Glute Workout: 3 Routines, Best Exercises, Sets and Reps

The best glute exercises

Your glutes do more than one job. The gluteus maximus extends the hip, the movement of going from bent over to standing tall. The gluteus medius and minimus move your leg away from your body and hold your pelvis steady when you stand on one leg. That is why a complete workout combines exercises that extend the hip with others that open the leg outward. It also matters where each one loads you: some squeeze at the top, with the hip extended, and others are hardest at the bottom, with the hip bent.

Hip thrust. The barbell hip thrust loads your glutes mostly at the top, with the hip extended, and it lets you move a lot of weight. It is a good first exercise.
Romanian deadlift. The barbell Romanian deadlift challenges your glutes and hamstrings at the bottom, with the hip bent, right where the hip thrust loads you least.
Bulgarian split squat. The dumbbell Bulgarian split squat works one leg at a time. With a long step and your torso leaning slightly forward, your hip does more of the work.
Cable kickback. The cable kickback adds sets of hip extension with little weight and without loading your back.
Abduction. Machine abduction or cable hip abduction works the gluteus medius, which the other exercises touch less.

To pick others, see the list of glute exercises and the list for abductors, each with a photo and step-by-step instructions. For a program of several weeks with more volume here, see the glute routines.

Glute workout at the gym

Start with the hip thrust, because the exercise done first gains the most strength (Nunes et al., 2021) and this is where you will move the most weight. Then move on to the exercises that are hardest with the hip bent and finish with the lighter ones. On the split squat the reps are per leg, and on the kickback too.

Full glute workout: 5 exercises and 16 sets. Each card shows sets × reps and rest.

Of those 16 sets, 10 come from exercises where the glutes are the main muscle. The 6 on the Romanian deadlift and the Bulgarian split squat are shared with your hamstrings and quads, so the session also counts as leg work. If you train glutes twice a week, do the hip thrust and the Romanian deadlift one day, and the Bulgarian split squat, the kickback and the abduction on the other.

Dumbbell glute workout

Dumbbells are enough to train your glutes well, although on the hip thrust you run out of weight sooner than on other exercises. That is why the rep range is higher here and the session ends with a single-leg bridge, which demands more with the same weight. You only need a bench. On the split squat and the bridge, the reps are per leg.

When you run out of weight, move to the single leg hip thrust. Dumbbells do not offer an abduction that loads well, so if you want to add that work, finish with the side lying hip abduction, with no weight.

Glute workout at home, without machines

You can build muscle without weights if each set ends close to failure. Muscle grows similarly with light or heavy loads when the sets are hard (Schoenfeld et al., 2017). With only your bodyweight, two legs stop being enough very quickly, which is why almost everything here is done on one leg. You only need a mini band. On the lunge, the bridge and the kickback, the reps are per leg.

Glute workout at home: 4 exercises and 13 sets.

Still struggling with the single leg glute bridge? Start with the glute bridge, with both feet down, and move to one leg when you reach 20 reps. The ACSM also sees strength improvements with home training and resistance bands (Currier et al., 2026).

How many glute sets to do per week

To build muscle, what matters most is how many hard sets each muscle does per week (Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger, 2017). The ACSM links the greatest hypertrophy to 10 or more sets per muscle per week and sees gains level off around 18 to 20 (Currier et al., 2026). When you are starting out you do not need to reach 10: you can also build muscle with fewer sets (Currier et al., 2023).

Direct glute sets per week by level
Level	Sets per week	Sessions	How to split them
Beginner	Fewer than 10	1 or 2	2 or 3 exercises per session
Intermediate	10 to 16	2	5 to 8 sets per session
Advanced	Up to 20	2 or 3	More than 2 sessions if they do not fit with good form

The table counts the sets where the glutes are the main muscle. Compound leg lifts work them too: the squat adds glute work, and the Romanian deadlift loads them along with your hamstrings. If you already follow a leg workout, start at the low end of the range and add gradually.

Training a muscle once or twice a week gives similar hypertrophy when the volume is the same (Schoenfeld, Grgic and Krieger, 2019), so pick what fits your week. In an upper/lower routine, your glutes already get two days, and the lower body workout shows how to split them.

Common glute training mistakes

Only doing bands and kickbacks. They load you lightly and are hard to progress. Use them to add sets, not to replace the hip thrust or the Romanian deadlift.
Arching your back on the hip thrust. If the end of the movement comes from your lower back, your glutes do less. At the top, squeeze your glutes and keep your ribs down, without going past the line of your body.
Using a short range of motion. The ACSM includes full range of motion among the things that improve strength (Currier et al., 2026). Rise until your hip is extended and lower as far as you can control, the same way every time, so you can compare sessions.
Going to failure on every set. Reaching failure does not build more muscle than stopping close to it (Refalo et al., 2023). Leave 1 or 2 reps in reserve on most sets, especially on the hip thrust and the Romanian deadlift.
Resting too little. Resting more than 60 seconds has a small benefit, and beyond 90 it barely changes (Singer et al., 2024). On heavy hip thrusts, rest as long as you need to repeat your performance.
Changing exercises every week. Rotating at random or very often can hurt (Kassiano et al., 2022). Repeating the same session lets you see whether you are improving.

How to progress on your glute workout

Log every set. Weight and reps for each exercise. Without that number you do not know what to beat next session.
Add reps first. When you reach the top of the range on every set, raise the weight by the smallest step you can. Adding reps and adding weight both work in trained people (Plotkin et al., 2022).
Use a simple rule for the weight. The ACSM suggests raising the load by 2 to 10 % when you do 1 or 2 reps more than your target in two sessions in a row (American College of Sports Medicine, 2009).
At home, change the exercise. If you have no more weight to add, go from two legs to one, lower more slowly or pause at the top.
Keep your form. If going up means arching your back or cutting the range short, it is not time yet.

The full rule is in the progressive overload guide, the rep ranges are in sets and reps, and you can estimate your hip thrust max with the 1RM calculator.

Questions

How many glute exercises should I do per session?

3 to 5 is enough. With 2 or 3 exercises and 3 sets each you already get 6 to 9 sets, which is a good starting point.

How many times a week should I train glutes?

Once or twice is the most convenient. With the same weekly volume the results are similar, so choose based on how many days you can train.

Are squats enough for your glutes?

They work them, but the main muscle in the back squat is the quads. If you want to prioritize your glutes, add a barbell hip thrust and a barbell Romanian deadlift.

How long does a glute workout take to show?

There is no fixed timeline. The studies gathered by the ACSM last 6 to 52 weeks, and in them strength training already increases muscle size (Currier et al., 2026). What helps most is doing it consistently and progressing.

Should I train glutes with legs?

Yes, it is the most common setup, because several exercises work both. There are ready-made sessions in the leg workout and the lower body workout.

Sources

This guide is for information only and does not replace advice from a health professional.

Glute workout: the best exercises, sets and reps

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