Benefits | Abs | Glutes | Arms | Shoulders
Being in great shape means training the entire body, including the glutes. All athletes and fitness enthusiasts (yes, guys too) should incorporate exercises for the largest muscle group in the body. If you work out at home, you might think that you can’t train the glutes effectively, but rest assured that that’s not the case.
In this guide, we provide you with a variety of effective, at-home glute workouts. The exercises range from beginner to advanced, plus you can group some of these together if you’re low on time. Ultimately, these at-home glute workouts are designed to help you lose fat, build muscle, and get stronger.
Benefits of Glute Workouts at Home
Luckily, at-home workouts require minimal space and zero equipment. Bodyweight glute exercises can also be a great way to learn how to train effectively by helping your glutes activate. Adding in equipment such as bands and ankle weights is also a good option if you wish to take your training to the next level.
Not only that, but by completing these exercises and building stronger glutes, you’re helping prevent back pain. The gluteal complex of muscles plays a central role in taking stress off of the spine. So, the stronger your glutes are, the less you’ll end up relying on your lower back, staving off aches and pains.
Finally, these workouts can help improve the way you look and perform. These butt workouts at home can help you become a better athlete, plus you’ll like the way your jeans and shorts look as well.
Beginner Glute Workout at Home
The purpose of this workout is to learn proper form, understand how your glute muscles work, and challenge yourself to train the glutes effectively. We recommend performing two sets of 15 reps with each of these exercises, taking a one-minute rest between sets.
Once you grow more comfortable with these movements, or if you’re an intermediate or advanced trainee that needs a quick glute session, do all five exercises as a circuit for 15 reps each. Rest for one minute after you finish a circuit and try performing three rounds of this before calling it a day.
Bodyweight Sumo Squat: 2 sets of 15 reps
Stand tall with your feet wider slightly than shoulder-width apart. Keep your hands clasped together at chest level. Bend your knees and lower your hips until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Keep a straight, neutral spine while lowering down. Drive through your heels when returning to the standing position (helps engage your glutes more) and squeeze your glutes at the top. Maintain balance before beginning the next rep.
Bodyweight Good Morning: 2 sets of 15 reps
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands behind your head. Your elbows should be pointed out to the sides. Tighten your core and keep your back straight. Hinge forward and stick your butt back like you’re trying to touch the wall behind you. Once your upper body is parallel with the floor, pull your hips forward and slowly return to the standing position. The key here is to move slowly in order to maintain that mind-to-muscle connection. Contract your glutes while you’re doing this.
Glute Bridge: 2 sets of 15 reps
Lie on the floor with your legs bent, feet flat against the floor, and your arms flat at 45 degrees to your body. Tuck your pelvis, lift your hips up off the floor and contract the glutes. Use your feet and arms to stabilize the body while you do this. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.
Hip Drive from Knees: 2 sets of 15 reps
Sit on your knees with your butt on your heels and your back straight. Squeeze the glutes to lift your hips up off your heels so your body is straight from thighs to head. Slowly lower your hips to the starting position and repeat.
Side Lunge: 2 sets of 15 reps
Stand up straight and tall with feet shoulder-width apart. Take your right foot and step out to the side. Lower your hips as well, as if you’re sitting back into a squat. Your right knee should be bent while the left leg is out straight to your side. Raise your hips back up and return to the starting position. Repeat by stepping to the left and performing the same motion. Once you complete both sides, you’ve done one rep. You could also perform all reps on one side before switching to the other.
Intermediate Glute Workout at Home
This workout will require the use of a stopwatch or clock, mini resistance band, and dumbbells. If you don’t feel you’re not strong enough to use this equipment, perform these exercises with bodyweight alone. Perform each exercise for one minute and take one-minute rest after. Repeat each exercise for two sets. If you stay on pace, you can finish this workout in 20 minutes.
Lateral Step with Band: 2 sets of 1 min.
Place the mini band around your legs, slightly above the knee. Stand tall with your shoulders back. Take a wide step to the left by stretching the band. Bring your right foot with you. Next, take the right leg and repeat the same pattern. If you have a long stretch of space to move between, perform all the steps with one foot before returning to the point you started at by leading with the other foot.
Walking Lunge with Dumbbells: 2 sets of 1 min.
Stand with a dumbbell in each hand. Step forward with the left leg and bend your knee until it comes close or even touches the floor. Make sure your knee doesn’t stick out past your toes. Your right leg should be stretched behind you. Bring your right leg up and straighten your left leg so you’re standing again. Take the next step with the right foot and perform the movement in the same fashion. Once you finish with the right leg, you’ve done one rep. Repeat.
Single-Leg Hip Lift: 2 sets of 1 min.
Lie on your back with knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and your arms flat at 45 degrees to your body. Lift your right leg up and bring the knee as close to the torso as possible. Push through your left heel and lift your hips up. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement. Lower your hips back to the floor and repeat. Perform all reps in the time limit on one side, then repeat with the other side.
Weighted Glute Bridge: 2 sets of 1 min.
This is the same as the bodyweight version, except you will be supporting a dumbbell on top of your hips. You can also use two light dumbbells if you don’t have one that is heavy enough. Lay the dumbbell horizontal across your hips to help it balance while you perform this movement.
Single-Leg Deadlift: 2 sets of 1 min.
Hold a dumbbell in your left hand and stand tall with feet around shoulder-width apart. Lift the left leg back behind you and hinge your hips so you’re lowering the dumbbell to the floor. The right leg should be supporting you while you’re doing this. The dumbbell should be slightly in front of your right leg, or the leg that is stable during this movement. Maintain a neutral spine and tight core. Once you reach the lowest point, slowly lift yourself up and return to the starting position. Repeat all reps in this fashion before switching sides for the next set.
Advanced Glute Workout at Home
These glute exercises are for athletes such as runners, cyclists, triathletes, and cross-trainers that want to maximize performance in training and competition.
Perform three or four working sets of 15-20 reps each with 30-45 seconds of rest between sets. If you want to get stronger or build muscle, use heavier weights and slow down the negatives. This increases your time under tension, which is ideal if you’re looking to build muscle or simply push yourself.
If fat loss and endurance are the focal points of your workouts, keep the rest down to 30 seconds and maintain a consistent pace.
Bulgarian Split Squat: 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps
Stand two to three feet in front of a bench or chair. Extend either leg behind you so that your knee is at the edge and rest your foot on top of the chair or bench. While maintaining an upright position, slowly bend the standing leg and lower your body towards the floor. Keep your core tight and spine neutral. Move just as slowly coming back up for more time under tension then return to the standing position and repeat. Once you finish all reps with the first leg, switch and repeat.
Glute Kickbacks with Ankle Weights: 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps
Place ankle weights on both your ankles. Get on your hands and knees as if you were about to crawl with your chest facing the floor. While maintaining the bend in the knee, lift one leg up and bring it slightly forward. Next, kick the leg back as high as you can behind you and straighten the leg out. Return to the starting position and repeat. Once you finish all reps with the first leg, switch and do the same with the other.
Reverse Dumbbell Lunge: 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps
Stand straight and tall with a dumbbell in each hand. Take one foot and step behind you. Bend the knee of the leg that you’re standing with. When the back knee touches the floor, return to the starting position. Repeat the same motion with the opposite leg. Completing a rep with each leg is one rep.
Suitcase Squat: 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps
Stand tall with a dumbbell in one hand. Keep the arm with no dumbbell straight out in front of you. Slowly lower yourself into a squat position. Once the thighs are parallel with the floor, return to the starting position. Once you finish the reps on one side, take the dumbbell with the other hand and repeat.
Fire Hydrant with Ankle Weights: 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps
Place ankle weights on both ankles before starting this exercise. Get on your hands and knees as if you were about to crawl with your chest facing the floor. Lift one leg up and rotate to the side as high as you can. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat. Once you finish all reps on one side, repeat with the other.
Final Takeaway
You can take any combination of these exercises and put them together to make your own custom at-home glute workout. Once you feel comfortable enough to add more equipment such as barbells or kettlebells, your list of exercises can grow even more. All these glute exercises and workouts are designed to build muscle in your glutes, which can ultimately improve your butt’s shape, alleviate lower back pain, and positively impact performance.