Glute Workout: Best Exercises and a Weekly Plan

A good glute workout is built around a few heavy hip movements, not dozens of small exercises. You want one hip thrust or glute bridge, one squat or lunge, and one hip hinge like the Romanian deadlift. Train them two or three times a week for about 10–20 hard sets for the glutes per week in total. Whenever the top of your repetition range feels easy, add a little weight or a repetition.

That's the whole formula. A barbell in a gym works, and so do dumbbells or a backpack at home, as long as the exercises stay challenging and you keep track of what you lift.

What makes glute exercises work

Your gluteus maximus is the main muscle that extends the hip. It pulls your thigh back when you stand up from a squat, climb a step or lock out a deadlift. When a systematic review looked at activation studies, it found very high gluteus maximus activity in step-ups, hip thrusts, split squats, lunges, deadlifts and belt squats (Neto et al., 2020). So the classic lower-body lifts already train the glutes hard.

Activation is only part of the picture. A nine-week study in untrained young adults found similar glute growth on MRI from hip thrust training and back squat training, and the squat group grew more in the front and inner thigh as well (Plotkin et al., 2023). Depth matters too. Over ten weeks, full squats increased gluteus maximus volume more than half squats (Kubo et al., 2019).

What this means in practice: you don't need one magic exercise. Use full range of motion, combine a hip thrust with a squat or lunge, and make the sets hard. All of that fits the ACSM 2026 resistance training guidelines, which recommend training every major muscle group at least twice a week.

The best glute exercises

Take one exercise from each row. At home, the option listed uses dumbbells, a backpack or your body weight, and our dumbbell workout at home has more ideas.

Glute exercises by movement pattern
Movement	Gym option	Home option	Sets × reps
Hip thrust or bridge			3 × 8–12
Squat			3 × 6–10
Lunge or split squat			2–3 × 8–12 per side
Hip hinge			3 × 8–10
Step-up			2–3 × 8–12 per side
Side of the hip			2–3 × 12–20

Most of the work comes from the first four rows. Step-ups and hip abduction are useful extras for the upper and side part of the glutes, especially when you only train at home.

A glute workout plan, two days a week

Put these two sessions on nonconsecutive days, Monday and Thursday for example. After heavy squats and hinges, rest about 2 minutes; after the other exercises, 1–2 minutes. Open each session with our warm-up before lifting and one or two lighter sets of the first exercise.

Day A, exercise 1: hip thrust, 3 sets of 8–12.
Day A, exercise 2: goblet or back squat, 3 sets of 6–10.
Day A, exercise 3: reverse lunge, 2 sets of 8–12 per side.
Day A, exercise 4: hip abduction, 2 sets of 12–20.
Day B, exercise 1: Romanian deadlift, 3 sets of 8–10.
Day B, exercise 2: Bulgarian split squat, 2 sets of 8–12 per side.
Day B, exercise 3: single-leg glute bridge or step-up, 3 sets of 8–12 per side.
Day B, exercise 4: side-lying leg raise or band side walk, 2 sets of 12–20.

Counting squats, lunges and hinges, that gives you 10 sets for the glutes per session and 20 per week. If you're new to lifting, begin with 2 sets per exercise and add sets over the first month. Each session takes 45–60 minutes. From there, you can add an upper-body day, or use these sessions as the lower-body days of an upper/lower split.

How to progress

Double progression is the method. Pick a repetition range, 8–12 for instance. When every set reaches the top of it with good form, add a small amount of weight next time and work back up from the bottom. At home, add a repetition, slow the lowering phase to 3 seconds, or switch to a single-leg version. This is progressive overload, and it matters more than which exercise you choose.

End most sets with one to three repetitions in reserve. If you're not sure how hard that is, read our guide to RPE and repetitions in reserve. Weekly set counts get a deeper look in training volume per muscle.

Write down the weight and repetitions for every set. Glute strength often rises quickly in the hip thrust, and a workout log makes it obvious when you've earned a heavier load.

Common mistakes

Only light band work. Band walks and kickbacks are fine as extras. To grow, though, your glutes need heavy squats, lunges, hinges and thrusts.
Half repetitions. Cut a squat or lunge short and you lose the deep range, which is where the glutes work hardest.
Arching the lower back in the hip thrust. Finish the movement by squeezing the glutes, ribs down and chin tucked, instead of bending the lower back.
Changing the plan every week. Stay with the same main exercises for at least 6–8 weeks, long enough to see your numbers go up.

Common questions

How often should I train glutes?

For most people, two or three times a week works well. Recovering from two sessions with enough sets is usually easier than recovering from daily light workouts.

Can I grow my glutes at home?

Yes, if the exercises stay hard. With little equipment, single-leg bridges, split squats, step-ups and dumbbell Romanian deadlifts can still be challenging. Add weight or harder variations as you get stronger.

Are squats enough for glutes?

Deep squats train the glutes well. Add a hip thrust or bridge and a hinge, though, and you cover the muscle more completely and keep the plan balanced. Many women start with exactly this mix; see strength training for women.

Is it safe?

These are standard exercises, but raise the load gradually and stop any movement that causes sharp pain. With an injury, a health condition or a pregnancy, get advice that fits your situation before you start.

Glute Workout: The Best Exercises and a 2-Day Plan