6 Best Glute Exercises To Get Results
Photo by Marques Jackson Photography.
By Marnie Kunz, NASM-certified trainer, USATF- RRCA-certified running coach
If you’re looking for the best glute exercises to sculpt your booty, you’ve come to the right place. Glute exercises serve more of a purpose than aesthetics also, as the glutes are the largest muscle in the human body and weak glute muscles are often linked to injuries. Here are the best glute workouts you can do at home, with options to use just your body weight, a resistance band, dumbbells, or a barbell. These powerful exercises will give you maximum results, making them the most important glute exercises to include in your workouts.
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Glute Exercises to Build Your Booty
The big three glute-building exercises are squats, hip thrusts, and deadlifts. So if you are short on time, do at least these three glute exercises. Once you master your form, you can add weights to see even more gains. You can add the other glute exercises and variations listed when you have time or if you want to supercharge your results.
Also, when building glutes it’s important to consume a high-protein diet. Eat protein-rich foods like Greek yogurt, nuts, lentils, protein pasta, lean meats, and tofu to help build your glute muscles.
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Anatomy of Glutes
Before we delve into the best glute exercises, it helps to have a basic understanding of your gluteal muscles. The glutes are comprised of three muscles - the gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, and the gluteus maximus. The gluteus maximus is the largest of the muscle group and makes up most of the shapeand size of your butt.
The gluteus medius is a fan-shaped muscle that runs along the outside of your glutes. The gluteus minimus is a small muscle that acts as a hip stabilizer and abductor of your hips.
Squats
Squats are a staple glute exercise that targets your gluteus maximus, the largest muscle in your butt, as well as your quads, hamstring, hip flexors, and core muscles. Squats are a great compound exercise, which means they strengthen multiple muscles at once with just one exercise.
Squats are adaptable to all fitness levels and have many variations that can focus on specific muscles.
A bodyweight squat is great for all levels.
How To Do It:
Begin from a standing position with your feet hip-width apart, and your abs engaged, chest up and head and neck neutral, looking forward.
Slowly lower your body and inhale, bending at the knees and hinging at the hips with your weight resting in your heels. Keep your chest up and shoulders back and engage your glutes.
Lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor, and make sure your knees stay above your ankles. If you can look in a mirror (or you can take a video of yourself), make sure your knees are aligned above your ankles and do not cave inwards or outwards. Also, keep your ankles straight (not rolling inward or out). You will feel like you’re sitting back into an invisible chair, with your butt sticking out and your chest up.
Push off of your heels and exhale, rising back up into the starting position.
Squat Variations: Once you master the bodyweight squat, you can add intensity by using dumbbells. Hold your dumbbells by your sides with your palms facing inwads throughout the squats. You can also use a kettlebell by holding it next to your chest. For an advanced variation with more weight, do the squats with a barbell resting across your back.
Glute Bridge
The glute bridge is a beginner-friendly exercise that strengthens your gluteus maximus. The hip extension part of the exercise also strengthens your hamstrings. When you're starting out, use just your bodyweight to master your form. Once you're ready, you can add intensity by holding a dumbbell across your hips.
How To Do It:
Lie on the floor with your back on the ground on a yoga mat or gym mat. Bend your knees and keep your feet planted on the floor.
Slowly push your hips up and squeeze your glutes, lifting your butt off the floor. Your body will form a straight diagonal line from your knees to your head.
Lower your butt back to the ground.
Repeat to do 2 to 3 sets of 10 reps.
Variations: To add intensity to your glute bridges, you can do one-legged glute bridges. To do these, raise one leg up off the ground, keeping your knee staight and toes pointed toward the ceiling. Another way to add intensity is to hold a dumbbell across your hips.
Hip Thrusts
Hip thrusts are one of the best glute exercises that specifically target your glutes and effectively lift your derriere. Hip thrusts strengthen your gluteus maximus and gluteus medius as well as hamstrings. This booty-building exercise also targets the quads, core, and hip adductors.
To do hip thrusts, use a workout bench or stable, elevated surface.
How To Do It:
Begin with your upper back resting on the bench and knees bent with your feet shoulder-width apart, resting on the floor.
Squeeze your glutes and push through your heels until your thighs are parallel to the floor, with your legs at 90-degree angles. Keep your chin tucked and core engaged.
Squeeze your glutes at the top and then lower your butt back down toward the floor.
Tips: Keep your core tight throughout this exercise, maintaining a neutral position of your spine. Do not arch your back. It may take a little experimenting to find the right distance of your feet from the bench. If your feet are farther from the bench, you’ll feel the hip thrusts more in your hamstrings. If your feet are close to the bench, you’ll feel the hip thrusts more in your quads. Aim for a middle ground between the two.
Hip Thrust Variations: You can add intensity by holding a dumbbell across your hips, with one side in each hand. For more weight, use a barbell across your hips. If you use a barbell, you’ll need a barbell pad to cushion your hips form the weight.
Deadlifts
Dumbbell deadlifts
Deadlifts are a compound exercise that strengthens multiple muscle groups, including your glutes, hamstrings, back, hips, core, and trapezius muscles. You will feel the burn in your glutes when you do deadlifts and also will get additional benefits such as boosting your metabolism and bone mass while building your booty.
Deadlifts are most commonly done with a barbell but if you are a beginner or working out at home without a barbell, you can use dumbbells or a kettlebell.
How To Do It:
Begin from a standing position with your feet hip-width apart, facing the barbell. Keep your core engaged and back straight.
Hinge at the hip and bend slightly at the knees as your reach down for the barbell. Grip the barbell with your hands placed wider than your knees. Keep your chest up and push your butt back, keeping your back flat and core tight.
Pick up the barbell with straight arms, hinging at the hips until you are in a standing position with your legs straight. Squeeze your glutes as you lift the barbell.
Slowly lower the bar back to the floor, keeping your back straight and your shoulders pulled back.
Tips: Keep your core engaged and your back straight throughout deadlifts. You do not want to curve your spine or allow your back to arch as this will put you at risk of injury.
Variations: If you are using a kettlebell, hold the handle of the kettlebell with both hands, lifting the weight from the floor until you are in a standing position. Follow the same movement as the barbell deadlift. If you are using dumbbells, hold the dumbbells in each hand in front of your feet in a similar position as a barbell. When you lift, the dumbbells will come up and rise next to your shins.
Bulgarian Split Squats
Bulgarian split squats are one of my favorite glute exercises. This single-leg movement strengthens one side of your glutes at a time, helping to ramp up your intensity and even out any muscle imbalances in your glutes. You can do Bulgarian split squats first with just your bodyweight until you get used to balancing and maintaining good form. Once you’re comfortable, you can add weights by holding a dumbbell in each hand.
To do Bulgarian split squats, use a bench or other stable, elevated surface that you can place your back leg on.
How to Do It:
Begin by standing with your feet together and a bench at your back. If you are using dumbbells, hold one in each hand with your arms hanging by your sides.
Bend your left knee and bring your left foot back to rest your foot on the bench behind you.
Keep your chest up and core tight to maintain good posture in your torso.
Slowly bend your right knee, lowing your body and squeezing your gluteal muscles. Lower back your butt toward the bench as if you are doing a back squat, but with one leg. Go as far down as you can while maintaining good form, with the front of your thighs parallel to the floor. You'll feel the tension in your right glutes.
Raise back up into a standing position.
Repeat to do 10 reps on your right side and then switch to your left side, placing your right foot on the bench behind you with your right knee bent.
Repeat to do 10 reps on your left side for one set. Do 2 to 3 sets.
Tips: The Bulgarian split squat can take some time to adjust to as you master balancing on one leg. Start with just your bodyweight and once you are comfortable, progress to holding dumbbells by your sides.
Clamshell
The clamshell is a beginner-friendly glute exercise that's especially helpful for targeting those side glute muscles and your hips. The hip abduction exercise is especially helpful for runners, who often get injuries from having weak hips. You can do these with a resistance band and use a higher intensity band strength as you get stronger.
How To Do It:
Lie on the ground on your side with your arm outstretched under your head and your body facing forward. Place a resistance band loop on your thights, above your knees. Bend your knees so there is a slight bend in both knees. Stack your feet on top of each other with your hips facing forward.
Keeping your core muscles tight, lift your top bent leg, hinging at the hip and keeping your feet together. Squeeze your glutes as you lift your leg.
Return your leg to the starting position.
Repeat to do 2 to 3 sets of 10 on each side.
Tips: Keep your head and neck neutral throughout the exercise. Do not allow your hips to rock and maintain tight core muscles to stabilize your body.
Have you tried any of these glute exercises? Share your workouts with us by following and tagging @Runstreet on Instagram. If you need a custom workout program, head to our Training Center to get started. Happy lifting to you!
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Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified personal trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach based in Brooklyn, NY. Marnie likes helping people get and stay active to enjoy a better quality of life. When she’s not doing fitness things, Marnie enjoys exploring with her dog, a mischievous rescue Akita.
