WHAT ARE THE BEST EXERCISES TO GROW YOUR GLUTES? The Top 5 Booty-Building Exercises!
Who is this article/video for:
Anyone who wants to grow & strengthen their glutes
Anyone who wants to learn how to optimally train their glutes
Who is this article/video not for?
Anyone who is looking for booty-band workouts (this article/video will teach you how to ACTUALLY blow up your glutes)
I’m going to teach you the 5 best exercises for bigger & stronger glutes. We’ll cover how many times per week to do them with how many sets & reps you should do them for. (CLICK HERE IF YOU RATHER WATCH ON YOUTUBE WITH VIDEO TUTORIALS)
First, we’ll cover the 3 parts that makes up the glutes so you can understand which exercises target which section & why exercises like the Hip Abduction machine don’t target the glutes optimally.
Your glutes are made up of 3 parts: The Maximus, medius, & minimus.
Now that you have a clear picture of the 3 sections of your glutes let’s dive into it.
EXERCISE #1 - BB, DB, or Trapbar RDL
This is an amazing exercise for growing your glutes.
I’d recommend trying out BB, DB, & Trapbar RDL’s & then choosing the one you like the most to run with for 3-6+ months.
Let’s hop into how you’re going to do it for best results:
RDL
This exercise is all about leading with your hips
Pretend there’s a door open behind you & you need to close it with your ass
Slight knee bend
Keep the bar close as possible to your body
Don’t go too low. When your butt stops going back…that’s when you come back up, for most people that’s when the bar gets to around knee to mid-shin
Frequency: Once per week.
Sets & Reps: 3-5 sets of 6-12 reps.
Rest: 2-3 minutes between each set.
EXERCISE #2 - Hip Thrust or KAS Glute Bridge
Both of these are amazing for glute growth Let’s go into the hip thrust first.
Hip Thrust
Place a pad/mat/bar-pad between your hips & the bar or you’ll never want to do this again
Make sure your feet are out far enough so that when you reach the top of the movement & your glutes are fully contracted that your shins are perpendicular to the floor
if your feet are too far forward, you’ll be hitting more hammys
if your feet are too far back, you’ll be hitting more quads
Also make sure to turn your feet very slightly outward - this will help you achieve external hip rotation
Keep your chin tucked and focus on looking down - not up.
Also make sure to squeeze those cheeks for a half or full second before going back down.
KAS Glute Bridge
Exact same set-up & cues as the hip thrust
The only difference is the range of motion & intensity of the contraction
With hip thrusts… you’re thrusting
with this exercise, you’re slowly squeezing as you get to the top & holding for 1-2 seconds
The range of motion is also shorter than the hip thrust
You want to stop the descent before your shins break perpendicular to the floor.
If you’re having trouble grasping this, think about it like this: it’s kind of the top end of a hip thrust.
Frequency: 1-2 times per week.
Sets & Reps: 3 sets for 8 to 15 reps, take all sets to or close to failure.
Rest: 1-3 mins between each set.
EXERCISE #3 - Unilateral DB loaded Forward Leaning RFESS
RFESS stands for Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat, this is also commonly called a Bulgarian split squat.
Unilateral DB Loaded Forward Leaning RFESS
Set up a bench, block, pad, chair, couch, anything that lets you touch, or almost touch your knee to the floor.
Generally, anything will work but 12-36 inch platforms are a good place to start
If you choose something too high you will have to also use a platform under your front foot & now we’re doing a different exercise.
When doing this exercise with your back foot on the bench think about that knee going down & back while keeping your weight on the heel-to-midfoot of your planted foot.
When loading this exercise hold 2 DB’s or hold 1 DB in the hand that’s on the same side of the leg you’re working.
This will help to ensure you’re fatiguing the muscles we’re trying to hit in this exercise & not your core.
Frequency: 1-2 times per week.
Sets & Reps: 3 sets for 6-12 reps, take all sets to or close to failure.
Rest: 2-3 mins between each set.
EXERCISE #4 - Cable Glute Kickbacks & Glute-medius kickbacks
Cable Kickbacks
Place the cable to the lowest setting
strap in with either an ankle strap that some gyms have or you can just use a cable handle over your toe
Place both hands on the handles to the side of the cable machine or on the cable column
Keep a slight bend in your knee as you bring your leg back and fully contract your glute
Do not significantly hyperextend or bend your low back during this if you want optimal glute gains
Glute-Medius Kickback (hip abduction)
Place the cable to the lowest setting
strap in with either an ankle strap that some gyms have or you can just use a cable handle over your toe
Place both hands on the handles to the side of the cable machine or on the cable column
Keep a slight bend in your knee as you bring your leg back in a diagonal sweep and fully contract your glute
Do not significantly hyperextend or bend your low back during this if you want optimal glute gains
Frequency: 1-3 times per week.
Sets & Reps: 3 sets for 8 to 20 reps.
Rest: 1-2 minutes between each set.
EXERCISE #5 - Glute Focused Leg PRess
Glute Leg Press
Sit Down in the machine
Place your feet about high & close
they shouldn’t be wider than your shoulders/hips
& not so high your ass/low-back is coming off the pads of the machine
Push-off & start your first rep
When going down you need to stop before your ass starts coming off the pad, so go light or use not weight at all at first to see where that depth is for you specifically.
Frequency: 1-2 times per week.
Sets & Reps: 3 sets for 8 to 12 reps.
Rest: 2-3 minutes between each set.
What’s Next Week?
I hope this helps you! If you need help please feel free to DM me on Instagram @tedshredss or email me: tedgormanpt@gmail.com. I’d love to give you free tips/advice or help clear up anything we talked about today.
Go vote on my Instagram story for which muscle group I’ll make a video on for next week.
Thank you for reading or watching!
I hope this has helped you and if it has…
Please let me know via email! tedgormanpt@gmail.com
Also, if you have any questions about what we talked about today…
Email me, I’d love to answer your questions and give you some advice 🤝
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Talk soon,
-Ted :)
