EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BUILDING YOUR GLUTES

Start building your glutes, plus two sample workouts to kickstart your growth.

Booty, peach, dump truck, bubble butt, buns of steel. Whatever you want to call it, it’s a group of muscles worth spending some time on. While a quick search on social media or google will claim they have the “best moves to lift your butt” there is actually a method to the madness when building your glutes. It should be no surprise that it’s more than just a few exercises; however, if not given the right time and effort, you’ll end up with little to no improvement in your cheeks.

Alas, there are some factors to consider along with a few pointers to get you started in building your glutes the way you want. And by that I mean, not everyone wants the same results. Some want to work on their “shelf”, while others want to focus on the “crease” or “side booty”. Some just want to make theirs smaller (we aren’t talking about that today though!)

Whatever your goals are, you can rest assured that building strong, plump glutes is possible and this post will show you how.

Plus, if you stick to the end, you’ll find two sample workouts: at home and for the gym.

What is a glute building workout program?

A glute building workout program is a series of exercises designed to focus on targeting the gluteal muscles with the goal of growing the muscle in its appearance. The three main muscles the workouts should focus on are: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and the gluteus minimus. Other factors that contribute to the effectiveness of a glute building workout program are nutrition, genetic disposition, and recovery to name a few.

There are 3 main factors for building glutes that we’ll focus on:

Resistance Training
Nutrition
Genes

While other factors such as sleep, hormones, etc. can contribute to muscle growth and recovery, we are going to focus on the most common ones.

Resistance Training

In order to build glutes that are strong and support the body, you need to add resistance to your regiment. While I do include an at home sample workout, especially for those that have limited access to equipment, you’ll need to address the resistance on the body at some point and in a progressive manner.

Progressive overload has just now entered the chat. You can start with bodyweight, resistance bands, time under tension, less rest, and more to create a progression in overloading the body with stimulus.

Ultimately though, without significant resistance, over time you will hit a wall while building your glutes. You can adjust the force on the body in the form of free weights, machines, cables, etc.

Once you have access to the equipment, you need to make sure you have a plan that is allowing you to work heavy with your lifting. Your sets and reps should reflect your goals. For example, if you’re looking for endurance or stability, you may want to pick a lighter weight and perform 15-20 reps as opposed to lifting heavy and only being able to complete a few reps.

However, when you are looking to build, you can’t stay in one spot forever. You’ll need to increase the resistance at some point and focus on a lower rep range to see progress. For a slightly advanced lifter, you should understand what your 1 Rep Max is (meaning if you could only perform one rep, what is the heaviest you could lift) and safely lift around 80% of your 1RM.

For a beginner, you’ll want to start with good form and build from there. Even just the slightest change of stimulus (decreasing rest, adding weight, adding reps, etc.) can make a difference.

If you are in a position with limited equipment or are doing an at home workout without equipment, your reps need to be higher because of the lack of weight (load). You should focus on lifting until your reps slow down and/or you are close to not being able to complete a rep due a fatigue muscle while still producing good form. This may be more endurance focused however, the options are limited over time unless you have really heavy weights.

For those who do have access to a gym or varies free weights at home, you’ll want to target around 8-12 reps to start and then as you progress, play with how many reps vs sets, rest, possibly add in a set to failure, etc.

To know if you’re lifting a heavy enough weight, you’ll want to look at how many reps you’re aiming to complete. If your set calls for 8 reps, you will want to select a weight that increases in difficulty and is almost too hard to complete around rep 6-8 yet still with good form.

Either way, you should always remember good form is above all else. Not just from a safety perspective, but from a muscle recruitment standpoint too. For the most part, we want the focus on the glutes (with the help from secondary and stabilizing muscles)– I mean hello, we are looking to build those babies, right? Form shouldn’t be sacrificed for a personal record in lifting. Be strategic on your weight selection and make sure you can focus on the primary muscles moving rather than recruitment of everything else to keep you from dropping a weight, falling over, etc.

Choose a weight that you can lift safely and effectively, within a rep range that remains challenging.

If you’re wanting more information on how to assess a 1 rep max, the different types of rep ranges, more details on progressive overloading, and a complete glute focused workout program, make sure to check back for my glute program that will be available soon!

And If you haven’t already, sign up for my monthly newsletter to be one of the first to find out when it will be available.

Lastly, when resistance training, you need to take time for recovery in order to give the body time to do its job. Working out your glutes every day isn’t the answer, which is why having a set program and workout schedule is recommended. While you should aim to focus on your glutes at least 2-3 times a week, this should also incorporate recovery time in between. It’s important to give your body time to recover. Note: I do not recommend doing the below workouts consecutively. You should allow for at least one day in between where you rest, focus on full body (+ some other glute exercises if you want), arms, or even a little cardio or fitness class.

Nutrition

This one should really come first because it is that important. I’ve said this before in a previous post, that the process is started in the gym and is finished outside of it. You can do all the work in the world in the gym, building your glutes or anything else really, but if you do not eat to support your goals you won’t reach them. Let me say that again, nutrition is that important. To build muscle, you need the proper fuel so the body can rebuild during recovery.

Most people struggle with weight loss or even muscle building due to a lack of awareness around their food. They either under report their eating or don’t realize their intake unintentionally.

Start with understanding what you consume on an average day and go from there. Once you have a good idea of exactly what you’re consuming, then you can start to plug and place things that will help you reach your goal. For building your glutes, you absolutely need to prioritize protein. While each person is different in how much they need to consume, I’d venture to say most are not consuming enough.

Additionally, your overall intake is important since in order to build muscle you need to have your caloric intake slightly above your maintenance. Without getting too much into the weeds, you need to understand what you’re eating, and work with a professional or at least use a calorie calculator to determine how much you should be eating. These calculators will look at your gender, height, weight, activity level, etc. to help you determine your intake. Keep in mind, these are general guidelines and if you are working with a provider or physician, this information does not replace medical advice.

What might make you happy to hear though, is building your glutes usually allows more room for food creativity than other goals such as weight loss.

Genetics

We can’t move on without discussing the genetic sides. I am not a scientist and I do not claim to be one however, genes play a role in this, surprise, surprise. Do not skip over this section and say, “I know I know”. If your mom has what you’d call a “pancake” butt, this does not mean all is lost. This just means we all have a different starting point. If we get into the nitty gritty here, a lot of these “pancake” butt and other silly terms are really issues in the body that need to be assessed anyway. But in an attempt to stay focused here, let’s look at what you can control.

You can control what you set your goals to be. You can aim for something that is attainable and not aim to look exactly like that one fit-influencer on Instagram.

Let me be clear. You can work on building your glutes and still not look like that girl on Instagram. And that’s okay. We are all made different but what we are not, is someone who is unable to build muscle because our great grandmother couldn’t.

To that end, make sure your goals fit your body style and your “aim”, per say, is appropriately guided.

Now that we’ve got your heavy lifting + progressive overload, eating to support muscle growth, and accepting and using our genes to our advantage, let’s discuss how to get started.

How to Get Started

If you’ve gotten this far you’re probably super ready to get all the tips for building your glutes. I hear you. Let’s get to it.

When building your glutes, here are things you absolutely need:

Access to a glute focused workout program
Commitment to focusing on your glutes at least 2x a week with adequate recovery time
Prioritization of protein and understanding your caloric intake to support muscle growth (see above)
Equipment for resistance training based on your program (see below)

At Home Workouts

As mentioned before, there are limitations to working out at home unless you are one of the lucky few who have the right equipment for the long game of building your glutes.

Nevertheless, you can absolutely start with minimal equipment and when/if you need to expand your resistance training, you should consider a gym. Finding a gym membership that is worth it is a whole other story. If you’re interested, read more on that here.

At home workouts, with minimal equipment options, will most likely have to increase in reps or time under tension (TUT). I won’t go too in-depth on these strategies however, in the sample workout plan below, you’ll want to keep in mind ways you can fatigue the muscle.

For example, if you only have a 20 lb dumbbell and you’re doing hip thrusts or glute bridges, you’ll most likely want to focus on a higher rep range 15-20 reps, with each rep being slow and controlled. Or you can hold for time or take less rest in between sets!

Remember when we spoke about progressive overload? This is it my friend. You’ll want to build on one of those factors (time under tension/slow rep speeds, less rest time, etc.) if you do not have access to adding more weight (increasing the load.)

As mentioned before, if this is confusing and you’d like a more in depth look on how to adjust these factors and have a more robust workout, stay tuned in for my glute program I’m working on! If you aren’t already, you’ll want to be on my monthly newsletter list to get more info!

If you lack at-home equipment all together, here are some items you should consider purchasing:

2-3 Sets of Dumbbells (sizes vary- consider at least one dumbbell that is roughly 25+ lbs)
Resistance Bands
Bench or Box (for step ups, split squats, hip thrusters, etc)
Stability Ball
Exercise Mat
Optional: Portable Barbell Bar (this is my favorite lifting bundle that I own but you’ll also want to buy plates to add to this if you’re going to purchase it)
Optional: Kettlebells for variations or adding in cardio movements

You can even find “gently” used equipment and that would work just fine too!

Note: These are affiliate links. If a purchase is made through these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Sample At Home Glute Building Workout

Warmup: Approximately 5 minutes of dynamic stretching or treadmill/cycling to get the body prepared for movement.

Rest: 1-3 minutes rest in between; varies based on load and progression

*Ensure proper form and/or only perform under professional supervision.

Glute Bridge: Dumbbell or Bar || 3 sets x 8-15 reps
Notes: Hold the last rep until failure or until you can’t hold good form. Do not overextend your back, focus on driving with your glutes.
Goblet Squat: Dumbbell or Kettlebell || 3 sets x 8-15 reps
Notes: Pause at the bottom of the squat, keep knees tracking over 2nd and 3rd toe of foot, grip the ground with feet. Chest up
Reverse Lunge: Dumbbells or Bar || 2 sets x 6-10 reps each side
Notes: Chest up and keep pelvic neutral as you lower.
Stability Ball Hamstring Curls or Hamstring Walkouts: Bodyweight || 2-3 sets x 8-15 reps
Notes: Place soles of shoes on the stability ball and slowly roll the ball outward. Hips should not be over extended.
Resistance Band Seated Abductions: Resistance Band || 20+ reps
Notes: Leaning forward places a different emphasis (more glutes) than sitting up straight or leaning back (more hip flexors.) For increase difficulty, hold the last rep or pulse until failure. Drive with the legs not the knees.

Please note: These workouts are sample workouts and should not replace guidance from your provider. Sample workouts are intended as a suggestion for glute focused exercises but does not promise results for the individual using it. Any workouts followed should be performed safely. Should you experience any pain, dizziness, nausea, or light-headedness, please stop and contact your physician immediately.

Gym Workouts

When building your glutes AND you’re dropping in at the gym, get creative! When you have a plethora of tools in front of you, you should eventually try variations of glute building exercises.

While the sample program below is only a taste of what you can use, you should look to incorporate a mixture of free weights (dumbbells, straight bars, squat racks, etc.), machines, cables, landmine accessories, etc. Each piece of equipment has its benefits whether it be a mechanical advantage, added muscle recruitment, stabilizing factors, isolation of a muscle group, etc.

Make sure if you plan to focus on building your glutes for an extended period of time, that you invest in a person with expertise or a plan that progresses enough for you to maximize your time and the equipment at the gym. Don’t let the fear of not knowing how to use something stop you from having the plumpest peach on the block.

The equipment you should consider for a gym workout is pretty simple as most of what you need is already there. However, depending on the gym equipment available, you may want to purchase and bring your own (and maybe you’d prefer to know you’re the only one using it and it’s clean):

Ankle Strap (for cable machines)
Resistance Bands (for various uses but are often unreliable at gyms)
Barbell Pad (for hip thrusts or glute bridges)

Note: These are affiliate links. If a purchase is made through these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Sample Gym Glute Building Workout

Warmup: Approximately 5 minutes treadmill/cycling to get the body prepared for movement.

Rest: Rest will vary based on experience and load. Aim to be fully recovered and not out of breath before starting the next set.