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Imagine this: You're at the gym, struggling through another set of squats, wondering if you're really targeting your glutes or just punishing your thighs. You glance over and see someone effortlessly executing a perfect glute bridge, their glutes engaged, their form is straight out of a textbook (or The Prehab App!). They seem to know a secret that you don't. What if I told you that understanding and incorporating the right glute exercises can transform your workouts and lead to stronger, more defined glutes? That's where this journey begins to teach you the best glute exercises and why for the ultimate glute workout.
The Importance of Strong Glutes
Your glutes are more than just the muscles that fill out your jeans. They play a crucial role in overall body strength, stability, and injury prevention. Strong glutes improve posture, enhance athletic performance, and reduce the risk of lower back and knee injuries. They are also crucial for running, providing power and stability with each stride and even everyday tasks such as going up and down stairs! In fact, research has shown that are glutes are extremely active during everyday tasks such as hinging forward at the hips to retrieve something from the ground, or stepping up a curb (2).
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The Best Glute Exercises and Why
There are countless ways to train your legs, but not all leg exercises will fall into the category of the best glute exercises. One key reason is that some exercises, like squats and leg presses, engage multiple muscle groups and rely heavily on the quads and hamstrings, which can detract from glute activation if not performed with the proper technique. Additionally, exercises such as glute bridges and hip thrusts are specifically designed to isolate the glutes, providing a more concentrated and effective glute workout.
Hip Bursitis or Gluteal Tendinopathy: The Important Difference & How to Treat Both
These movements emphasize hip extension, a primary function of the glutes, ensuring that these muscles are fully engaged and worked through their full range of motion. Lastly, exercises like rear foot elevated split squats and lunges can correct muscle imbalances and enhance glute engagement by requiring balance and unilateral strength, making them superior choices for a comprehensive glute workout. If you're finding that you're having difficulty performing glute-based exercises at the gym due to pain, check out the video below to get a better understanding of what is going on.
Alright, let's get into these best glute exercises and more importantly WHY they are the best of the best!
Best Glute Workout Exercise #1: RDL
Among the countless amount of leg exercises, the Romanian deadlift (RDL) stands out as one of the best for targeting the glutes, specifically the glute max. One study found that deadlift variations had >60% MVIC (maximum voluntary isometric contraction) meaning that these exercises truly target this muscle in an effective and engaging way (3). This exercise emphasizes the hip hinge movement, which is crucial for effective glute activation, and helps to make the RDL a true glute burner for a killer glute workout.
Exercise 01 of 06
By focusing on the eccentric phase of the lift, where the glutes are lengthened under tension, the RDL maximizes muscle engagement. Additionally, this movement minimizes knee involvement, thereby reducing quad dominance and ensuring that the glutes and hamstrings are the primary drivers. The RDL's ability to target the posterior chain makes it an exceptional exercise for building strong, well-developed glutes.
Exercise demonstration
RDL
View exercise instructions
- HOW: Begin in a standing position with your feet about hip width apart. Next focus on hinging primarily at the hips. This is achieved by bring your torso forward and pushing your butt back. Lower yourself as far as comfortable, then pull yourself upright by using the muscles in the back of the legs. Squeeze your butt once you are upright to ensure that you stand fully erect.
- FEEL: You will the muscles in the back of the leg work with this exercise. As you hinge over you will feel a pull in the hamstrings, the upper thigh muscles.
- COMPENSATION: Avoiding rounding the back as your lean your torso forward. Movement should primarily be at the hips. Don’t allow the knees to go forward past your toes with this exercise.
Best Glute Workout Exercise #2: Single Leg RDL
The single-leg Romanian deadlift (RDL) is one of the best glute exercises due to its ability to target and isolate the glutes while also enhancing balance and stability. This exercise also emphasizes the hip hinge movement, and by performing it on one leg, you increase the demand on the glutes to maintain stability.
The single-leg RDL also helps correct muscle imbalances, as each leg works independently, ensuring that both glutes are equally engaged and strengthened. The unilateral nature of this exercise challenges your core and stabilizing muscles, contributing to overall functional strength and improved athletic performance. Variations of the single-leg RDL like the split stance RDL and b-stance RDL fall into this category as well. Try a few of the RDL variations demonstrated below in your next glute workout, you truly can't go wrong with any of them.
Exercise 02 of 06
Exercise demonstration
Single Leg RDL
View exercise instructions
- HOW: In a standing position, shift your weight to one leg. Apply pressure through all of your foot and slightly bend that knee. Hinge forward at the waist while keeping your back flat and kick the opposite leg back. Pull yourself back to the starting position by pushing into the ground and using your glute and hip muscles to bring your back up straight again.
- FEEL: You should feel your hamstring muscles working as you hinge forwards and back up. You should also feel your foot/ankle muscles working to balance your leg while hinging forward.
- COMPENSATION: Keep your back flat as you hinge forward at the waist, don’t twist it. Keep your hips level, don’t twist them as you kick your leg back.
Best Glute Workout Exercise #3: Glute Bridges
The glute bridge is one of the best glute exercises due to its ability to isolate these muscles effectively. This exercise focuses on the hip extension movement, which directly engages the gluteus maximus, leading to optimal activation and muscle growth. Unlike many compound leg exercises that also involve the quads and hamstrings, the glute bridge minimizes the involvement of other muscle groups, ensuring that the glutes are the primary drivers of the movement. The glute bridge can be easily modified with added weights or by performing single-leg variations, making it versatile for different fitness levels and goals. Its simplicity and effectiveness make the glute bridge a staple in any glute-focused workout regimen from beginner to expert level.
Exercise 03 of 06
Exercise demonstration
Supine Bridge
View exercise instructions
- HOW: Start on your back with your knees bend and slightly spread apart. Tighten up your stomach first, then your glutes. Next, drive your heels into the ground and lift your hips up towards the ceiling. At the end position your knee, hip, and shoulder should be in one straight line. Hold the end position and squeeze the glutes, then slowly return to starting position.
- FEEL: You should feel your glutes work to control this motion. At no point should you feel your low back muscles doing the lifting motion. If you feel it only in your hamstrings, try bending your knees a bit more and repeat.
- COMPENSATION: Avoid arching at the low back as you perform this.
Best Glute Workout Exercise #4: Hip Thrust
The hip thrust is one of the best glute exercises since it generates high levels of glute activation. Unlike a regular glute bridge, which is performed on the floor, the hip thrust is typically done with the upper back elevated on a bench, allowing for a greater range of motion and increased resistance. This setup maximizes hip extension and places more emphasis on the glutes, leading to enhanced muscle engagement and growth. Research by Bret Contreras, PhD, known as "The Glute Guy," has shown that hip thrust significantly out performs other glute exercises in terms of muscle activation. In his studies, Contreras demonstrated that the hip thrust activates the gluteus maximus to a greater degree than traditional exercises like squats and deadlifts, making it an essential movement for anyone looking to build stronger, more developed glutes (1). Other studies have also supported that hip thrust and hip thrust variations best target the glute max (3). If you're looking to really target that glute, you don't want to sleep on these.
Exercise 04 of 06
Exercise demonstration
Hip Thrust - Barbell
View exercise instructions
- HOW: Start by leaning back with the bottom on your shoulder blade on the edge of a bench or step. Pad the barbell over your groin region. Bring your feet flat on the ground bending your knees to around 90 degrees of flexion. Draw your core in, tuck your chin down, push into the ground with your feet driving your hips up against the resistance of the barbell. Squeeze your glutes at the top position and repeat.
- FEEL: You should feel the muscles in your core, glutes, and hamstrings working.
- COMPENSATION: Don’t bend your knees to close too much or not enough, keep a 90 degree bend in them. Keep your chin tucked down, don’t look up and back as you thrust up. Don’t let the barbell move, keep it positioned over your groin region.
Best Glute Workout Exercise #5: Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats
The rear foot elevated split squat, also known as the Bulgarian split squat, places a significant load on the glutes by emphasizing hip extension and stabilization. Elevating the rear foot increases the range of motion and depth, enhancing glute engagement and activation. The angle of the torso and position of the knee play crucial roles in determining muscle recruitment. To maximize glute activation, maintain a slight forward lean with the torso and ensure the front knee stays behind the toes. This setup shifts the emphasis from the quads to the glutes. Additionally, the rear foot elevated split squat helps correct muscle imbalances by working each leg independently, ensuring both glutes are equally strengthened. This unilateral exercise also improves balance and stability, as the glutes must work harder to maintain proper form. Single-leg squats have been shown by several studies to have >60% MVIC for the gluteus medius muscle (3). Targeting these muscle groups can help to lead to a rounder glute.
Exercise 05 of 06
Exercise demonstration
Rear Foot Elevated Squat - TRX
View exercise instructions
- HOW: Face away from the high TRX anchor and place one foot in both of the loops. The loop should be around the middle of your foot. Keep all of the weight in the standing leg. Bend the knee as you slightly bend your chest forward putting all of your weight into the knee. Push into the ground and return to the starting position.
- FEEL: You should feel your thigh muscles working.
- COMPENSATION: Don’t lean back as you bend your knee, keep your weight more forward
Best Glute Workout Exercise #6: Lunges
Exercises like walking lunges and reverse lunges are among the best for targeting and strengthening the glutes due to their dynamic nature and the emphasis they place on hip extension and stability. Lunges and lunge variations also fall into the category of >60% MVIC specifically for the glute max and should be a definite part of leg day if you are looking to target your glute max (3).
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Looking to level up your glute gains? Get started with a FREE 20 min glute workout to really feel that burn! No equipment needed means that you can get started right now!
Walking lunges involve forward motion, which engages the glutes effectively as each step requires hip extension and balance. Reverse lunges shift the focus to the posterior chain as stepping backward into a lunge position increases the activation of the gluteus maximus and improves hip mobility. Additionally, both walking and reverse lunges help correct muscle imbalances by working each leg independently, ensuring balanced glute development. These exercises also improve overall lower body stability and coordination, making them essential components of any glute-focused workout routine.
Learn more about some of the best lunge variations by checking out our blog below!
Exercise 06 of 06
Exercise demonstration
Anterior Lunge - Walking, Dumbbell
View exercise instructions
- HOW: Start by grabbing two dumbbells of the same weight. Take a step forward with your left leg and descend into a lung position. Push yourself back up and forward using your front left leg. Then repeat on the right side.
- FEEL: You should feel all the muscles in your legs working, but especially your quadriceps muscles. Your front leg should be doing most of the lifting.
- COMPENSATION: Do not push too much through your back leg. It is OKAY for your knees to go past your toes - that is normal!
Closing Thoughts
Incorporating these glute exercises into your fitness routine can lead to significant improvements in strength, stability, and overall fitness. Remember, it's not just about aesthetics; strong glutes are essential for functional movement and injury prevention. While exercises like the squat are no doubt great leg exercises, the exercises in this article do a better job of isolating the glutes through hip hinging and hip extension. So, next time you’re at the gym, give these exercises a try and notice the difference in your performance. Which glute exercise will you master first?
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References
- Contreras, B., Vigotsky, A. D., Schoenfeld, B. J., Beardsley, C., & Cronin, J. (2015). A comparison of gluteus maximus, biceps femoris, and vastus lateralis electromyographic activity in the back squat and barbell hip thrust exercises. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 31(6), 452–458. https://doi.org/10.1123/jab.2014-0301
- Distefano LJ, Blackburn JT, Marshall SW, Padua DA. Gluteal muscle activation during common therapeutic exercises. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2009 Jul;39(7):532-40. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2009.2796. PMID: 19574661.
- Neto WK, Soares EG, Vieira TL, Aguiar R, Chola TA, Sampaio VL, Gama EF. Gluteus Maximus Activation during Common Strength and Hypertrophy Exercises: A Systematic Review. J Sports Sci Med. 2020 Feb 24;19(1):195-203. PMID: 32132843; PMCID: PMC7039033.
About The Author
Ryan Nosak, MS, CSCS
[P]rehab Writer & Content Creator
Ryan was born and raised in Throop, Pennsylvania and he has worked in the world of fitness since he was 15 years old. Ryan realized he had a deep affinity for strength training and how it can alter the human mind, body, and spirit. He began his coaching career in high school by coaching his friends through strength training sessions, which inspired him to pursue a career in strength and conditioning.
Ryan spent 10 years as a Division 1 strength and conditioning coach with stops along the way at Penn State, Tennessee State, Vanderbilt, Robert Morris, Charlotte, and DePaul. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and operates his own training practice, RyNo Strength, out of Studio DelCorpo in Chicago, IL. He specializes in fat loss, body composition, strength, and sports performance training programs.
Ryan received his Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology from Penn State and a Master’s in Sport Management from Western Carolina University. In his free time, Ryan enjoys training for bodybuilding, eating at amazing restaurants in Chicago, and spending time with his wife, daughter, and dog.