Glute exercises
Most beginner glute programs make the same design mistake: one exercise, usually the squat, on the assumption that hip involvement there is enough on its own. The gap isn't technique, it's programming — the squat loads the glutes mostly at the bottom, with the hip flexed and the quads sharing the work, and barely works them near the fully extended hip, the muscle's shortest position, the end range the glutes handle almost alone. Getting there needs a second exercise built for that exact end range, because no squat variation closes it alone. That's the gap the hip thrust fills: it loads the glutes almost exclusively near the top of hip extension, with the quads barely involved, while the squat and the lunge load them mostly at the bottom, sharing the work with the quads — the two are complementary, not competing options. The Romanian deadlift works the glutes from the opposite end of that range: it loads them from a stretched, hip-flexed position rather than from full extension. Stopping short of full hip extension on the hip thrust cuts out that same end range all over again. Among the squat variants, depth and torso angle are what actually shifts the demand: a wide-stance sumo squat, or a deep squat with more forward lean, ask more of the glutes than the same squat done upright through a shorter range.
Exercises
1. Romanian deadlift
hamstrings and glutes · barbell
The prime mover is the hamstring group — biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus — extending the hip from a stretched position, which is exactly where it responds best in both strength and size.
2. Hip thrust
glutes · barbell and bench
The prime mover is the glute max, working through a range no other common exercise loads this close to full hip extension.
3. Deadlift
posterior chain · barbell
The prime movers are the glutes and hamstrings extending the hip, together with the whole erector spinae chain working isometrically to resist spinal flexion under the heaviest load in the gym.
4. Bulgarian split squat
quads and glutes · dumbbells and bench
The prime mover is the front leg's quad, mainly the rectus femoris and the vastus muscles, which do most of the work extending the knee on the way up.
5. Sumo squat
glutes and adductors · barbell or dumbbell
The prime movers are the adductors, which in this wide stance sit in a much more direct line of pull with hip extension than in a conventional squat, along with the glute max, which also takes on more load from the same angle change.
6. Squat
quads and glutes · barbell
The prime mover is the quad, mainly the rectus femoris and the vastus muscles, which extends the knee through the whole ascent and takes on more load the more upright your torso stays, as happens with a high bar.
7. Lunges
quads and glutes · dumbbells or bodyweight
The prime mover is the front leg's quad, extending the knee on the way up, together with that same leg's glute max extending the hip.
8. Hack squat
quads · machine
The prime mover is the quad — rectus femoris and the vastus muscles — extending the knee through the whole range; fixing the back to the pad takes the hip mostly out of the equation and concentrates nearly all the work on the knee, more than a free squat does at the same depth.
9. Dumbbell Romanian deadlift
hamstrings and glutes · dumbbells
The prime mover is the same as in the barbell version: the hamstring group — biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus — extending the hip from a stretched position, with the glute max joining in more forcefully near the top of the movement.
10. Dumbbell deadlift
posterior chain · dumbbells
The prime mover is the same as in the barbell version: glutes and hamstrings extending the hip, with the quads kicking in harder than expected near the floor, where the knee angle is most closed, to help break the weight off the ground.
11. Leg press
quads and glutes · 45° leg press machine
The prime mover is the quad, extending the knee through the whole range and taking on more of the work the lower and narrower the feet sit on the plate.
12. Sumo deadlift
glutes and adductors · barbell
The prime movers are the glutes and adductors extending the hip from a much wider, lower starting position than the conventional pull, together with the quads, which contribute more than in a conventional deadlift because the knee starts from a more closed angle.
13. Back extension
lower back and glutes · roman chair
The prime movers are the glutes and hamstrings extending the hip from a flexed position — the same job the hip does in a Romanian deadlift, just with no bar holding the load.
Workouts with these exercises
- Glute workout routine
- Leg workout routine
- 3-day full body workout
- Beginner gym workout plan
- Push pull legs routine
- Back workout routine
Frequently asked questions
How many times a week should I train glutes?
Twice a week works for most people, on separate days. The glute routine is exactly that: two lower-body sessions, A and B, with the hip thrust in both.
Squat or hip thrust?
Both, because they don't compete: the squat loads the glutes mostly at the bottom, with the hip flexed, together with the quads; the hip thrust loads them at the top, with the hip extended, the part where the squat barely works them. If you already squat and want to add one, make it the hip thrust.
Why do I feel squats in my quads and not my glutes?
Because with a narrow stance and an upright torso the quads do much of the work. Squatting deeper with a little more forward lean, or widening your stance as in the sumo squat, tends to shift more of the work to the glutes.
Does the Romanian deadlift work the glutes?
Yes. It loads them from the stretched position, with the hip flexed: the opposite end from the hip thrust. That's why session A of the glute routine has both.
Other muscles
Gojan builds the routine and changes it when you tell it your week falls apart. Download Gojan