Strengthen and sculpt your glutes with these Gluteus Maximus Exercises, which target the largest and most powerful glute muscle. These movements go beyond basic squats, using effective variations you can do at home to build stronger, more defined glutes.
"I've been doing curtsy lunges for a month already and it helped me tone my legs and lift my backside. These glute exercises have not only helped me achieve my goal but also boosted my confidence. I'll try reverse hyperextensions next!" - Czyrah
What Is The Gluteus Maximus
The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in your body, it’s the main muscle that makes up your butt.
Its primary job is hip extension (driving your hips forward), but it also helps with hip abduction and external rotation. It works alongside the glute medius and minimus to power movements like lifting, running, and standing.
While people often think of “weak glutes,” they’re more commonly just underused, which is why proper glute training at home and glute activation exercises matter.
You can’t fully isolate the glute max, but the exercises below place the most tension on it to help build strength and shape (learn more about the glutes as a whole and how to strengthen them).
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How To Target The Glute Max
With a few slight tweaks, many exercises like lunges can be adjusted to hit the posterior chain more.
- Use a slight forward hinge
- Drive through heels
- Fully lock out and squeeze at the top
Best Gluteus Maximus Exercises At Home
Below are the gluteus maximus exercises that you should work on in your weekly training program. Each exercise below has both a bodyweight option as well as other variations to target the glutes muscles.
Once you've mastered them, check out these glute burnouts to really fire them up.
Exercise 1: The Glute Bridge
This movement is crucial in any glute training program to build the gluteus maximus, and is the base for most glute training.
To perform a glute bridge:
- Lying on your back, bring your heels close to your bum and keep the knees bent. Feet shoulder-width apart roughly.
- Push through your heels and lift your hips by squeezing the glutes. Do not excessively arch the lower back.
- Pause at the top for maximum glute squeeze before releasing the tension and bring the hips back to the starting position.
Perform anywhere from 8-30 repetitions, depending on your training goals. The glute bridge also comes with a handful of variations you can use to progress your training.
Bridge Variations
- Single leg bridge
- Resistance band bridge
- Elevated bridge
Check out more glute bridge variations
Exercise #2: The Hip Thrust
Literally the king of a good glute workout (and sometimes referred to as a bench hip thrust). The hip thrust gives a greater range of motion to the glute bridge and is one of the fastest ways to boost gluteus maximus strength.
To perform:
- Place your back against the bench while sitting on the floor. Keep the knees bent and bring them into your chest keeping the feet shoulder-width apart as you lift your back onto the bench.
- Hips should be hovering over the floor and the strap of your bra should on the bench. Push through the heels, squeeze the gluteus maximus, and lift the hips towards the ceiling.
- Keep your eyes facing forward so that the upper back is slightly rounded and not extended over the bench!
- Squeeze the glutes to lockout. Then release the tension and bring your hips towards the floor (the starting position).
Learn more about how to hip thrust to boost your glute muscles here and watch this video for form tips. Perform 5-25 repetitions
Hip thrust variations
- Single leg hip thrust
- Barbell hip thrust
- Resistance band hip thrust
- Elevated hip thrust
Exercise #3: Reverse Hyperextensions
This is a great exercise for the gluteus maximus because it’s done lying on your tummy. Though many people believe you need a fancy machine for this, you can actually perform a reverse hyperextension at home.
To Perform:
- Lay belly down on a bench with the end of the bench at your hips (legs hanging off).
- You can do this with straight legs or bent knees. Squeeze your glutes so that your legs raise up and your hips extend (go from bent to open). Pause and return the feet to the floor.
Perform 10-30 repetitions.
Variations:
- Straddle legs
- Froggy reverse hyperextensions
- Reverse hypers with a band
- With a dumbbell between the feet
Exercise #4: Curtsy Lunge
A lunge variation that places an extra emphasis on the gluteus maximus due to a bit of a twist (literally!)
To Perform:
- Standing upright with your feet together, step the right leg back and to the side of the left foot.
- Hinge slightly at the hips and bend the knees toward the floor making sure the front knee isn’t caving inward.
- Push through the front foot and return to the starting position.
Perform 8-12 repetitions
Variations:
- Dumbbell curtsy lunge
- Deficit curtsy lunges
- Resistance band lunges
Exercise #5: Quadruped Hip extensions
This exercise is performed in a tabletop position either on your hands or elbows.
To perform:
- Come into a tabletop position on all fours. Place a dumbbell (a light-ish one) on the back of one knee.
- Keeping the core strong and engaged (you need to have mastered bird dogs for this), move through the hip as your raise the foot towards the floor.
- Do not let the low back drop. Return the knee to the floor by releasing the tension in the glute.
Perform 8-15 repetitions on each leg.
Variations:
- Dumbbell hip extensions
- Mini loop hip extensions
- Strength band extensions
Exercise #6: Deficit Lunge
Take lunges to a deeper level to get more out of your glute muscles!
To perform:
- Using a bottom step or yoga blocks, stand upright, chest lifted, on the step.
- Step the left foot back onto the floor and begin bringing the knee down towards the floor as you hinge the upper body forward slightly.
- Pause at the bottom and then reverse the movement and pull up your body with the right leg (don't push off the left foot!), extending the hips back into a standing position.
Perform 8-12 repetitions per leg
Exercise #7 Bulgarian Split Squats
Bulgarian split squats can be performed in a variety of ways.
The way in which you do them can place more focus on the quadriceps or more focus on the gluteus maximus (though the gluteus medius and minimus are still very present).
To perform:
- Set up in lunge position with the left leg elevated on the bench and the right knee over the heel.
- Hold the dumbbells either by your sides or use one dumbbell in the "goblet" position.
- Hinge forward with the hips bringing the chest down (to create more tension on the back of the body: glutes) as you push backward and drop the left knee towards the floor while keeping the right knee facing forwards.
- Squeeze the glute of the right leg as you push through the heel to reverse the movement and extend the hips to the starting position.
- Perform all repetitions on the right leg before moving on to the next.
Perform 9-10 repetitions or opt to go for time (30 seconds) per leg.
Exercise #8 Quadruped Hip Extensions
This glute max exercise can be done with ankle weights or a resistance band to make it more intense.
- Come into a tabletop position on all fours.
- Keeping the knee of the working leg flexed the core strong and engaged (you need to have mastered bird dogs for this), move through the hip as your raise the foot towards the floor.
- Do not let the low back drop and make sure to keep the knee bent. Return the knee towards the floor by releasing the tension in the glute.
- Perform for 8-12 repetitions per leg.
Exercise #9 Reverse Plank
An isometric exercise that rivals any traditional plank and places an extra emphasis on the glutes.
- Begin with your hips on the ground, legs straight out in front of you and your hands with fingers pointed out a few inches behind your hips.
- Squeeze the glutes and raise the hips high into the air coming into a posterior pelvic tilt. Open up the chest and hold.
Perform for 20-40 seconds.
Best Glute Exercises In The Gym
If you're in the gym and have access to machines and a variety of equipment, the best glute max exercises to do would be:
- Reverse hyperextension
- Cable kickback
- Barbell hip thrust
- Weighted, high step ups
Rotate through those, and you'll have stronger glutes in just a few weeks. If you're able to mix and match the at-home glute exercises from above with the gym ones, you're set up for serious glute gains.
How To Use These Exercises
To actually see results, you need to use these exercises consistently, not just try them once.
- Pick 2–4 exercises per workout
- Perform 2–4 sets of each
- Aim for 8–15 reps
- Train 2–3 times per week
Keep your workouts simple, focus on good form, and gradually increase the challenge over time with ways to increase intensity of home workouts.
Benefits of Training Gluteal Muscles
Since the gluteus maximus is such a big muscle,it plays a role in a lot of daily actions. Strengthening the glutes can help:
- Alleviate back pain
- Improve posture
- Boost sports performance
- Protect the knee
And so, so much more. However, know that glute training goes hand in hand with hip mobility in regards to getting stronger. Once you master that, rock sweat sessions like a banded glute workout or a glute HIIt workout to get started.
More Glute Training Tips
Need help? Glute Guide For Moms is a simple, at-home plan designed for busy moms, so you can build stronger glutes, improve stability, and actually see progress without overthinking it.
Gluteus Maximus Exercises FAQs
Just like you build any muscle! With a combination of mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and muscle damage. You need to use a variety of gluteus maximus exercises as well as a variety of loads and repetition ranges for them to grow.
The glutes respond well to variety. This means that because you're not going heavy in every glute workout, you can train glutes multiple times per week. A good place to start it working gluteus maximus exercises into four workout days per week.
You want to use a variety of hip extension glute exercises like the glute bridge and hip thrust. Those two exercises can be done unilaterally (with one leg), with resistance, pauses, etc. Use multiple variations of those exercises and progressively load them (add tension) to really target your lower butt.
Although it’s not necessary to work your glutes every day, the glute muscles do respond well to volume. The smaller glutes like the gluteus medius and minimus especially can be worked frequently as the exercises tend to be very low impact. So long as you’re not training heavy, compound lifts (like loaded barbell hip thrusts to failure) or eccentric exercises (deficit lunges) daily, your glutes will adjust to the stimulus.
Bella says
Your photos and videos are so helpful! I am a very visual person.
fitasamamabear says
I'm visual too haha glad it helps!
Heidi says
Wow! I had no idea I was doing my glute bridges wrong. After doing it the way you showed for a few days, I can definitely feel a difference and I know I'll see a difference soon too. Thank you for the helpful tips and the pictures. They help so much!
fitasamamabear says
This makes me so happy, enjoy the new gains!
Jane says
I enjoyed the glute bridge variations, especially the elevated bridge. It was tough but really effective. My glutes felt engaged throughout.
fitasamamabear says
Elevated ones are brutal and also awesome lol
Czyrah says
I've been doing curtsy lunges for a month already and it helped me tone my legs and lift my backside. These glute exercises have not only helped me achieve my goal but also boosted my confidence. I'll try reverse hyperextensions next!
fitasamamabear says
Yay! they're such a great exercise.
Sophie says
I haven't been able to work out because of an injury, but that's fixed so I am starting to slowly find some exercises and workouts I can do. Thanks for explaining your workouts so I can do them, all of your tips and tricks are beneficial. I did the bridge, hip extension and the curtsy lunge without killing myself.
fitasamamabear says
Glad the breakdowns are helpful, sorry to hear about the injury. If you have questions about anything feel free to reach out 🙂
Allyssa says
These are really helpful, will surely use this again! Highly recommended!
fitasamamabear says
They definitely set them on fire!
Sarah says
Thank you for your detailed instructions. I’ve added quite a few of these exercises to my morning routine!
fitasamamabear says
Yay! Enjoy the new burn lol
Glenda says
Well. This 60-yr old tushy is feeling the burn. lol I actually have noticed it more in my lower back and hips not being so stiff. These are really good for me, Shelby! Thanks so much!
fitasamamabear says
So glad that you're building your glutes! The reduction in back pain is a HUGE win
Lynn Polito says
These exercises are so good! I'll be adding them to me workout routine!
fitasamamabear says
Have fun crushing it!
Rebekah Kuk says
Thank you for this extensive post on glutes! I am actively training to improve my body composition, and I appreciate how relevant this information is to me. Especially the part about how to do hip thrusts. I had heard about them, but didn't know what they were. The photos you included were very helpful.
fitasamamabear says
Yay! Please go do hp thrusts haha they solve life problems! Glad I could give some help and inspo!