The 8 Best Glute Exercises To Build Stronger, More Powerful Glutes

If there's one muscle group that's worth giving some extra attention, it's your glutes.

Your glutes are the largest and most powerful muscles in your body, helping you walk, run, climb stairs, lift heavy weights and stay stable during almost every lower-body movement. They're also key for good posture, balance and reducing your risk of injury.

And you don't need a gym full of equipment to build strong glutes either. Yes, having access to heavier weights allows you to progressively overload your muscles as you get stronger, but many of the best glute exercises can be done with just your bodyweight, resistance bands or a pair of dumbbells.

Here are eight of the best glute exercises to help you build strength and muscle, plus tips for getting the most out of every workout.

What are your glutes?

Your glutes are made up of three muscles that work together to move and stabilise your hips and pelvis.

Gluteus maximus

The largest muscle in your body, the gluteus maximus, is responsible for powerful movements like hip extension (driving your leg backwards), climbing stairs, sprinting and lifting heavy weights. It's the primary muscle responsible for glute growth.

Gluteus medius

Located on the outside of your hip, the gluteus medius helps stabilise your pelvis and controls movements like stepping sideways or standing on one leg. Strong glute med muscles are important for balance, running and knee health.

Gluteus minimus

The smallest of the three glute muscles sits underneath the gluteus medius and assists with hip stability and hip abduction (moving your leg away from your body).

Because your glutes play such an important role in supporting your hips, pelvis and lower back, weak glutes can contribute to muscle imbalances and discomfort during everyday movement or training.

What are the best glute exercises?

The most effective glute workouts combine compound exercises (exercises that engage multiple major muscle groups at once) that allow you to lift heavier weights with isolation exercises that specifically target your glutes.

Aim to include a mix of these movement patterns each week:

• Hip thrusts or bridges

• Squats

• Hinge movements like deadlifts

• Single-leg exercises (like split squats)

• Isolation exercises such as kickbacks

If you're training for muscle growth, choose a weight that feels challenging while allowing you to maintain good technique. As a general guide:

• 6-12 reps: Great for building strength and muscle with heavier loads.

• 10-15 reps: Ideal for moderate weights and hypertrophy.

• 15-20+ reps: Perfect for bodyweight exercises, bands or finishing sets that really challenge your glutes.

Remember: if you want to continue to make progress and see results, the best glute exercise is the one you can perform with good form and progressively make more challenging over time.

Squats

Squats are a lower-body staple for a reason. While they strengthen your quads, hamstrings and core, they're also excellent for building strong glutes, especially when performed through a full range of motion.

You can switch them up with variations like sumo squats, or progress from bodyweight squats to goblet squats, barbell back squats or Smith machine squats as your strength improves.

Hip thrusts

If your goal is glute growth, hip thrusts deserve a permanent spot in your routine. They're one of the most effective exercises for activating the gluteus maximus while allowing you to safely lift heavy loads over time.

Use a barbell, dumbbell or resistance band, or perform glute bridges on the floor if you don't have access to a bench.

To keep the tension in your glutes rather than your lower back, make sure your body forms one nice straight line from knee to neck at the top of the movement - you don’t want your hips arching up towards the ceiling.

Romanian deadlifts

Romanian deadlifts are one of the best exercises for your entire posterior chain, particularly your glutes and hamstrings.

Unlike a conventional deadlift, the focus is on hinging at your hips while keeping a slight bend in your knees, placing plenty of tension through your glutes. With every rep, keep the weight close to your legs, pause when it reaches your shins, and think about pushing your hips backwards rather than bending your knees - it's not a squat.

Bulgarian split squats

Pretty much everyone has a love-hate relationship with Bulgarian split squats, but they've got a strong presence in so many strength programs for a reason. Bulgarian split squats challenge your strength, stability and balance while working one leg at a time, making them fantastic for addressing strength imbalances.

If you’re feeling these more in your quads than your glutes (or in your lower back), leaning your torso slightly forward can help to increase glute involvement. If you're leaning your torso forward and still feeling it in your lower back, try using a lighter weight.

Deadlifts

Conventional deadlifts are one of the best full-body strength exercises you can do.

Although they work your back, core and hamstrings, your glutes play a huge role in extending your hips and driving you to a standing position.

Lunges

Both forward and reverse lunges work your glutes, but many people find reverse lunges feel more stable and easier on the knees.

Slowing the movement down and driving through your front heel helps maximise glute engagement even more. Lunges are also a great single-leg exercise for addressing muscle imbalances and improving your coordination and balance at the same time.

Step-ups

This unilateral exercise can help to build stability in your glutes, target one side at a time and even out any strength imbalances. With step-ups, it's easy to push off your bottom foot, but this takes some of the work off your glutes. To give your glutes the best workout, move more slowly and focus on driving into your foot that’s on the box rather than pushing off the foot on the floor.

Glute kickbacks

Isolation exercises shouldn't make up your entire workout, but glute kickbacks are a great addition to your heavier compound lifts.

Use bodyweight, resistance bands, ankle weights or a cable machine, depending on your equipment. Move slowly through each rep, pause briefly at the top of each rep to maximise muscle activation, and make sure you're feeling it in your glutes rather than your lower back.

How often should you train your glutes?

It really depends on your training split, but you should be strength training at least 2-3 times per week to build strength and muscle. This could be three full-body workouts in a week, a split with upper and lower body workouts, or a more targeted split like the example below from Strength with Kayla:

• Glutes & Hamstrings

• Upper Body Pull & Core

• Upper Body Push & Core

• Legs (optional)

• Glutes & Core (optional)

Your results will also depend on how much you challenge yourself, your nutrition and protein intake, plus your sleep and recovery. Growing stronger glutes is never about working your glutes every day of the week. Rest is essential for your muscles to adapt and grow.

Build stronger glutes with Sweat

The best glute exercises don't have to be complicated. A routine built around movements like hip thrusts, squats, Romanian deadlifts, lunges and split squats will strengthen every part of your glutes while improving your overall lower-body strength and stability. Add in targeted isolation work like kickbacks, train consistently and gradually increase your weights as you get stronger.

Looking for glute workouts? You'll find plenty in the Sweat app, including programs like Strength with Kayla, Grow with Mariah, and Strength & Sculpt with Katie, featuring progressive training plans designed to help you build strength, muscle, and confidence one week at a time.