The Glute Guide
Six exercises that actually build glutes, with the form cues that make them work and two ready-made sessions to take to the gym. No fluff, no 100-rep band circuits, no "booty blast". Just the movements worth your time, done properly.
And before we start: no, this won't make you bulky. Building noticeable muscle takes months of deliberate, progressive work and proper eating. What it will do is build shape, strength and a backside that fills your jeans the way you want it to.
01Barbell Hip Thrust
The king of glute exercises, and the one most worth learning properly. Upper back on a bench, barbell over your hips, drive through your heels until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
Form cues
- Chin tucked, ribs down. Don't arch your lower back at the top
- Full squeeze at the top for a second. That pause is the exercise
- Shins vertical at the top. Feet closer than you think
3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
02Romanian Deadlift
Builds the glutes and hamstrings together and teaches you to hinge, the movement pattern behind almost everything else. Soft knees, push your hips back, bar close to your legs, stand up by squeezing your glutes.
Form cues
- It's a hips-back movement, not a squat down
- Feel the stretch in your hamstrings, then drive hips forward
- Flat back throughout. If it rounds, the weight's too heavy
3 sets of 8-10 reps
03Bulgarian Split Squat
Hated by everyone, kept in every good programme for a reason. Rear foot on a bench, front leg does the work. Brutal on the glutes, brilliant for fixing left-right imbalances.
Form cues
- Slight lean forward puts more into the glutes
- Front foot far enough forward that your knee stays behind your toes at the bottom
- Control the way down. No bouncing off the back knee
3 sets of 8-10 reps each leg
04Walking Lunge
Long steps, upright torso, and push through the heel of the front foot. One of the best carry-overs from the gym to how your legs and glutes actually look and perform.
Form cues
- Longer stride hits glutes, shorter stride hits quads. Go long
- Drive up through the front heel, not the back toes
- Take a beat between steps rather than rushing wobbly reps
3 sets of 10-12 steps each leg
05Cable Kickback
An isolation finisher done at the cable machine, not a main lift. Ankle strap on, slight forward lean, kick back and up in a controlled arc and squeeze hard at the top.
Form cues
- The glute moves the weight, not momentum or your lower back
- Squeeze for a second at full extension
- Lighter than your ego wants. Feel it or it's wasted
2-3 sets of 12-15 reps each leg
06Hip Abduction
The seated machine everyone jokes about, and the one that builds the upper outer glutes that give shape from the side and back. Lean slightly forward off the pad to bias the glutes harder.
Form cues
- Push to full range and pause at the widest point
- Slow on the way back in. Don't let the stack slam
- Works well as a finisher when everything else is done
2-3 sets of 12-15 reps
Two ready-made sessions
Run these once or twice a week each, resting at least a day between them. Warm up first: 5 minutes easy cardio, then glute bridges and bodyweight lunges before your first working set.
Session A
| Barbell Hip Thrust | 4 × 8-12 |
| Bulgarian Split Squat | 3 × 8-10 |
| Cable Kickback | 3 × 12-15 |
| Hip Abduction | 2 × 15 |
Session B
| Romanian Deadlift | 3 × 8-10 |
| Walking Lunge | 3 × 10-12 each leg |
| Barbell Hip Thrust (lighter, paused) | 3 × 12 |
| Hip Abduction | 2 × 15 |
The bit most people skip
Progressive overload is the whole game. Write down your weights and beat them over time: an extra rep, an extra 2.5kg, a cleaner pause. The exercises build the stimulus. The progression builds the glutes.
And you have to eat. Muscle doesn't grow on 1,200 calories and half your protein target. If you're training hard and undereating, you're leaving most of your results on the table. This is exactly the trap this guide can't fix for you, and coaching can.
Want it programmed for you?
Weights, progression and nutrition sorted around your life. Train with me at UltraFlex Durham or Hii Club Gosforth, or get coached online anywhere.
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