A strong lower body is built from the ground up, and your glutes are the foundation. The right glute workout for men does more than change how your jeans fit. It supports your squat, deadlift, sprint speed, and overall joint health.
Below, you will learn why glute training matters, common mistakes that hold you back, and a practical workout you can start using this week to build strength and muscle.
Why glute strength matters for men
Your glutes are not just one muscle. You have three main players working together: gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus. The glute max drives hip extension, the powerful motion you use when you stand up from a squat, drive out of the bottom of a deadlift, or push off when you sprint. The glute medius and minimus help rotate your leg and keep your pelvis stable when you walk, run, or land from a jump.
When these muscles are weak or underused, everything around them works harder to compensate. This can lead to tight hip flexors, cranky knees, or an overworked lower back. Coaches and researchers note that strong glutes protect against knee, hip, and low back injuries and are a key trait in top athletes such as Olympic sprinters and hockey players, who usually have very powerful glute development.
Because so many daily movements involve hip extension, building stronger glutes can help you:
- Lift heavier on squats and deadlifts
- Run faster and jump higher
- Reduce the risk of back and knee pain by stabilizing the pelvis
- Maintain better posture, especially if you sit a lot
Common mistakes in men’s glute training
If you feel your quads more than your glutes, or your butt has not grown despite years in the gym, you might be making a few common errors.
Relying on the wrong exercises
Fitness coach Jeremy Ethier points out that many lifters choose exercises that do not emphasize hip extension enough. Leg movements that keep your hips mostly straight, or that turn every lower body day into a quad workout, will not give your glutes the stimulus they need.
Instead, you want exercises where your hips are flexed and then extend under load. Effective choices include back squats, leg presses, Bulgarian split squats, deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, and hip thrusts, which Ethier highlights as especially useful for glute growth.
Letting other muscles take over
Even with good exercises, your form can shift tension away from your glutes. Two common compensations are:
- Quads taking over in squats and lunges, often from pushing your knees too far forward and not sitting back into the hips
- Lower back and hamstrings doing too much work on deadlift variations, usually from losing a neutral spine or not finishing with a strong glute squeeze
Jeremy Ethier emphasizes the importance of technique so the target muscles, not the helpers, do the heavy lifting.
Overusing booty bands on everything
Booty bands have their place, but they can be overdone. Coach Mark Carroll notes that putting a band around your knees for every exercise, especially heavy hip extension work like hip thrusts and glute bridges, can actually reduce effectiveness.
The band adds sideways resistance, which forces stabilizers to work harder and may limit the load you can use. Carroll explains that this lateral resistance can divert focus away from the glute max, which should be the star of your hip thrusts and bridges.
Chasing “Instagram exercises”
Flashy, complex moves on social media might look impressive, but they are rarely what builds long term strength and size. Mark Carroll warns against prioritizing novelty over basics. For professional-level glutes, you need consistency and progressive overload on tried and tested movements such as hip thrusts, squats, lunges, Romanian deadlifts, and back extensions, not a constant rotation of gimmicks.
Undereating for muscle growth
If you have been lifting for a while, not eating enough is one of the biggest reasons your glutes are not growing. Carroll identifies a lack of calories as the primary barrier for many lifters. To build muscle, your body needs at least maintenance calories, and often a small surplus, along with adequate protein.
Muscle gain in the glutes is slow. Carroll suggests that significant change usually takes at least 16 to 24 weeks of consistent training at or above maintenance calories.
How often you should train your glutes
You do not need to crush your glutes every day to see progress, but you do need regular, focused work.
- Beginners and intermediates often do well with 2 dedicated glute or lower body sessions per week, using heavy compound lifts.
- The hip thrust is especially useful because it isolates the glutes, recovers quickly compared with heavy squats or deadlifts, and can be trained 3 to 4 times per week if volume per session is managed.
If you sit for long periods, adding brief glute activation work before leg days can help you avoid “gluteal amnesia” or “dead butt syndrome,” a term used to describe poor glute activation seen in people who sit extensively. Over time, this condition can alter gait, worsen posture, and increase the risk of lower back and knee pain.
A strength-focused glute workout for men
Use this sample workout as a starting point. You can run it 1 to 2 times per week, depending on your overall training split. Rest 60 to 120 seconds between sets for most exercises and a bit longer after the heaviest compound lifts.
Tip: Warm up with 5 to 10 minutes of light cardio, then 1 to 2 sets of bodyweight squats, glute bridges, and hip hinge movements to get blood flowing and wake up your glutes.
1. Barbell back squat or leg press
- Sets: 3 to 4
- Reps: 5 to 8
Focus on sitting back and down, keeping your chest lifted and knees aligned over your toes. Squat to a depth that keeps your lower back neutral and lets you feel your glutes load as you descend. If ankle mobility holds you back, you can elevate your heels slightly, but keep your hips driving back, not just your knees forward.
A leg press, using a higher and slightly wider foot position, can be substituted if squats are not suitable for your joints.
2. Romanian deadlift (RDL)
- Sets: 3
- Reps: 6 to 10
The RDL targets your glute max and hamstrings through a deep hip hinge. Stand tall, push your hips back, and keep the bar close to your legs as you lower it to just below the knees or mid-shin, depending on flexibility. Your back should stay flat, and you should feel a strong stretch in the back of your legs. Drive your hips forward and squeeze your glutes to return to standing.
Classic deadlifts and Romanian deadlifts are both highly effective for glute development because they involve powerful hip extension and demand active glute contraction throughout.
3. Barbell or dumbbell hip thrust
- Sets: 3 to 4
- Reps: 8 to 12
Set your upper back against a bench, plant your feet slightly wider than hip width, and let your knees track over your toes. Drop your hips under control, then drive them up strongly, squeezing your glutes at the top while keeping your ribs down and gaze forward.
The hip thrust is one of the most effective options for isolating the glutes. Because it creates less systemic fatigue than heavy squats or deadlifts, it can be performed more frequently, often 3 to 4 times per week in well designed programs.
If you train at home, the glute bridge is a great substitute. Simple setups of 3 sets of 10 reps can already strengthen the glutes and encourage more symmetrical hip alignment, which can help reduce low back discomfort.
4. Bulgarian split squat or walking lunge
- Sets: 3
- Reps: 8 to 12 per leg
Unilateral exercises help correct imbalances and challenge your glutes in slightly different angles. The Bulgarian split squat places your rear foot on a bench and trains the front leg through a deep hip flexion and extension pattern. If you dislike this variation, walking lunges, reverse lunges, or even Cossack squats can provide similar benefits.
Aim to keep your front shin relatively vertical and sit your hips down and back. This encourages more glute involvement and less stress on the front knee.
5. Hip abduction or glute med work
- Sets: 2 to 3
- Reps: 12 to 20
Finish with an exercise that targets the glute medius and minimus, which handle lateral stability. Options include:
- Side lying or standing hip abductions
- Bench hip abductions, which Bret Contreras recommends as a powerful accessory
- Controlled crab walks with a band, using enough tension to feel the side of your hips work without turning it into a cardio drill
These moves help keep your pelvis stable, support healthy knee tracking, and round out the look and function of your glutes.
Training glutes at home without equipment
If you do not have access to a gym, you can still build stronger glutes using bodyweight and simple progressions. A 2024 Gymshark guide notes that bodyweight glute exercises at home are effective for increasing strength and size, especially for beginners. The key is progressive overload, which you can create by:
- Adding reps or sets over time
- Slowing down the lowering phase
- Adding isometric holds at the bottom or top of each rep
- Using single leg variations
Useful bodyweight exercises include:
- Air squats
- Crab walks
- Single leg Romanian deadlifts
- Glute bridges
- Split squats
- Curtsy lunges
These movements work all three main glute muscles and can be adjusted to stay challenging as you improve. Beginners often see noticeable glute growth within about six weeks when they train consistently twice per week and support their workouts with adequate protein intake.
How glute strength supports pain free training
Stronger glutes do more than help you lift heavy. They also play a role in managing pain and improving movement quality.
- Low back pain: Weak glutes can contribute to an anterior pelvic tilt, which places added stress on your lower back. Strengthening your glutes with exercises like glute bridges, 3 sets of 10 reps, supports the pelvis and spine, which may help reduce discomfort over time.
- Knee pain: When your glutes are strong, they help control the position of your thigh bone and maintain a stable lower body chain. Exercises such as quadruped hip extensions, 2 sets of 15 reps per leg, enhance pelvic stability and limit excessive strain on the knee joint.
By improving hip extension strength and pelvic control, you create a better foundation for everything from daily walks to heavy compound lifts.
Putting your glute workout into action
To get the most out of a glute workout for men, keep these points in mind:
- Choose exercises that prioritize hip extension, such as squats, deadlifts, hip thrusts, and lunges.
- Focus on clean form so your glutes do the work, not just your quads or lower back.
- Avoid relying on bands for every lift, especially heavy hip thrusts, so you can load your glute max properly.
- Eat at least enough calories to maintain your body weight, and consider a small surplus if your goal is visible muscle growth.
- Give your plan at least 16 to 24 weeks of consistent effort before you judge your results.
You do not need a complicated routine to build powerful, athletic glutes. Start by adding one or two of the exercises above to your next lower body day, pay attention to how your muscles feel, and adjust the weights gradually. Over time, your strength, stability, and performance will reflect the work you put into this often overlooked muscle group.
