Best Exercises for Glute Strength: Beyond Squats and Hip Thrusts

Best Exercises for Glute Strength: Beyond Squats and Hip Thrusts

Short answer: Squats and hip thrusts are excellent, but they are not the whole story. The strongest glutes come from training all three glute muscles through different movement patterns: hip hinges like Romanian deadlifts, single-leg work like Bulgarian split squats and step-ups, sideways movements like cable abductions, and deep stretches like deficit lunges. Two to three glute sessions a week, with a mix of heavy, moderate, and high-rep work, builds strength that squats alone will never give you.

If your glute training is just squats and hip thrusts on repeat, you are leaving a lot of strength on the table. Do not get me wrong — both are brilliant exercises, and they deserve a place in your programme. But your glutes are three muscles with different jobs, different fibre directions, and different strengths, and no two exercises can train all of them fully.

This guide goes beyond the usual two. You will learn how your glutes actually work, why variety matters, the best exercises in each category, and how to put them together into a programme that builds genuinely strong, functional glutes — the kind that make you faster, protect your lower back, and yes, change how your jeans fit.

Why are strong glutes so important?

Your glutes are the largest and most powerful muscle group in your body, and they do far more than fill out a pair of jeans. The gluteus maximus drives hip extension — the movement behind sprinting, jumping, climbing stairs, and standing up from a chair. The gluteus medius and minimus stabilise your pelvis every time you take a step, keeping your hips level and your knees tracking properly.

When your glutes are weak, other muscles pick up the slack, and that is where problems start. Weak glutes are linked to knee pain, lower back pain, and hamstring strains, because your lower back and knees end up doing work your hips should be doing. Strong glutes improve your posture, your running speed, and your resilience against injury. For athletes, they are the engine. For everyone else, they are the foundation of moving well.

How do the three glute muscles actually work?

Understanding the anatomy makes your exercise choices obvious. The gluteus maximus is the big one — it extends the hip (pushing your leg backwards) and rotates it outwards. It works hardest when your hip is loaded in a stretched position and when you drive through your heels.

The gluteus medius sits on the side of your hip. Its job is abduction — moving your leg away from your body — and, more importantly, keeping your pelvis stable when you stand on one leg. Every step you take, your medius fires to stop your opposite hip dropping. The gluteus minimus sits underneath it and helps with the same stabilising job. If you only ever train hip extension, your medius and minimus stay undertrained — and that is where single-leg and sideways exercises come in.

Why aren't squats and hip thrusts enough on their own?

Squats are a superb all-round leg exercise, but they are quad-dominant for most people. Your quadriceps do a large share of the work, especially if you squat with a narrow stance and an upright torso. Hip thrusts are brilliant for the gluteus maximus in its shortened position, but they barely touch the medius, and they do not train the glutes in a deep stretch. A programme built on two exercises will always have gaps — the sides of your hips, the deep stretch position, and single-leg stability.

What are the best hip hinge exercises for glutes?

Hip hinges load the glutes in a stretched position, which is one of the strongest drivers of muscle growth. The Romanian deadlift is the king here: hold a barbell or dumbbells, hinge at the hips with a soft bend in the knees, lower the weight until you feel a deep stretch in your hamstrings and glutes, then drive your hips forward. Three to four sets of 8 to 12 reps, slow and controlled, with a two-second pause at the bottom, will humble almost anyone.

The single-leg Romanian deadlift adds balance and hits the gluteus medius hard, because your standing leg has to stabilise your whole pelvis. Start with bodyweight or a light dumbbell, and only add weight when you can hinge without wobbling or twisting. The good morning is another option — a barbell across your shoulders, hinging forward with control — but keep the weight modest and the range honest.

Which single-leg exercises build the strongest glutes?

Single-leg work is where most people's glutes finally wake up. The Bulgarian split squat is the standout: rear foot elevated on a bench, front foot planted, lower until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Lean your torso slightly forward and drive through your front heel, and your glutes will work far harder than in a regular squat. Three sets of 8 to 10 reps per leg is plenty.

Step-ups are underrated and brutally effective. Step onto a box or bench that puts your knee at roughly hip height, drive through the heel of the working leg, and bring the other foot up without pushing off the floor. Keep the movement slow on the way down — the lowering phase is where the glutes do their best work. Walking lunges with a long stride and a slight forward lean load the glutes through a deep stretch, while curtsy lunges add a sideways element that wakes up the medius.

How do I train the sides of my glutes?

The gluteus medius is the muscle that gives your hips their shape and keeps your knees from collapsing inwards. It is trained by abduction — moving the leg out to the side — and by single-leg stability work. The cable hip abduction is the most effective loaded option: stand sideways to a low cable, strap it to your ankle, and lift your leg out to the side with control, without leaning away. Two to three sets of 12 to 15 reps per side.

The side-lying clamshell gets dismissed as a physio exercise, but with a resistance band around your knees and a slow tempo, it is a genuine glute medius builder. Banded lateral walks (side steps with a band around your ankles or knees, staying low in a quarter squat) are another staple: two or three sets of 15 steps in each direction. And the side plank with hip abduction — lifting the top leg while holding a side plank — trains the medius while it is doing its real job: stabilising your pelvis.

What about deep stretch exercises for glute growth?

Muscles grow best when they are loaded in a stretched position, and the glutes are no exception. Exercises that take your hip into deep flexion — your knee close to your chest — and then ask your glutes to drive you out of it are some of the most effective growth builders there are.

The deficit reverse lunge is a favourite: stand on a low step, step backwards into a deep lunge, and drive up through the front heel. The extra depth from the step increases the stretch on the glutes dramatically. The deep goblet squat, holding a dumbbell at your chest and squatting as low as your mobility allows, loads the glutes in their longest position. And the hip thrust with a pause at the bottom — sitting deep into the stretch for two seconds before driving up — combines the stretch with the hip thrust's huge loading potential. If you only add one idea from this guide to your training, make it the paused, stretched rep.

How many times a week should I train glutes?

Two to three sessions a week is the sweet spot for most people. The glutes are large, strong muscles that recover well, but they still need 48 hours between hard sessions. A good split is one heavy day (Romanian deadlifts, Bulgarian split squats, hip thrusts in the 6-10 rep range), one moderate day (step-ups, lunges, cable work in the 10-15 rep range), and optionally one lighter day focused on the medius and activation work.

Do not train glutes hard every day. More is not better — better is better. The muscle grows while you rest, and the people who see the fastest progress are usually the ones who train consistently at a sensible volume and then actually recover, eat enough protein, and sleep properly.

How do I know my glutes are actually working?

This is a real problem, especially for beginners: you do an exercise that is meant to target your glutes, and you feel it everywhere except your glutes. The fix is usually a combination of form and intent. Slow down. Focus on driving through your heels. At the top of a hip thrust or a step-up, squeeze your glutes hard for a second before lowering.

Activation work before your main lifts can help enormously. Two minutes of banded glute bridges, clamshells, or lateral walks before you squat or deadlift will switch the glutes on so they actually contribute to the big lifts. And if you still cannot feel them, try a lighter weight with a slower tempo — three seconds down, two seconds up — until the connection clicks.

What mistakes stop glute progress?

The most common mistake is using too much weight with poor form — bouncing out of the bottom of a squat, arching the lower back at the top of a hip thrust, or letting your knee cave inwards on a lunge. Your lower back is not a glute, and if it is doing the work, your glutes are not growing.

Other mistakes: only training in one rep range, never progressing the weight or the reps, skipping single-leg work entirely, and neglecting the medius. And the quietest killer of all — not eating enough. Glutes are big muscles, and building them requires fuel. Eat enough protein (around 1.6 grams per kilogram of bodyweight a day is a good target for muscle growth), and give your body the raw material to build with.

What does a complete glute workout look like?

Here is a session that covers every category in this guide. It takes about 45 minutes.

1. Warm-up: 5 minutes of easy cardio, then 2 sets of 15 banded glute bridges and 10 clamshells per side.
2. Romanian deadlift: 4 sets of 8 reps, slow lowering, pause at the bottom.
3. Bulgarian split squat: 3 sets of 8 reps per leg, slight forward lean, drive through the heel.
4. Hip thrust: 3 sets of 10 reps, two-second squeeze at the top.
5. Step-up: 3 sets of 10 reps per leg, slow on the way down.
6. Cable hip abduction: 3 sets of 15 reps per side.
7. Banded lateral walk: 2 sets of 15 steps each direction to finish.

Run a session like this twice a week, with a lighter medius-focused day in between if you want a third session, and progress the weights or reps a little each week. In eight to twelve weeks, you should feel the difference in your strength — and see it too.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are squats and hip thrusts enough for glute growth?

They are a good start, but not enough on their own. Squats are quad-dominant for most people, and hip thrusts train the gluteus maximus mainly in its shortened position. Adding hip hinges, single-leg work, and sideways movements trains all three glute muscles fully.

How often should I train glutes for best results?

Two to three sessions a week is ideal, with at least 48 hours of rest between hard sessions. Mix heavy work (6-10 reps), moderate work (10-15 reps), and medius work like cable abductions for complete development.

What is the best exercise for the side of the glutes?

The gluteus medius responds best to abduction and single-leg stability work: cable hip abductions, banded lateral walks, side-lying clamshells with a band, and single-leg exercises like Bulgarian split squats and step-ups.

Why can't I feel my glutes working?

Slow down, drive through your heels, and squeeze your glutes hard at the top of each rep. Add two minutes of activation work — banded glute bridges or clamshells — before your main lifts, and use a lighter weight with a slow tempo until the connection clicks.

How long does it take to build stronger glutes?

Most people feel a real strength difference in four to six weeks and see visible change in eight to twelve weeks of consistent training, two to three sessions a week, with enough protein and progressive overload.

Related Reading

• Glute Bridge vs Hip Thrust: Which Is Better for Glute Growth?
• How to Do Bulgarian Split Squats: Form, Benefits and Mistakes
• How to Do Lunges Correctly: Form, Variations and Common Mistakes

Consult a healthcare professional before starting any new exercise or diet program.