Workout · Lower body · Glute focus
Everything here needs one bench and a pair of dumbbells. About 45 minutes. Do it twice a week with at least two days between sessions, and aim to add a rep or a little weight every week. The glutes grow from heavy hip extension done with control, so the first three moves get the most effort while you're fresh.
| Block | Moves | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | Glute bridges, bodyweight squats, reverse lunges, frog pumps | 5–7 min |
| Main lifts | Hip thrust · Bulgarian split squat · Goblet squat · Romanian deadlift | ~28 min |
| Accessories | Step-ups · Single-leg hip thrust | ~10 min |
| Finisher + stretch | Frog pumps or sumo squats · hip flexor and glute stretch | ~5 min |
One round, no rest. The point is blood flow and waking the glutes up so they do the work in the main lifts instead of your lower back.
On your back, knees bent, feet flat and hip-width. Drive through your heels, lift the hips until your body is a straight line from shoulders to knees, squeeze for two seconds, lower slowly. Ribs down, no arching the lower back.
Feet shoulder-width, toes slightly out. Sit down between your heels as deep as you can with your heels flat and chest up. Three seconds down, one second up.
Step back, lower the back knee toward the floor, then push through the front heel to stand. A slight forward lean of the torso puts more into the glute.
Like a glute bridge but with the soles of your feet together and knees out. Pump the hips up and squeeze hard at the top. This is pure glute activation and should burn by the end.
Rest about 90 seconds between sets. Write down your weights, because next week the goal is one more rep or five more pounds.
Upper back on the edge of the bench, dumbbell across your hips with a towel or pad under it. Feet planted so that your shins are vertical at the top. Tuck your chin, keep your ribs down, and drive through your heels until your hips are fully locked out and your body is flat like a tabletop. Squeeze for one to two seconds, then lower under control.
Rear foot laces-down on the bench, a dumbbell in each hand (or one goblet-style). Take a long stride and lean your torso slightly forward, which shifts the work from the quad to the glute. Lower until the back knee is just off the floor, then drive up through the whole front foot.
Swap: reverse lunges with dumbbells if the balance is too much today.
Hold one dumbbell vertically against your chest, elbows pointing down. Feet shoulder-width, toes a little out. Sit as deep as you can while your heels stay down and your chest stays tall. Knees track over the toes. Stand by pushing the floor away and squeezing the glutes at the top.
Dumbbells in front of your thighs, soft knees, shoulders back. Push your hips straight back and let the dumbbells slide down your legs with a flat back until you feel a deep stretch in the hamstrings, usually just below the knee. Then drive the hips forward and squeeze the glutes to stand. The knees barely bend; this is a hinge, not a squat.
Swap: single-leg Romanian deadlift (lighter, more glute medius and balance).
Lighter weights, strict form, rest 60–90 seconds.
Whole foot on the bench (about knee height), dumbbells at your sides. Drive through the heel of the top foot and stand all the way up, squeezing the glute. Lower slowly for three seconds. Do all reps on one leg, then switch.
Swap: lateral step-ups or curtsy lunges to hit the side of the glute.
Same setup as the hip thrust, one foot planted, the other knee pulled toward your chest or leg held straight. Keep the hips level as you drive up and squeeze. Bodyweight first; add a dumbbell on the working hip once you can do 15 clean reps.
High reps, short rest, chase the burn. Two sets and you're done.
Same as the warm-up, but add a dumbbell on your hips and hold the top of the last rep for ten seconds.
Wide stance, toes turned out, one dumbbell hanging between your legs. Sit straight down, keeping the chest up and knees pushed out over the toes. Squeeze the glutes and inner thighs to stand.
| Stretch | How | Hold |
|---|---|---|
| Kneeling hip flexor | Half-kneel, tuck the pelvis, squeeze the back glute, shift forward gently. | 30 s each side |
| Figure-4 glute | On your back, ankle on the opposite knee, pull the bottom leg toward you. | 30 s each side |
| Standing hamstring | Heel on the bench, leg straight, hinge forward with a flat back. | 30 s each side |
A 2020 systematic review of muscle-activation studies ranked step-ups, hip thrusts, lunges and split squats among the exercises with the highest gluteus maximus activity, well above most machine work[1]. Head to head, the hip thrust activates the glutes more than the back squat[2], and when the two were trained for nine weeks they grew the glutes by a similar amount[3], which is why this program leads with the thrust and keeps a deep squat in too.
The rep ranges are deliberately moderate. Lighter and heavier loads build similar muscle when sets are taken close to failure[4], so with a limited set of dumbbells the lever you control is effort and steady progression, not chasing a maximal weight.