8 best glute exercises to do at the gym, according to personal trainers (2024)

• Strong glutes are essential for moving about your day and can reduce the risk of knee, hip, and back injuries.
• There are plenty of glute strengthening exercises you can do at home or at the gym, with or without equipment.
• For larger, stronger glutes, the most important thing is to lift heavy and to lift with sound, proper form.

Strengthening your glute muscles can pay dividends in a number of ways. Not only is it one of the largest muscles in your body, but they're also responsible for maintaining balance, avoiding unnecessary injuries, and powering you through a walk or run. And according to exercise physiologist and certified strength coach, Sharon Gam, strong glutes can even help you maintain your independence as you age.

But your glutes won't just strengthen on your own. Thankfully, there are a number of glute exercises you can do both at home or the gym that target this important muscle group. From moves like barbell front squats and sumo deadlifts to reverse lunges and single-leg squats, there are a number of exercises that target your glutes.

For help, I spoke to three personal trainers who shared the best glute exercises anyone can do, as well as tips on how to properly do them.

1. Barbell front squats

To build some true bulk in your glutes, Gam says you need to lift heavy.

"Big compound exercises like the barbell squat allow you to challenge your glutes with heavy weights," she says. "Barbell front squats also seem to shift the emphasis a little more to the glutes than barbell back squats."

To activate the glutes as much as possible during a squat, try to get as low of a squat as you can while still maintaining an upright torso.

Here's how to do it:

1. Set the barbell in a squat rack so it's collarbone height.

2. Stand in front of the bar, knees bent slightly.

3. Press the upper portion of your chest against the bar and grip the bar with your palms up and your hands outside of your shoulders so your elbows flare away from your body.

4. Brace your midline, unrack the bar, and take a step back.

5. With your chest pushed out, bend your knees while sitting your butt back.

6. Keep sitting back until your hips are below your knees.

7. Exhale and drive through your feet to return to standing. That's one rep.

8. Do 4 sets of 10 reps.

2. Barbell back box squats

This exercise is similar to a barbell back squat, says certified strength and conditioning specialist, Seamus Sullivan. But rather than squatting all the way to the ground, you sit down on a plyometric box before standing.

"Athletes are able to assume a wider stance with the box squat, which recruits the outer hip muscles as well as the glutes," he says.

Here's how to do it:

1. Set up a knee-height box behind your squat rack so it's 6 to 12 inches behind where you'll be squatting.

2. Place the barbell so it's in the back rack position and stand underneath it with your feet hips-width apart and toes pointed out 15 degrees.

3. Keep your core tight and chest tall while you bend at your knees to squat down towards the box.

4. Sit on the box while maintaining a tall chest and tight core.

5. Push your feet into the ground, squeeze your glutes, and drive your hips forward as you press yourself back to standing.

6. Squeeze glutes at the top. That's one rep.

7. Do 4 sets of 10 reps.

3. Sumo deadlift

The sumo deadlift is a compound exercise that effectively works all the muscles along the backside of your body.

"A wide stance deadlift, known as the sumo deadlift, recruits the side of the hips and glutes to a greater degree than the standard barbell deadlift," says Sullivan.

Here's how to do it:

1. Place a weighted barbell on the ground in front of you.

2. Position your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed out.

3. Press your knees out and hinge at your hips until you can grab the bar with straight arms.

4. Brace your midsection and with your back flat and neck neutral, activate your posterior chain to pull the bar up along your legs.

5. Squeeze glutes at the top of the lift and then slowly return the bar back to the floor. That's one rep.

6. Do 4 sets of 10 reps.

4. Single-leg Romanian deadlift

"Single-leg deadlifts allow for even more glute activation compared to other deadlift variations," Gam says. She adds that your glutes have to work hard to keep your hips vertical as you lower and raise the weight to and from the floor.

Here's how to do it:

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a kettlebell in your hands.

2. Keep your back flat and press into the ground with your right leg as you hinge forward and let your left leg fall behind your body.

3. Continue hanging forward until the kettlebell grazes the ground.

4. Push your right foot into the ground and squeeze your leg muscles to reverse the movement and return back start. That's one rep.

5. Do 4 sets of 10 reps on each leg.

5. Glute bridge

Whether unweighted or lightly weighted, "glute bridges allow you to maximally activate your glutes and create a lot of fatigue and metabolic stress," says Gam.

This degree of fatigue causes a greater amount of microtears in the glute muscle fibers that, after recovery, grow back bigger and stronger.

Here's how to do it:

1. Lie on your back and face the ceiling with your arms at your side, and palms facing down.

2. Bend your knees to 90 degrees and press both feet into the ground.

3. Press your feet into the ground and lift your pelvis towards the ceiling.

4. Keep lifting your hips off the ground until your knees, hips, and shoulders form a straight line.

5. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the move before lowering back to start. That's one rep.

6. Do 4 sets of 10 reps.

6. Hip thrust

While the glute bridge uses your own body weight for resistance, the hip thrust is done with your shoulders on a bench or box and a barbell across your hips, says Gam.

"The hip thrust tends to be very good at activating the glutes," she says. Research even shows there's greater glute activation in the hip thruster than the deadlift.

Plus, due to the position of the barbell, you're able to load the movement heartily. "Lifting heavy weights places mechanical tension on the muscles that start a process that results in muscle growth," she says.

Here's how to do it:

1. Sit on the ground with a barbell in your lap and a weight bench directly behind you.

2. Bend your knees and push your feet flat into the ground.

3. Press your shoulders against the bench and spread your arms along its length for stability.

4. Squeeze your glutes to lift the weight and your hips off the ground until your back is parallel to the floor.

5. Hold at the top before lowering back down to the starting position. That's one rep.

6. Do 4 sets of 10 reps.

7. Single-leg squat

The single-leg squat is a highly technical movement that requires sound lower-body strength and mobility. It also excels at increasing glute strength and size, according to certified strength and conditioning coach Jake Harcoff.

"You need to activate your gluteus medius while doing a single leg squat in order to keep your pelvis in the frontal plane," he says. "A strong glute medius will increase butt size, as well as improve your balance and avoid injuries, especially those commonly occurring at the pelvis."

Here's how to do it:

1. Stand with your feet directly under your hips.

2. Shift your weight to your right foot and lift your left leg off the ground.

3. Brace your midline and press through your right foot for balance.

4. Press your hips back to lower into a squat position. You can grab onto your left leg as you lower for balance.

5. Continue lowering as far as you can without your chest dropping forward.

6. Press through your right foot to return to standing. That's one rep.

7. Do 4 sets of 10 reps on each leg.

8. Reverse lunge

"The main benefit of the lunge is that it trains the legs in a unilateral stance that's more specific to human locomotion," says Harcoff. "Furthermore, the lunge can help to correct strength imbalances between your legs."

Typically, a human has both a strong and a slightly less-strong side, he says. During bilateral movements that work both sides of the body at the same time, the stronger size is able to compensate for the weaker side.

When only one side of the body works at a time, that compensation cannot happen. The result? The weaker side is forced to put in work.

"Over time, this allows the weaker side to catch up to the stronger side in terms of strength," he says.

Here's how to do it:

1. Stand upright with your feet hips width apart, and hold a kettlebell in the goblet position, or two dumbbells down by your side.

2. Engage your midline and step backward with your right leg, dropping your hips downward as you do.

3. Press into your right leg to get back to the start position. That's one rep.

4. Do 4 sets of 10 reps on each leg.

Insider's takeaway

Strengthening your glute muscles doesn't just help you fill out your jeans — they also do a lot to support your day-to-day movements and help keep your hips, knees, and back healthy. Because of this, it's important to include a variety of glute exercises in your weekly fitness routine.

Thankfully, there are a number of bodyweight and weighted exercises you can do at the gym or at home to build stronger glutes. Moves like the glute bridge, the single-leg Romanian deadlift, and the reverse lunge are all great exercises for strengthening the entirety of your glutes.