The best glute exercises, ranked by what they actually train

What are the best glute exercises?

The best glute exercises are the ones that load the glutes heavily through hip extension, plus at least one move that trains hip abduction. In practice that means hip thrusts, Romanian deadlifts, Bulgarian split squats, squats or leg presses, and cable, machine or band abduction. Glute bridges, back extensions, kickbacks and step-ups are excellent supporting exercises.

Ranking them by a single score is misleading, because they do different jobs. The table below groups them by what they train best, so you can choose one from each category instead of chasing a mythical number one.

Which exercise is best for glute size?

For size, the hip thrust and a hinge such as the Romanian deadlift are the best pairing. The thrust lets you load the glutes heavily where they are shortest and contracted; the RDL loads them heavily where they are lengthened. Training both ends of the range covers more of what the muscle needs to grow.

The Bulgarian split squat is a close third and earns its place because it trains one leg at a time, evens out imbalances and stretches the glute deeply. If you only have time for three main lifts per lower-body day, those three are a strong choice.

Which glute exercises target the upper and side glutes?

The side and upper glutes, mainly the gluteus medius and minimus, are trained best by hip abduction: moving the leg out to the side against resistance. Cable abduction, the seated abduction machine and banded side-lying leg raises are the simplest options, and they work well with higher reps of 12–20.

Single-leg exercises add to this indirectly, because the side glutes work hard to keep your pelvis level during split squats, step-ups and single-leg RDLs. A good rule is two to three sets of abduction on each lower-body day, done after your heavy lifts.

How many sets of glute exercises do you need per week?

Most people grow well on about 10–20 hard sets for the glutes per week, spread over 2–3 sessions. A meta-analysis by Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger found a dose-response relationship: more weekly sets were associated with greater muscle growth, though more is only useful if you can recover and keep quality high.

Beginners can start near 10 sets and still progress fast. Count a set as a glute set when the glutes are a main mover (thrusts, RDLs, split squats, abduction); squats and leg presses count roughly as half because the quads share the work. Every working set should finish with about 1–3 reps left in the tank.

How should you structure a glute workout?

Put the heaviest, most technical lifts first while you are fresh, then move to single-leg work and finish with isolation. A typical session has one thrust or hinge, one single-leg move, one secondary hinge or squat and one or two abduction or kickback exercises, which fits into 45–60 minutes.

Rest longer on big lifts (2–3 minutes) and shorter on isolation (60–90 seconds). The ACSM position stand on resistance training progression recommends moving from higher reps towards heavier loads as you gain experience, which is why many programmes run a foundation block, then a build block, then a strength block.

• Lower A: hip thrust 3 × 8–12, RDL 3 × 8–10, Bulgarian split squat 3 × 10 per leg, abduction 2 × 15.
• Lower B: squat or leg press 3 × 8–10, single-leg RDL 3 × 10, back extension 3 × 12, kickback 2 × 15.
• Optional glute day: frog pumps 2 × 20, band pull-through 3 × 15, side plank 3 × 30 s, abduction 3 × 20.

How do you progress glute exercises over time?

Use double progression: pick a rep range, such as 8–12, and keep the same weight until you hit the top of the range on every set with good form. Then add a small amount of weight, usually 2.5–5 kg on a barbell thrust or 1–2 kg per dumbbell, and build back up from the bottom of the range.

To choose a sensible working weight, test a set of 5–10 reps you could just complete and convert it with the one-rep max calculator, which suggests loads for 5, 8, 10 and 12 reps with a couple of reps left in reserve. Write every session down; the log is what tells you when to add weight.

Can you build glutes at home without a gym?

Yes, if you can make the exercises hard enough. Bodyweight bridges get easy fast, so use single-leg versions, slow lowering, pauses at the top and resistance bands. A pair of adjustable dumbbells turns hip thrusts, RDLs and split squats into genuinely heavy exercises for most beginners.

Home training stalls when you run out of load. Once you can do 20 or more controlled reps of a single-leg hip thrust, you need heavier dumbbells, a barbell or a gym to keep progressing at the same pace.

What else affects how fast your glutes grow?

Protein, sleep and patience matter as much as exercise choice. A meta-analysis by Morton and colleagues found that gains from resistance training levelled off at around 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight per day, so that is a sensible daily target; work out your number with the protein calculator.

Expect visible changes over months, not weeks. Strength often rises within the first 4–6 weeks, while shape changes become clearer after 8–12 weeks of consistent training. If you want every session, set and rep chosen for you, you can build your 12-week glute programme, which sets your weekly split, glute set count and progression from your answers. The full plan is described on the gym workout plan for women page.

Frequently asked questions