The Best Exercises for Your Glutes (I.e. Buttocks)
Stop giggling: glute exercises are one of the most important exercises in the gym. This is true whether you want to create a leaner rear end or simply become stronger for functional reasons, such as running faster or picking things up off the ground more easily. So here are my picks for the best exercises for your glutes, or technically speaking, your butt.
What are buttocks and what do they do?
The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the buttock and is what gives it its shape. It is also the largest muscle in the entire body and is incredibly strong.
The gluteal muscles are often called the buttocks, referring to the gluteus maximus muscle, as well as its lesser-known siblings: the gluteus medius (on the outside of the thigh) and the gluteus minimus (a deep muscle that you can’t really see, but it’s there ).
All of the gluteal muscles connect the pelvis to the upper thigh or femur. The bulk of your butt helps you stand up straight, which is why humans have more muscle here than our ape cousins. It will also help you get up from a bent over position, such as a deadlift, a job that your glutes share with your hamstrings .
The glutes also help to abduct the hip, which is to move the leg away from the body. Side leg raise? Classic abduction exercise. (Not all of our abductors are glutes, but our glutes, especially the gluteus medius, are among our primary abductors.)
Butt exercises will not “fill out” your thighs.
A quick note before we move on: If you’re doing glute exercises because of their effect on the shape of your butt, there are a few things you should know. Many butt influencers (a phrase I regret typing) promise that they have the perfect exercises that will make your butt round and bubble-like, without those indentations on the sides they call “thigh push-ups.”
Real talk: they’re lying. The “hip dip” exists because there is no muscle in that area. Therefore, there is no muscle that you can build to fill the gap. Exercises designed to fill hip dips are usually exercises for the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles, which are located above and behind the perceived hip dip. I wrote more about this delusional statement here .
However, it’s still great to work your glutes. Even beyond looks, having a strong butt means being a stronger and more capable person. So let’s put them to work.
Most overrated: hip thrusts.
I’m so hesitant to include hip thrusts on this list. This is a classic glute exercise, in fact people are doing glute isolations these days , and they make a lot more sense than donkey kickbacks or other nonsense that requires a burning sensation. You can lift more weight with the hip thrust than with other common gym exercises—even more than you can with the deadlift—which makes them extremely fun and will show you how strong you really are . If you’ve never tried barbell hip thrusts, you really should try them at least once.
But honestly: If your gym doesn’t have a well-designed hip thrust machine, installing one is a huge pain in the ass (sorry). You have to take a barbell, weights, a bench, which for some reason is always the wrong height, then place the bench against the wall so it doesn’t tip over, and then swing under the barbell, which depending on your body proportions can be tricky. difficult to the point of impossible.
And why go to all this trouble? There are plenty of other ways to work your glutes, all of which require less equipment and a less fussy setup. So if you love hip thrusts, be sure to keep doing them. But I suspect you’re reading this article because you want a better option.
Best glute exercise with low equipment: Kettlebell swings, but heavy.
Want something simple? Take a weight. When swinging a kettlebell, performed in the form of a hinge from the hip and then lifting the body to a vertical position, the buttocks are used as the main driving forces. Don’t turn the swing into a squat (your hips should bend, not your knees), and be sure to use a heavy enough kettlebell that you actually need to engage your hips to keep the movement going. If your bells are heavy enough, a set of 10 or 20 reps will make your butt feel like jelly. If you’re limited to lighter weights—like less than 50 pounds or so—be sure to do a lot of reps to fatigue your glutes.
The best glute exercise that works more than just your butt: the deadlift
The deadlift and its variations have been one of my best hamstring exercises, and they show up here too. You can do Romanian deadlifts, or stiff legged deadlifts, or single leg deadlifts, or any other way to lift a heavy weight off the ground. The thing is, the deadlift is a hinge design, meaning it’s a pattern where you mostly drive from your hips, so everyone in this family will be fantastic for your glutes. If you ask me to pick a favorite, I think I’d have to go with the pulley row: essentially a regular deadlift, but from above the ground.
The Best Butt Exercise That Will Make You Feel Like a Superhero: Power Cleanse
I may be biased since I’m into Olympic weightlifting, but suddenly lifting a barbell into the air and then catching it on your shoulders is just awesome . It also requires a strong contraction of the glutes and quadriceps at the same time. I don’t do a lot of simple deadlifts or kettlebell swings these days (and I haven’t done a hip thrust in years), but I think the benefits of cleans and snatches are undeniable.
The best exercises for the buttocks: Bulgarian split squats.
Now that we’ve covered my favorites (and least favorites), I have to give credit to the single leg moves. They’re easy to set up, easy to find equipment for, and you don’t have to do a lot of technique training to get them to work.
To prepare for the Bulgarian split squat, or BSS, you place the top of your back leg on a bench behind you. You can hold dumbbells in your hands or a barbell on your back (in the same position you would do a back squat), or add weight in any other way you feel comfortable. Next, bend your front leg, leaning forward slightly to focus on your glutes rather than your quads.
Single leg work is great for your glutes because those abductor muscles—the ones that act on the side of your hip—must be engaged to keep you from swaying from side to side. Single-leg work is especially important for runners and other athletes who often find themselves mid-stride on only one leg.
Besides the BSS, other great single-leg glute exercises include lunges (forward or backward), split squats (both legs remain stationary and on the floor), and step-ups (exactly what they sound like).