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Glute Workout: How to Actually Grow Your Glutes – Best Exercises, Program, and Guidelines
In brief
The core of glute training is progressive loading through a long range of motion. Separate glute "activation" or warm-up drills aren't necessary for muscle growth.
Combine different types of glute exercises. A good program includes, for example, an exercise that loads the glutes in a stretched position (deep squat, Romanian deadlift, Bulgarian split squat) along with a hip-extension movement like the hip thrust.
The squat and hip thrust grow the gluteus maximus roughly equally (Plotkin et al. 2023). Yet adding the hip thrust to a program produced more glute growth than the same program without it (Kassiano et al. 2024).
Range of motion makes a big difference. Ten weeks of deep squats grew the gluteus maximus volume by 6.7%, while half squats managed only 2.2% (Kubo et al. 2019).
For most people, roughly 5–20 hard working sets per week is a good practical starting point for the glutes, split across two sessions, for example. Most sets can be done in the 6–15 rep range.
Home training can build the glutes well in beginners, as long as the training is made progressively harder.
The honest timeline is this: measurable change within months.
This article covers what actually matters for growing the glute muscles, which exercises to pick at the gym and at home, and how much work a realistic result takes. It's written for both beginners and experienced trainees — anyone looking for optimal glute growth, a training program, and the best exercises. We'll also address common myths about glute training, such as glute activation.
Which muscles actually grow in glute training?
The gluteus maximus makes up the largest part of the glute's volume and is responsible for hip extension. The gluteus medius and minimus sit higher and more to the side, and they're responsible for hip abduction.
The glute isn't a single muscle, then. Although the gluteus maximus is the largest and strongest part of the glute, the medius and minimus also play an important role in glute function and appearance.
The gluteus medius and minimus are beneath and to the side of the gluteus maximus. They abduct the hip — that is, take the leg out to the side — and stabilize the pelvis, especially when standing on one leg. They're smaller, but they fill out specifically the upper and outer part of the glute, helping to create a round, full shape.
It's worth not thinking of the gluteus maximus as one uniform area. Its different regions — upper, middle, and lower — seem to respond to training differently. In Plotkin's group's MRI study, both the squat and the hip thrust grew the glute most clearly from the lower portion, and the gluteus medius and minimus didn't grow with either exercise in any meaningful way.
This is practically important: if you're only doing squats and hip thrusts and wondering why the upper part of your glute isn't filling out, the reason isn't that you're not trying hard enough.
Do the glutes actually grow from training — and by how much?
They do. Based on the research evidence, the effect of gym training on glute muscle size is clear. As with other muscles, the scale is a little different from what glute-program marketing often implies: in ten-week studies, growth is typically a few percent, and it's highly individual. With a well-designed program this can speed up somewhat.
Let's look at what the research says. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis (Krause Neto et al.) pooled 12 studies and 318 participants and concluded that resistance training has a statistically clear effect on gluteus maximus hypertrophy. Growth occurred with both single-joint exercises (hip thrust) and multi-joint exercises (squat, leg press), and with their combinations.
Some concrete numbers from a few of the better studies over a 10-week training program:
Study | Duration | Intervention | Glute growth |
|---|---|---|---|
Kubo et al. 2019 | 10 wks | Deep squat (140° knee angle) | +6.7% volume |
Kubo et al. 2019 | 10 wks | Half squat (90° knee angle) | +2.2% volume |
Kassiano et al. 2024 | 10 wks | Leg press + stiff-leg deadlift | +6.0% thickness |
Kassiano et al. 2024 | 10 wks | Same + barbell hip thrust | +9.3% thickness |
Plotkin et al. 2023 | 9 wks | Squat or hip thrust | Similar growth with both |
These are 6–10 week results in untrained individuals doing one or two exercises. They aren't a prediction of where you'll end up with years of consistent training, and the numbers can be much larger in that case. They do, however, give a realistic sense of scale: the glute doesn't grow centimeters in weeks — it grows in percentages. Visibly noticeable size and roundness will definitely come with quality training, but it takes months to years.
Individual differences are large here. Pelvic structure, how the body distributes fat, and the glute's growth potential are all strongly inherited. That means the right comparison point is your own starting point, not someone else.
Why glute "activation" isn't necessary
Short answer: you don't need to separately "activate" or "wake up" the glutes before training in order for them to grow. Light band exercises can work as a warm-up or technique practice, but what drives muscle growth is training that's challenging enough and progressively harder over time.
A strong sensation in the glutes during training also isn't a prerequisite for an effective workout. A muscle can be loaded well even if you don't feel an intense burn in it. That's why it's better to judge a workout's success primarily by the movement's biomechanics, good technique, sufficient load, and long-term progression.
There's also no evidence that activation exercises improve glute function or growth. In Cochrane et al. (2017), for example, adding seven glute activation exercises to a training program for six weeks didn't improve glute muscle activity or hip extension strength compared with the same training without the activation component.
What matters most, then, isn't how strongly you feel the glutes during training, but how well the exercise loads the glutes and whether you can progress the training over time. In some people the glutes feel strongly engaged in squats, in others hardly at all. Neither tells you, on its own, how effective the exercise is for muscle growth.
There's nothing wrong with activation exercises, though. If you enjoy them as a warm-up, go ahead. Glute kickbacks and other isolation exercises done with resistance are a different thing from light "activation": they can be useful glute exercises, as long as the resistance is sufficient and the training can be progressed.
What's the best exercise for the glutes?
In short: Some of the best glute exercises include the Bulgarian split squat, deep back squat, Romanian deadlift, hip thrust, and step-up.
Their advantage is a good resistance curve for the glute muscles, and they can be loaded effectively and progressed for a long time. They also complement each other: some load the glute more in a stretched position, others closer to full hip extension.
Back squat vs hip thrust
There's a reasonable amount of research comparing the back squat and hip thrust — far less on other exercises. For growing the gluteus maximus, these two exercises are roughly on par. The squat also grows the quads and adductors; the hip thrust is more targeted. The best answer for most people is to do both. This question was settled fairly well in 2023: Plotkin's group had 34 untrained individuals do nine weeks of either back squats or hip thrusts, with set counts equated, and measured the results with MRI.
The result: glute growth was the same in both groups across all measured regions. The squat group also got their quads and adductors to grow; the hip-thrust group didn't. The hamstrings didn't grow with either, which makes sense — contrary to what's often assumed, neither exercise loads the hamstrings significantly.
Bulgarian split squat vs back squat
No direct study has compared the Bulgarian split squat with the back squat for hypertrophy, but Arakawa et al. examined hip extension. The study found that the Bulgarian split squat produced a large hip-extension moment (Arakawa et al. 2023). From a biomechanics standpoint the exercise is therefore a well-justified choice for glute training. This lines up with our observations: the Bulgarian split squat loads and grows the glutes strongly. As a bonus, it lets you load the glutes without the heavy spinal loading of a back squat. Another somewhat similar option is doing a front-foot-elevated lunge in a Smith machine.
There's no need to pit exercises against each other, though. In Kassiano's group's study (2024), 33 untrained women did ten weeks of either leg press and stiff-leg deadlift, or the same exercises plus hip thrust. Glute thickness grew in both groups, but the group that added the hip thrust got more growth: 9.3% versus 6.0%.
So the question isn't which is better, but the goal is to load the glutes with different exercises in a well-rounded way. If I had to pick just one, I'd choose the Bulgarian split squat with a long range of motion.
Why do you need different exercises? And does it matter how the exercise feels?
Different exercises load different parts of the glute, so building a striking, strong, and round glute takes loading from several exercises.
Stretch-focused exercises — the squat, Bulgarian split squat, lunge, and Romanian deadlift load the glute strongly with the hip flexed and the glute lengthened.
End-range extension exercises — the hip thrust and glute kickback load the glute relatively more near full hip extension.
Abduction exercises — for example the abduction machine and cable abduction load the gluteus medius and other abduction-related glute regions more directly.
No single exercise loads the glute properly across its entire range of motion. That's why a program should include exercises from each of the three groups.
Some exercises also feel better for some people than others. If squats don't feel right or the technique is really hard for you to learn, you don't have to do them. Enjoying your training is also important, so individual preference needs to be part of exercise selection too.
Why is the stretch phase of an exercise so important?
An important finding in muscle-growth research in recent years has been that loading at lengthened muscle positions generally produces more growth than loading at shortened positions. This means that training through a long range of motion matters for growth.
The evidence for the glutes:
Kubo et al. 2019. Ten weeks of back squats. The deep version (140° knee angle) grew the gluteus maximus volume by 6.7%; the half squat (90°) only 2.2%. In this study the glute's relative growth in the deep-squat group was roughly three times that of the half-squat group.
So keep these in mind when aiming for maximal glute growth:
Squat as deep as you can with control. A deeper squat can increase glute loading, but you don't need to force depth at the cost of good technique.
Try a longer step in lunges. It increases hip flexion and allows loading the glute in a more stretched position.
Use a controlled range of motion in the hip thrust. Drive the hips to full extension without hyperextending the lower back, and lower under control.
Why you shouldn't trust muscle-activation comparisons
Measuring muscle activation tells you how a muscle fires during a single set. It doesn't tell you about the muscle's mechanical loading and doesn't reliably predict how much it'll grow over weeks.
In Plotkin's study, both EMG activity and muscle growth were measured. The hip thrust produced a larger EMG signal in the glutes than the squat, but glute growth was the same between the groups. Many factors related to the measurement and the movement affect the EMG signal, so it isn't a direct predictor of how much a muscle will grow over the long term.
Rule of thumb: when you see an exercise comparison, check whether it measured muscle growth or examined biomechanics, or only measured muscle activity. If the latter, take the result with caution.
What does the best glute workout at the gym look like? Are single-leg exercises good?
Simply put: Build the workout around a long-range-of-motion squat movement, a hip-hinge movement, and one exercise that loads hip extension at end range. Single-leg exercises are a good way to address side-to-side imbalances and shift the load toward the glutes rather than the quads.
Here are quality glute exercises grouped by what they do. Not ranked, because a good program takes something from each group. Further below there are also direct suggestions for how to add glute exercises to your gym program — for example as part of a leg day.
Role | Exercises | Why |
|---|---|---|
Stretch loading | Deep back squat, Bulgarian split squat with a slight forward lean, walking lunge with a long stride, step-up, 45° back extension | Loads the glute at long muscle lengths; also trains the quads |
Hip hinge | Romanian deadlift, good morning | Strong stretch, easy to add load; also trains the hamstrings |
End-range extension | Barbell or machine hip thrust, glute bridge, cable kickbacks, single-leg hip thrust | Loads exactly the portion the squat leaves out |
Abduction (upper glute) | Abduction machine, cable abduction, angled cable kickbacks | Loads the gluteus medius and minimus more directly |
A few notes:
Single-leg exercises are good. They let you train the leg hard with a relatively low external load, they help address imbalances, and in the Bulgarian split squat, for example, the glute can be loaded in deep hip flexion.
The leg press isn't the best glute exercise. It does load the glutes, but the hip's range of motion stays modest. It wouldn't be my first choice if the aim is to maximize hypertrophy stimulus for the glutes.
In the hip thrust, use padding and a sturdy bench or a machine. Lift in a controlled way, squeeze at the top for about a second, and lower under braking. If the exercise feels more like hamstrings, move your heels closer to your glutes.
How do you train the upper/outer glute — the gluteus medius?
Short answer: If the goal is to also emphasize the upper and outer part of the glute, it's worth adding hip abductions to your program.
In Plotkin et al. (2023), neither the squat nor the hip thrust produced meaningful growth in the measured gluteus medius/minimus region. An anatomical analysis (Takahashi et al. 2025) in turn shows that the abduction torque is concentrated specifically in the upper glute, while the extension and external-rotation torque is greatest in the lower portion.
So: if your goal is specifically the fullness of the upper and outer glute, it's worth adding abductions to your program and doing them with proper resistance.
Effective glute training at home — does it actually work?
Short answer: Training works without weights too, especially at the start of a training career.
In Wei et al. (2023), both progressive bodyweight squat variations and barbell squats grew glute thickness in untrained women, with no significant difference between the groups over six weeks. The sample was very small (13 participants) and the training period short, so the result shouldn't be generalized too far. The study does, however, show that sufficiently challenging and progressive bodyweight training can grow the glutes — at least in the untrained.
The key word is progressive. Bodyweight exercises work as long as you can make the training gradually harder, which is very doable for a beginner. At some point, though, continuing to progress gets harder, especially in leg training. That's when added weights and gym training make it considerably easier to increase the load. You can read more about the differences between home and gym training here: Home workout vs the gym
You can make home training more progressive in four ways:
Move to harder single-leg exercises. This is one of the most effective ways to add load without weights, especially for leg training. You can progress from a regular squat to a Bulgarian split squat or a single-leg squat, and from a hip thrust to a single-leg hip thrust.
Add range of motion. Elevate the front foot in a lunge, or do the hip thrust so the glute can stretch at the bottom of the movement. A larger range of motion and loading the muscle in a more stretched position can make the same exercise substantially harder.
Add reps or make the execution harder. When you get more reps than before, you've improved. You can also make the movement harder by, for example, going deeper or pausing at the hardest point. Keep the weight the same, but make the exercise harder.
Add weight. A backpack full of books or water bottles, a kettlebell, dumbbells, or a strong resistance band help considerably. The further you progress, the more important adding external load becomes.
Note: with light loads, take sets close to failure. Light weights can produce comparable muscle growth to heavier loads when sets are taken hard enough (Schoenfeld et al. 2017). In practice, most sets can be stopped about 1–4 reps before failure.
Example: glute workout at home
Do the workout twice a week with at least one rest day between sessions. Take most sets to within about 1–4 reps of failure. The workout emphasizes the glutes heavily, but the legs as a whole (quads, hamstrings) also get some loading.
Exercise | Sets × reps | Tip |
|---|---|---|
Bulgarian split squat, long stride | 2 × 8–12 / leg | Long stride, elevate the front foot for more range of motion, keep the back leg light and the weight on the front leg |
Single-leg hip thrust | 3 × 10–15 / leg | Shoulders on a bench or couch, squeeze for a second at the top |
Single-leg Romanian deadlift (kettlebell or backpack) | 3 × 10–12 / leg | Knee slightly bent, push the hips back |
Walking lunge | 2 × 8–10 steps / leg | Long stride, weight over the whole foot |
Side-lying banded abduction | 2 × 12–20 / leg | Use a strong band |
The workout takes 30–40 minutes. Log your reps and try to improve week to week: one more rep, a bit more resistance, or a harder exercise variation.
If you want a program individualized for you — for the gym, for home, or a combination — try the AITOFIT app.
How often and how much should you train the glutes?
Short answer: 5–20 working sets per week. Most training can be done in set lengths of about 6–15 reps, but lighter and heavier sets also build muscle. There's no single optimal set count for everyone. The right amount depends on factors like training background, how hard the sets are, exercise selection, and recovery.
We've found that most people need glute volumes on the higher end of this range. In many training programs the glute volume is already high anyway, because the glute works in so many exercises. This is a case where you can't compare muscle volumes across muscles. Based on the research evidence, an appropriate weekly set count for most people falls between 5 and 20 sets, but this is extremely important to individualize.
It's usually worth splitting the sets across at least two sessions a week. Not because there's something magical about two sessions, but because a larger weekly volume is usually more practical to distribute across several days. More on this: How often should you go to the gym?
Reps in practice:
1–6 reps: suited especially for developing strength.
6–12 reps: a practical range for the bulk of glute training aimed at muscle growth.
12–20 reps: works well for exercises like abductions and kickbacks, where heavy loading can be awkward.
For muscle growth, what matters more than the exact rep range is that the set is taken hard enough and the volume is sufficient. A good rule of thumb is to stop most working sets about 1–4 reps before failure. When you hit the target rep range with good technique, you can add load.
What about muscle soreness? It's a poor indicator of training effectiveness. Soreness is especially pronounced after new or unfamiliar training, and its severity doesn't reliably reflect the size of the growth stimulus (Schoenfeld & Contreras, 2013). You can progress excellently without your glutes being sore the next day. In practice the best metric is whether, as workouts and months go by, you can do more reps or use more weight in the same exercises.
Glute workout for the gym, twice a week
These workouts fit, for example, as part of a leg day — you can add hamstring and calf work on top. They also work on their own if your goal is specifically to grow the glutes.
Workout 1
Exercise | Sets × reps |
|---|---|
Deep back squat | 3 × 6–8 |
Barbell / machine hip thrust | 3 × 6–8 |
Cable kickbacks | 3 × 10–15 |
Workout 2
Exercise | Sets × reps |
|---|---|
Romanian deadlift | 4 × 6–8 |
Bulgarian split squat | 2 × 7–10 |
Abduction machine, slight forward lean | 3 × 10–15 |
9 sets per session for the glutes, 18 sets per week in total.
If you want to build glute training into a broader program, see our toning gym program for women, where the glutes are placed within a full-body program.
The most common mistakes in glute training
1. No progression. Doing the same weights and reps month after month gives the body no reason to adapt. Keep your main exercises in the program long enough and aim to gradually add reps, load, or exercise difficulty. You don't need to swap exercises every few weeks.
2. Too many exercises. A few well-chosen, science-based exercises where you can track your progress will take you a long way.
3. The range of motion falls short. The glutes are worth training in both lengthened and shortened positions. In squats and lunges, sufficient depth increases glute contribution, and in the hip thrust the movement is taken to full hip extension under control without hyperextending the lower back.
4. The workout stays too light. The absence of a burn or a good "feel" in the glutes doesn't mean the muscle isn't working. What matters more is that technique stays good and working sets are taken close enough to failure.
5. Training is one-sided. Squats alone or hip thrusts alone isn't the best way to train the glutes comprehensively. Combine, for example, a squat or lunge movement, a hip-extension exercise, and a hip-abduction exercise.
6. Nutrition and recovery don't support the goal. Muscle growth is harder during a large energy deficit. Sufficient protein, sleep, and total energy support progress. About 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kilo of body weight: How much protein per day?
7. Results are expected too quickly. Muscle growth happens over months and years, not individual weeks. Track your strength levels, measurements, and appearance over the longer term instead.
8. Knee position in the back squat. Pressing the knees gently outward during the movement makes the squat easier and lets the gluteus medius stabilize the movement better.
Frequently asked questions about glute training
How often should you train the glutes?
Training the glutes twice a week is a practical way to split the load. Weekly set count is usually more important than the number of sessions, and dividing the sets across two workouts makes it easier to get enough volume in with quality.
How long does it take to grow the glutes?
Measurable muscle growth can be detected in studies within a few weeks or months. A visually noticeable change usually requires longer, consistent training, and a big change is built over years.
Is the hip thrust mandatory for glutes?
No. It is, however, an effective way to train the glutes. In Kassiano et al. (2024), adding the hip thrust to a program that already contained the leg press and stiff-leg deadlift led to greater glute growth than the program without it. The hip thrust can, however, be replaced with other exercises that load hip extension.
Can you train glutes at home without equipment?
For a beginner at least, properly done bodyweight training can go a long way when it's made progressively harder. In Wei et al. (2023), both progressive bodyweight squats and barbell squats grew glute thickness in untrained women, with no significant difference between the groups. When bodyweight no longer provides enough challenge, move to harder single-leg exercises or add resistance.
Do the glutes need to be activated before training?
No. This is a common myth, but it has no bearing on glute muscle growth. You also sometimes hear that "poorly innervated glutes require special activation." This doesn't hold up according to the research evidence.
Is the deadlift a good glute exercise?
Not really. Although the deadlift activates the whole posterior chain and the glutes especially, the deadlift doesn't involve a long range of motion for the glutes, and there's usually no meaningful eccentric (braking) loading. The Romanian deadlift is a considerably better exercise for growing the glutes.
Why don't I feel my glutes during training?
A strong glute sensation isn't a prerequisite for effective training. How a muscle feels during a set doesn't correspond to how much it's actually working. Track your technique and whether you can add reps or load over time instead.
Should you squat deep for the glutes?
If your mobility and joints allow it, yes. In a ten-week study, deep squats grew the gluteus maximus volume by an average of 6.7%, while the half squat managed 2.2% (Kubo et al. 2019). So squat as deep as you can with good, controlled technique — you don't need to force maximum depth.
Summary
Effective glute training isn't complicated, even if social media might make it look that way.
Remember these:
Combine different types of glute exercises. A good program includes, for example, an exercise that loads the glute in a lengthened position (deep squat, lunge, RDL) along with a hip-extension exercise like the hip thrust.
Training has a clear effect on glute muscle growth. You will make progress! The gluteus maximus is also the body's single largest muscle.
Use a sufficient range of motion. In squats especially, a larger range of motion appears to benefit glute growth.
Progression matters more than the feeling of activation. Progressive overload means adding weight or reps gradually. What matters most is that training is hard enough and improves over time.
Home training can work well, as long as exercises stay challenging enough and the training is made progressively harder.
Think in months and years, not weeks. Muscle growth is slow, but consistent training compounds.
If you'd rather not count set volumes, pick exercises, and plan progression yourself, AITOFIT does it for you. Sport-science-based AI builds a program where glute loading, exercise selection, and progression are scaled to your recovery and goals — and updates it automatically as you improve.
Sources: Arakawa H, Mori M & Tanimoto M (2023). Greater hip moments in rear-foot-elevated split squats than in conventional back squats with the same relative intensity of loads. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 37(5):1009–1016. Cochrane DJ, Harnett MC & Pinfold SC (2017). Does short-term gluteal activation enhance muscle performance? Research in Sports Medicine 25(2):156–165. Kassiano W et al. (2024). Addition of the barbell hip thrust elicits greater increases in gluteus maximus muscle thickness in untrained young women. International Journal of Strength and Conditioning 4(1):1–9. Krause Neto W, Krause TLV & Gama EF (2025). The impact of resistance training on gluteus maximus hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Physiology 16:1542334. Kubo K, Ikebukuro T & Yata H (2019). Effects of squat training with different depths on lower limb muscle volumes. European Journal of Applied Physiology 119(9):1933–1942. Plotkin DL et al. (2023). Hip thrust and back squat training elicit similar gluteus muscle hypertrophy and transfer similarly to the deadlift. Frontiers in Physiology 14:1279170. Schoenfeld BJ & Contreras B (2013). Is postexercise muscle soreness a valid indicator of muscular adaptations? Strength and Conditioning Journal 35(5):16–21. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D & Krieger JW (2017). Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 31(12):3508–3523. Takahashi K, Kawama R & Wakahara T (2025). End-divergent architecture diversifies within-muscle mechanical action in human gluteus maximus in vivo. Journal of Biomechanics 179:112488. Wei W et al. (2023). Effects of progressive body-weight versus barbell back squat training on strength, hypertrophy and body fat among sedentary young women. Scientific Reports 13:13505. Background material: Juha Hulmi, Lihastohtori blog glute training article series (2012–2014).
Author: Julius Granlund, M.Sc Exercise Science (Exercise Physiology), University of Jyväskylä | Reviewed by: Tapio Tulenheimo, M.Sc Exercise Science (Exercise Physiology), University of Jyväskylä
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