Want a more prominent bum, but don’t want to get a BBL? Don’t worry, glute exercises will get you there.
But working on your glutes can benefit you more than aesthetically. According to physical therapist Amy Koch, your glutes are basically holding your entire lower body together. They control how you move, lift, and stay balanced. Training them properly means better performance, fewer injuries, and stronger everyday movements.
Videos of people doing glute exercises have been circulating since 2016, so the internet is not short of resources of workouts to follow. We’ve scoured the web to bring you five effective and easy-to-follow to get you started.
Five Glute Exercises That Became Fitness Staples
1.) Hip Thrusts
Hip thrusts are basically the poster child for glute activation and one of the best glute exercises for building strength. Sports scientists love them because they target the gluteus maximus like almost no other exercise.
What to Do: Sit on the floor, upper back against a bench. Feet flat, hip-width apart. Drive through your heels to lift your hips until your shoulders-to-knees line is straight, squeeze at the top.
Optional: add a barbell or resistance band for extra intensity.
Glute Focus: Maximal activation, especially for the upper and lower glutes.
Difficulty Level: Moderate – beginner-friendly at first, but the challenge ramps up fast when you add weight.
@jeremyethier Here’s how to do the perfect hip thrust, and how to fix some of the most common mistakes people make. Hope this helps! Don’t forget to spend your hard earned $100 on some new gym clothes 😉 👊 #hipthrust #glutesworkout ♬ original sound - jeremyethier
2.) Bulgarian Split Squats
This one screams ‘fancy gym move,’ but it’s really a powerhouse upper glute exercise and essential lower body training for unilateral leg strength. You’ll get that shaky, “I might fall” feeling that makes every rep look dramatic on camera. But that’s exactly what makes it work. It forces each leg to handle its own weight, building strength and showing you which side is actually weaker.
What to Do: Back foot on a bench, front foot forward. Lower your body into a deep lunge until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Push back up through the front heel. Balance is key.
Optional: hold dumbbells or use a glute exercise machine if available.
Glute Focus: Glutes, quads, balance, and stabilizer muscles.
Difficulty Level: Hard – requires good balance and strength, gets even tougher when you add weight.
@workoutwithginaa HERE TO FIX THE EXERCISE U PROBABLY HATE 🫠 #bulgarians #bulgariansplitsquat #exercisehowto #glutesworkout ♬ original sound - workoutwithginaa
3.) Glute Bridges
The OG ‘glute builder’ is one of the best glute exercises for beginners, but still savage if you go heavy or add bands. No bench, no fancy equipment. Just you, the floor, and some serious glute activation.
What to Do: Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat. Drive your hips up by squeezing glutes, pause at the top.
Optional: loop a resistance band above knees for extra burn.
Glute Focus: Glute maximus, hamstrings.
Difficulty Level: Easy to Moderate – great for beginners, gets harder with more reps or resistance bands.
4.) Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs)
RDLs give intense hamstring and glute engagement while teaching proper hip hinge mechanics. Master this pattern and everything else gets easier. Your posture cleans up, your lifting technique improves, and you build that posterior chain strength that actually translates to real life.
What to Do: Hold dumbbells or a barbell to target your posterior chain. Hinge at the hips, lowering weights down your legs while keeping back flat. Squeeze glutes to return to standing. Keep knees slightly bent.
Glute Focus: Glute maximus and hamstrings.
Difficulty Level: Moderate to Hard – focus on technique to avoid getting hurt, intensity jumps with heavier weights.
@petermiljak Dumbbell RDLs (Romanian Desdlifts) - Stop rushing the movement, only doing half reps or coming down too far where your low back starts to round. Focus on your set up, and the biggest cue i have found to help is having feet pronated so the pressure is more on the inside of your feet not the outside. I feel it much more on my hamstrings and glutes with that single cue. Thanks to @Eugene Teo for that foot cue, its helped me out a lot. - #fittok #gymtok #rdls #legworkout #gymtips #hamstrings ♬ original sound - Peter Miljak
5.) Lateral Band Walks
The “waddle” looks goofy but torches your gluteus medius, which stabilizes your hips and protects your knees. Don’t let the shuffle fool you. Your glutes will be screaming halfway through.
What to Do: Loop a band above knees or around thighs. Quarter squat position. Step sideways slowly, maintaining tension on the band, alternating directions.
Glute Focus: Glute medius (side booty), hip stability.
Difficulty Level: Moderate – appears easy but gets intense quickly, won’t hurt your joints but definitely targets your muscles.
@everydaystrongwoman Banded lateral walks 🔥🔥 Glute activation at its finest! Target your side glutes, hip stability, and core—perfect for warming up or building stronger legs. Try this before squats or lower-body day! 💪🍑 #GluteWorkout #LegDay #lowerbodyexercises #everydaystrongwoman #beginnerworkout #gluteactivation #strongnotskinny #StrengthTraining #creatorsearchinsights ♬ original sound - EverydayStrongWoman
Squeeze, Repeat, Flex
Do these moves actually work? Absolutely. They target your entire glute area. You can make them harder as you get stronger. And literally anyone can start doing them today. Want more variety? Try adding the step up glute exercise using a bench or box for an extra challenge.
Just hit these exercises a couple times a week, focus on the full range of motion, and squeeze your glutes at the top of each rep. The trending videos got people interested, but the real progress? That’s what keeps everyone hooked.
