The best bodyweight glute exercises give you the perfectly toned butt you want and help support your weightlifting goals. Which bodyweight glute exercises help best in achieving your goals? Not all glute bodyweight workouts will fit like a glove.
Fortunately, our range of bodyweight glute exercises focus on a variety of goals, including no equipment or intense unilateral exercises. Let’s discover the best glutes bodyweight exercises for a toned yet strong butt.
Scientifically proven bodyweight glute exercises to grow your glutes include:
More glute bodyweight exercises grow those muscles. Let’s focus on the facts before diving into the top bodyweight exercises.
Bodyweight calisthenics are older than weightlifting, but can you grow muscle with bodyweight resistance? Which exercise is the best, and how much do you need to grow your glutes? Let’s answer your burning questions first.
The evidence suggests you must be realistic about glute gains without weights. A comparative analysis from Norway found that bodyweight training with resistance bands had some benefits but couldn’t boost muscle gains as much as weightlifting (14).
Also, a meta-analysis in the UK compared weightlifting to plyometrics and traditional resistance training to see which improved strength, speed, and power the most (5). Weightlifting improved speed and strength more than regular resistance training.
However, it’s possible to grow glutes without weights. A narrative review from Norway suggests bodyweight training may help beginners grow lean muscle mass (15).
Some evidence suggests there can be lean muscle growth with bodyweight exercises. However, a Polish systematic review found that progression is the key to growing muscle groups, overcoming plateaus, and preventing training monotony (12).
You must keep challenging yourself, progressing your loads and reps to grow glutes with hypertrophy. Beginners can start slow, building lean muscle mass. However, intermediate and advanced trainers should increase resistance, load, and reps to keep growing glutes.
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There is debate around unilateral versus bilateral bodyweight resistance training and which builds muscle growth best. A Spanish study found that unilateral and bilateral resistance training similarly improved muscle growth and power (16).
Individuals used lateral lunges for unilateral exercises and half squats for bilateral workouts. The only significant difference was that lateral lunges increased dominant power in both legs. Unilateral exercises are better to improve glute dominant power.
However, a Chinese meta-analysis found bilateral training improved overall power and performance (8). In summary, choose bilateral exercises to power up and grow glutes for performance, but use unilateral exercises to improve dominant power for progression.
Best case scenario: use both types to enhance muscle growth, performance, strength, and consciously use dominant form and technique for advancing to weights in a progressive bodyweight training program.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends moderate-intensity cardiorespiratory workouts that last 30 minutes, five days a week for a total of 150 minutes weekly (2). Some bodyweight resistance exercises double as cardio workouts to fit a 30-minute workout.
Supersets with little rest can make bodyweight exercises like squats double as a cardio workout (15). In another paper, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends beginners train muscle groups for 8-12 reps per set maximum with 2-4 sets (1).
Intermediate and advanced trainers can use a wider load over 1-12 reps with eventual heavy loading at 6-12 reps maximum, with 2-5 minute rest periods between 2-5 sets. Novice trainers can stick to resistance training 2-3 days weekly.
However, intermediate and advanced trainers can use heavy-load resistance training five days a week, focusing on different muscle groups on different days. Ultimately, training the glutes for 30 minutes a day 2-3 days a week fits the recommendations (2, 15, 1).
Read more: 10 Best Glute Exercises To Add To Your Routine and Why
The best bodyweight glute exercises target the area while you progress reps and sets and add weights or minimal resistance equipment at home after doing beginner bodyweight movements for some time. Let’s discover the best bodyweight glute exercises at home.
First, let’s discover bodyweight glute exercises that require no equipment at home. Use the rep and set recommendations that are suitable for your training level(2, 1).
The single-leg glute bridge activates muscles in the glutes and hips (4). However, do a regular glute bridge to warm up or before trying harder variations:
Lunges and their variations work the glutes to improve strength and muscle gains(16).
Try the regular lunge as a beginner:
Alternatively, use the reverse lunge for a better challenge:
Squats and their variations work the glutes to improve strength and muscle gains (16). Let’s start with regular squats, using power and force when rising back up.
Also, let’s show you how to do the jumping squats for added force:
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Discover glute exercises at home using resistance support. Use the rep and set recommendations suitable for your training level (2, 1).
Clamshells are well-known for activating the glutes and hips (17). That said, you can add resistance with simple bands at home. Follow these instructions:
A fire hydrant uses a resistance band to activate the glutes and hips more than a regular clamshell (9). Follow these instructions:
Donkey kicks activate the gluteus maximus and medius (6). Use a resistance band to increase the force for a progressive glute exercise:
Next, glute exercises that also work the hamstrings. Use the rep and set recommendations suitable for your training level(2, 1).
Deadlifts activate the glutes, hamstrings, core, and back for a whole-body resistance workout (19). Also, you don’t need weights for deadlifts as a beginner, you can opt for a resistance band. Here’s how you do a deadlift without weights:
Also, here’s how you do a single-leg weightless deadlift:
Barbell hip thrusts are famous for activating the hamstrings, glutes, hips, and quads (3). However, you can start with bodyweight hip thrusts before adding weights.
Research shows that single-leg glute bridges activate the hamstrings, hips, and glutes (4). Here is to do the single-leg glute raise:
Step-ups activate the glutes, hamstrings, and quads in a cardio-resistance exercise (18). Increase the rep speeds for added force.
Read more: Glute Exercises For Men: Spice Up Your Workout Routine With These Glute-Busting Moves!
Let’s look at bodyweight glute exercises that work for men using minimal support or no equipment seeking unilateral improvements. Use the rep and set recommendations suitable for your training level(2, 1).
Leg lifts on the floor activate the glutes, hips,, and core (10).:
Repeat a full set before switching to the other side
Lateral lunges are proven to be effective as unilateral glute activators (16). Use these instructions for a glute building training exercise:
Barbell hip thrusts activate the hamstrings and glutes(3). However, you can modify them without weights and only use one leg.
Here are bodyweight glute exercises that use minimal resistance support or no equipment with greater difficulty to execute. Use the rep and set recommendations suitable for your training level (2, 1).
Squats target the glute muscles perfectly (16). Try this modified version that could use light weights or no weights for a harder variation:
Single-leg kickbacks activate the same gluteus maximus and medius muscles as donkey kicks, but technique and form matter (6). You’ll need a resistance band for this exercise.
Standing side leg raises target the glutes, hips, and quads (13). Note, this exercise is challenging to execute properly. Follow these instructions:
The American College of Sports Medicine suggests 8-10 exercises per muscle group for maximum results, hypertrophy, and muscle gains (2, 1). They also recommend 8-12 reps for novice trainers and 6-12 reps for intermediate or advanced trainers with a higher load per muscle group 2-5 times weekly. Your glutes will grow, but shouldn’t train them every day. A Spanish study found that squats and lateral lunges helped individuals gain lean muscle mass and strength in their glutes and legs (16). The American College of Sports Medicine only recommends 2-3 days of resistance training weekly for novice trainers and 2-5 days for advanced trainers (2, 1). A small Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research study found that healthy men using heavy loads with low reps gained as much muscle mass as men using low-weight and high reps (7). However, high-weight and low-reps improved strength more significantly, but high reps are as effective for muscle gain. Progression remains the key, even with reps (12). It isn’t realistically possible to isolate specific muscles because they are connected to others, even with glute-specific exercises. The Spanish study shows how half-glutes caused muscle gains in the vastus lateralis and lateral gastrocnemius muscles, while lateral lunges caused gains in the adductor major and vastus medialis lower leg muscles (16).FAQs
Are 3 Exercises Enough to Grow Glutes?
Will My Glutes Grow if I Squat Every Day?
Do Glutes Grow With Weight or Reps?
Is it Possible to Grow Glutes Without Growing Legs?
The best bodyweight glute exercises improve endurance, strength, and mass similar to weightlifting, when completed with improved form and progressive load. Choose the right number of exercises, reps, and sets for your fitness level, and start growing those glutes today.
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