Glutes: exercises and how to train them
The glutes are the largest muscle in your body. Squats, hinges and lunges all load them, and hip thrusts and bridges add load right at the fully contracted top.
What these muscles do
The gluteus maximus extends the hip: it straightens your pelvis coming out of a squat, in a deadlift and at the top of a bridge. The medius and minimus move your thigh out to the side and keep your pelvis level when you stand on one leg — which is why lunges and step-ups are glute work too. In the diary a deadlift set gives the glutes a quarter of a set — that's how I count their weekly volume.
Exercises with technique breakdowns
7 more exercises in the catalog
- Deficit Deadlift
- Hip Abductor Machine
- Glute Bridge
- Cable Glute Kickback
- Reverse Hyperextension
- One-Arm Kettlebell Swing
- Single-Leg Glute Bridge
They're all in the diary: find one by name in the bot or the app, and I'll remember the weight and reps.
How to train them
- In the hip thrust, hold the top for a second and don't arch your lower back — your glutes finish the movement, not your spine.
- Add single-leg work: reverse lunges and step-ups load the standing leg's glute harder.
- Squat deep — at the bottom the glutes are stretched and work more.
- There's a dedicated program for glutes — Glutes and legs, 3 days.
Programs and sets for this group
| Program | Sets per cycle | Days per cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Glutes & Legs — 3 Days | 13 | 3 |
| Push / Pull / Legs | 0.8 | 3 |
| Full Body — 3 Days | 0.5 | 3 |
| Strength 5×5 — A/B | 0.2 | 2 |
Sets for one pass through all of the program's days, by its own schemes. A deadlift set is split in half between back and hamstrings — the way the diary counts it.
Exercise comparisons
Log your workouts — I'll show how many sets a week you give this group.