Glute Exercises
Your glutes are three muscles on the back and side of your hip. The gluteus maximus is the largest. It extends the hip: it drives your hips forward when you stand up from a squat, climb stairs or sprint. The gluteus medius and minimus sit higher on the side of the hip. They lift the leg out to the side and keep your pelvis level when you stand on one leg. Hinges, such as hip thrusts, glute bridges, Romanian deadlifts and kettlebell swings, train the glutes through hip extension. Squats and lunges train them together with the quads. Single-leg work, such as the Bulgarian split squat, also challenges the side glutes.
15 exercises with male and female illustrations.
Start here
Beginner picks: easy to learn and easy to load.
Hip hinge
Squat
Lunge and single leg
Leg isolation
Questions
Is the hip thrust or the squat better for glutes?
Neither is clearly better. In a 9-week study of untrained adults, hip thrust training and back squat training gave similar glute growth, and the squat group gained more in the quads and the inner thigh muscles. Pick the one that fits your equipment and goals, or use both in one week.
Can I train my glutes at home?
Yes. Glute bridges, single-leg glute bridges, bodyweight hip thrusts, reverse lunges and Bulgarian split squats need no equipment. A resistance band adds band kickbacks, and a dumbbell on your hips makes the bridge harder.
Which exercises grow the glutes?
Many do. A 2025 meta-analysis found that training with hip extension exercises gave a moderate effect on gluteus maximus size, from single-joint moves such as the hip thrust and from multi-joint lifts such as deep squats and the leg press. Choose a hinge and a squat or lunge, and add load or reps over time.