the workload, training your muscles from multiple angles, and incorporating instability into your workout routines, you can strengthen your glutes (and sculpt your butt while you’re at it).
How do these glute exercises work?
Don’t expect to head to the gym and do every single one of these in a single session. The glutes may be strong, but they’re not invincible.
Instead, break up this list of moves into four or five different groups of exercises to hit your gluteus minimus, gluteus medius, and gluteus maximus (this is the biggest muscle in the body). Piece together a few moves that require the same piece of equipment—like, say, the suspension trainer, Swiss ball, or barbell.
You can combine them as a circuit: Do as many reps as possible of each exercise in 45 seconds, rest for 15 seconds, then move on to the next exercise; rest for two minutes after each round.
Related: 50 Best Chest Exercises of All Time
Alternatively, do these exercises in traditional straight sets—say, four sets of eight reps each, with 60 seconds of rest in between. Vary your rest, sets, reps, and exercise selection to ensure you make the most of these glutes exercises.
Note: Some moves only require a resistance band and help to activate the glutes, as well as increase range of motion for heavier weighted lifts like sumo squats. If you don’t have a full gym, you can still get the benefits of certain exercises with a mini band (for example, resistance band glute bridges will still develop the muscles and work hip extension, even without a taxing load).
Best Glute Exercises of All Time
1. Barbell Hip Thrust
How to do it:
- Rest your upper back on a bench and sit on the floor with legs extended.
- Roll a loaded barbell up your thighs until the bar sits on your lap (you may want to place a towel or mat on your hips or attach a pad to the bar for comfort).
- Brace your abs and drive your heels into the floor to extend your hips, raising them until your thighs and upper body are parallel to the floor.
2. Dumbbell Deficit Reverse Lunge
How to do it:
- Grasp a dumbbell in your right hand and stand on a step or block that raises you a few inches above the floor.
- Step back with your right foot and lower your body until your left thigh is parallel to the floor and your rear knee nearly touches the floor.
- Keep your torso upright. Step forward to return to the starting position.
3. Walking Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
How to do it:
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand and take a step forward with your left leg so you’re in a split-stance position.
- Keeping your front knee slightly bent, bend at the hips as far as you can without losing the arch in your lower back.
- Fire your glutes to straighten your torso as you step forward to begin the next step.
4. Bulgarian Split Squat
How to do it:
- Hold a bar on the backs of your shoulders as if to squat.
- Rest the top of your left foot on a bench or box behind you so that your back knee is bent 90 degrees. Bend your hips and right knee to lower your body until your rear knee nearly touches the floor. Keep your torso upright. If you don’t want to use a barbell, you can hold dumbbells at your sites.
5. Sumo Romanian Deadlift
How to do it:
- Stand with your feet outside shoulder-width and toes turned out about 15 degrees.
- Bend your hips back and let your knees bend as needed until you can grasp the bar at shoulder-width.
- Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, push your hips forward to raise the bar to lockout.
- To begin each subsequent rep, push your hips back and lower the bar to mid-shin level.
- Do not bend your knees more and make it a deadlift—the movement must come almost entirely from your hips.
6. Barbell Glute Bridge
How to do it:
- Lie on your back on the floor with legs extended.
- Roll the bar up your thighs until the bar sits on your lap (you may want to place a towel on your hips or attach a pad to the bar for comfort).
- Brace your abs and drive your heels into the floor to extend your hips, raising them until they’re in line with your torso.
- Simply slide your body under the bar after you’ve rested, and begin the glute bridges.
7. Barbell Squat
How to do it:
- Set up in a squat rack or cage.
- Grasp the bar as far apart as is comfortable and step under it.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together and nudge the bar out of the rack.
- Step back and stand with your feet shoulder-width and your toes turned slightly outward.
- Take a deep breath and bend your hips and then knees to lower your body as far as you can without losing the arch in your lower back.
- Push your knees outward as you descend.
- Extend your hips to come back up, continuing to push your knees outward.
8. Side-Lying Clam
How to do it:
- Lie on your side on the floor and bend your knees 90 degrees.
- Your knees and feet should be stacked.
- Place one hand on your glutes and push through your heel as you rotate your hip open, raising your knee until it points to the ceiling.
- The movement should look like a clamshell opening.
9. Suspension Trainer Single-Leg Glute Bridge
How to do it:
- Attach the suspension trainer to a sturdy overhead object and lengthen one handle so it’s at about knee height.
- Lie on your back on the floor and place the heel of your left foot in the foot cradle.
- Bend your left knee 90 degrees and extend your right leg on the floor.
- Brace your abs and contract your glutes to bridge your hips off the floor while simultaneously lifting your right leg in the air until it’s in line with your left thigh.
9. Suspension Trainer Single-Leg Glute Bridge
How to do it:
- Attach the suspension trainer to a sturdy overhead object and lengthen one handle so it’s at about knee height.
- Lie on your back on the floor and place the heel of your left foot in the foot cradle.
- Bend your left knee 90 degrees and extend your right leg on the floor.
- Brace your abs and contract your glutes to bridge your hips off the floor while simultaneously lifting your right leg in the air until it’s in line with your left thigh.
10. Suspension Trainer Bulgarian Split Squat
How to do it:
- Use the same setup as you did for the single-leg glute bridge, but stand facing away from the suspension trainer and rest your left foot in the foot cradle behind you.
- Make sure your right foot is lunge-length in front of the trainer. Bend your hips and knees to lower your body until your rear knee nearly touches the floor.
- Hold on to something for support if you feel you can’t balance safely.
- Keep your torso upright—don’t bend over.
12. Figurehead
How to do it:
- Lie on the floor facedown with your arms at your sides.
- Squeeze your glutes and raise your torso and legs simultaneously so only your hips touch the floor.
- Imagine touching your feet with your hands.
- Hold for a second at the top, and then return to the starting position so your shoulders touch the floor.
13. Feet-on-Ball Hip Thrust
How to do it:
- Lie faceup and rest your feet on the ball.
- Bend your knees 90 degrees, rolling the ball toward you a bit.
- Brace your abs and drive through your heels to raise your hips into the air until they’re in line with your torso.
14. Butterfly Hip Thrust
How to do it:
- Place a Swiss ball against a wall and lie back on it so your upper back is supported and your butt is in front of the ball hovering above the floor.
- Place the soles of your feet together and rest them on the floor in front of you.
- Brace your abs, push your knees out, and drive your feet into the floor to raise your hips until they’re level with your torso.
15. Swiss Ball Wall Squat
How to do it:
- Place the ball against a wall and stand with your back against it, holding it in place.
- Place your feet shoulder width and turn your toes out about 15 degrees.
- Squat down as low as you can, rolling the ball down the wall as you descend.
16. Reverse Back Extension
How to do it:
- Lie face-down on a Swiss ball and walk your body forward so it supports your hips only, hands on the floor.
- Squeeze your glutes and raise your legs behind you until they’re level with your torso.
17. Single-Leg Glute Bridge
How to do it:
- Lie faceup on the floor and place your right heel on the floor and extend the left leg.
- Brace your abs and contract your glutes to bridge your hips up off the floor while simultaneously raising your left leg in the air until it’s in line with your right thigh.
18. Cook Hip Lift
How to do it:
- Lie faceup on the floor and pull your left knee up to your chest.
- Hug your shin. Bend the right leg and plant your foot on the floor close to your butt.
- Drive through the middle of your food and squeeze your glutes as you bridge your hips up—they won’t go high—until your hamstrings start to tense.
- You want to keep the tension on your glutes instead.
19. Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
How to do it:
- Stand on your right leg and push your hips back as far as you can while reaching in front of you with both hands.
- Keeping your lower back arched, let your knee bend as needed while you allow your torso to move toward the floor.
- Go as low as you can and hold for one second.
- Squeeze your glutes to come back up.
20. Reverse Table-Up
How to do it:
- Sit on the floor and place your hands on the floor under your shoulders, fingers pointing in front of you.
- Place your feet shoulder width and squeeze your glutes.
- Push through your heels as you bridge your hips up.
- Your body should form a table, with your torso and hips parallel to the floor.
- Hold for two seconds.
21. Trap Bar Deadlift
How to do it:
- Stand with feet hip-width apart.
- Hinge at your hips, bend your knees, and lower your hands to grip the bar’s handles in the middle.
- The big knuckle of your middle finger should line up with the center of the bar.
- Inhale and brace your abs as you retract your neck so you feel like you’re making a double chin, looking at the floor several feet in front of you.
- Keep a flat back as you drive your heels into the floor and lift the bar up, pushing your knees out so they don’t collapse in.
- Stand upright, squeezing your glutes as you lock out your hips (without leaning back). Bend your hips back and lower the bar.
22. Banded Good Morning
How to do it:
- Stand on the band and loop the other end over the back of your neck and stand tall.
- Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, bend your hips back and lower your torso until it’s nearly parallel to the floor.
- Think about keeping your chest up and pointing forward.
- Explosively extend your hips to come back up.
- Note: You can also perform this with a barbell on your back.
23. Lateral Band Walk
How to do it:
- Loop a light band three times and stretch it between your legs, just above your ankles.
- With your knees bent slightly and aligned with toes, your hips hinged back, and your glutes engaged, take a small step to the left.
- Pause, then step right foot to the left.
- Continue stepping on the left, rest, then lead with the right foot.
24. Dumbbell Stepup
How to do it:
- Stand perpendicular to a bench or other elevated surface that’ll put your thigh parallel to the floor when you step on it.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand and step up onto the bench, leaving your trailing leg hanging of.
- Drive through your front heel to stand.
- Pause briefly, then slowly lower to starting position.
- You can also stand parallel to the bench and perform lateral dumbbell stepups, and even add a jump to either variation driving through your planted foot and landing softly on the trail leg.
25. Jump Squat
How to do it:
- With arms at your sides and feet shoulder-width apart, simply drop into a deep squat position.
- Then, brace your core, and drive through your heels to explode up off the ground, aiming for as much height as possible.
- Stand fully upright, and then repeat.
26. Squat to Hamstring Stretch
How to do it:
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Bend at your waist and grab your toes with your hands.
- Drop into a squat while keeping your arms straight, elbows inside your knees, chest up, and back flat.
- While grabbing your toes, lift your hips back and straighten your knees, feeling a stretch in the hamstrings.
27. Hips-Off One-Arm Dumbbell Press
How to do it:
- Lie faceup on a bench holding a dumbbell at your shoulder with one hand with the other hand reaching up. Only your shoulders should be on the bench; your hips should be parallel to the ground.
- Contract your glutes to stabilize your torso as you press the dumbbell over your chest.
- Lower the weight back to your shoulder until your upper arm is parallel to the ground.
28. Alternating Lateral Lunges
How to do it:
- Stand holding dumbbells in each hand at your sides.
- Step to one side and lower your hips to the ground by squatting with the stepping leg, keeping the other leg straight.
- The arms should remain still with one dumbbell on the outside of the squatting leg, the other between your legs—or put both arms between legs.
- Push up with your bent leg to return to the starting position. Repeat on the other side.
29. Swiss Ball Leg Curl
How to do it:
- Lie on the floor with legs straight and heels on top of a Swiss ball.
- Lift your hips until your body is in a straight line.
- Keeping your toes pulled toward your shins, pull the ball toward your butt with your heels. Then, extend your legs to push the ball away.
30. Split-Stance Box Jumps
How to do it:
- Set up 2 boxes, a 20-inch and a 12-inch, 2 feet apart. Stand between them.
- Squat, then explode up, landing on the boxes in a split position, one foot on each box.
- Most of your weight is in the front foot, on the high box, while the back foot acts to balance you.
31. Trigger Point Glute Release
How to do it:
- Sit on one hip with a tennis ball or mobility ball under the outside of your glute.
- Adjust your position on the ball until you find a sore “trigger” point. Hold on the spot for 30 to 60 seconds.
- Move the ball to a different spot and repeat. Maintain as much bodyweight on the ball as possible.
32. Jump Squat
How to do it:
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Bend at knees and hinge at hips to descend into a squat, bringing hands in front of you.
- Once thighs are parallel to floor, pause, then engage quads, glutes, and hamstrings to explode up, swinging arms back for momentum as you jump up.
- Land with soft knees and repeat.
33. Goblet Squat
How to do it:
- Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell with two hands.
- Squat by sitting the hips back and down, keeping your weight in the heels of the feet, without lifting toes.
- Your elbows should touch your knees at the bottom of the squat. Rise and extend powerfully through hips to rise.
34. Landmine Squat
How to do it:
- Stand facing landmine, holding barbell fist-over-fist so thumbs are on top. Step back so body leans forward, placing some bodyweight into barbell, to start.
- Drop down into a squat so barbell is just under chin, then reverse for 1 rep.
35. Thrusters
How to do it:
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart with dumbbells in the front-rack position, to start.
- Keeping weights near shoulders, lower into a squat, then explosively stand to rise, activating glutes, pressing hips forward, and locking out knees; use the momentum to help drive the weights overhead, palms facing each other.
- Immediately reverse the motion, lowering weights to front-rack position and transitioning into a squat.
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