Written by Patrick Dale, PT, ex-Marine
The gluteus maximus, or the glutes for short, is the largest, most powerful muscle in the human body, or it should be.
Unfortunately, too much time spent sitting and following poorly designed workouts means that a lot of people have next-to-no glute development and are victims of the flat-butt blues.
Some even go so far as to get glute implants, cosmetic injections, or wear contoured, padded undergarments to enhance the shape and size of their butts.
There is no need to suffer the ignominy of a flat butt – it’s a very trainable muscle. In this article, we reveal the best butt-building exercises around and provide you with a few tweaks and hacks to make your glute workouts even more effective.
Before we get into the best exercises for fixing your flat butt, let’s take a quick look at the anatomy and physiology of your glutes. While this is not critical information (so skip this section if you wish), it will help explain why some glute exercises are better than others.
Your butt is actually four muscles…
This is the muscle you are currently sitting on, but it’s more than just somewhere convenient to sit! Located on the back and side of your hip, the functions of the gluteus maximus are:
The gluteus medius is located above and beneath the gluteus maximus near the iliac crest (upper ridge) of the pelvis. It works alongside the gluteus maximus and also has some additional functions:
This is a small triangle-shaped muscle located within the posterior aspect of the hip. Like the gluteus medius, the gluteus minimus also works alongside the gluteus maximus, and its functions are:
Meaning band of white tissue, the TFL is part of the glute complex despite not having the word gluteus in its name. It’s a biaxial muscle which means it crosses two joints – the hip and the knee. As part of the glute group, TFL is involved in:
So, while the gluteus maximus might be the most prominent muscle in the glute complex, the other muscles deserve your attention too. Each one plays a part in forming the shape of your butt, and developing them all will help cure those flat-butt blues.
While the shape and size of your butt are determined by your genetics, there is still a lot you can do to build this group of muscles. These are the ten of our favorite (and therefore ten of the best!) exercises for increasing glute size, tone, and strength.
Glute exercises don’t come much more basic than the hip bridge. In fact, you could probably stop reading this article and crank out a set right now! But don’t think for a moment that this exercise isn’t effective. When performed correctly, it’s actually a superior butt builder.
You can make hip bridges more effective by:
The fire hydrant is so-called because, when you do it, you look a bit like a dog cocking its leg to pee. Funny names aside, this exercise targets the muscles on the outside of your hips and glutes, which contribute a lot to the shape of your butt. This exercise is also good for improving hip stability and mobility.
Get more from fire hydrants by:
Related: Fire Hydrant Exercise Guide
If glute bridges no longer provide your butt with much of a workout, the hip thrust should be your next port of call. While similar, this exercise involves a larger range of motion and is usually done with added weight. Glute bridges are very lower-back friendly and a great way to train your butt with heavy weights.
Use the following tips to get more from this exercise:
The primary function of the glutes, and therefore one of the best ways to train this muscle, is hip extension. You extend your hips whenever you walk, run, jump, or lift. Romanian deadlift are a very hip hinge-centric exercise, so they deliver a superb glute workout. In addition, Romanian deadlifts also work your hamstrings and lower back.
Get more from the Romanian deadlift by:
Deadlifts are part of powerlifting, and bodybuilders do them as part of their back workouts. But, the deadlift is also a heck of a glute exercise. Deadlifts involve a significant hip hinge movement, which is where your glute work comes from. Powerlifters often have massive butts, and the deadlift is probably part of the reason.
Read more: Learn how to deadlift in this in-depth guide.
To make deadlifts more glute-centric:
Kettlebells have been around for centuries, but, largely because of CrossFit, they’re popular again, and most gyms have at least a few. They’re common in home gyms, too. Of all the exercises you can do with a kettlebell, the swing is arguably one of the best. It’s a great butt builder and fat burner, and you can use it for conditioning, too. All in all, kettlebell swings are a must-do butt exercise.
Make kettlebell swings even better by:
Want a butt like a ballerina? Then try some plié squats. A plié squat is a squat done with a wider-than-normal stance. How wide? Typically, around 1.5-times wider than your shoulders. This increases glute and hip engagement and delivers a great butt workout without weights. This exercise is also good for hip mobility.
Get even more from this excellent exercise by:
Powerlifters do wide stance squats to reduce the distance they have to move the weight to score a good lift in competition.
However, stepping out into a wider-than-normal stance is also an excellent way to make your glutes work harder. You can do wide stance squats with a barbell on your back or a single kettlebell or dumbbell held in front of your hips.
You’ll need to experiment to find the ideal foot placement for wide stance squats. Start with your feet slightly outside shoulder width and adjust from there. Move your feet in or out until you find the most comfortable, powerful position.
Make wide stance squats more effective by:
Lunges are a great glute exercise. Not only do they involve a whole lot of hip extension action, but they also activate your hip stabilizers as these muscles have to work harder than usual to stop your knees rolling in or out. All lunge variations are good for your glutes, but reverse lunges could be the most butt-centric of the lot.
You can make reverse lunges even more effective by:
The cable pull-through is a mighty glute exercise! In fact, powerlifters use it to increase deadlift and squat performance. After all, those exercises are powered by the glutes. As an added benefit, cable pull-throughs are very lower back-friendly and ideal if you suffer from lower back pain.
There isn’t a great deal you can do to make this exercise better, but it’s good to know that you can also do it with a resistance band, making it ideal for home workouts.
This low-tech but high-effect butt-building exercise puts your glutes under a lot of tension as you reach the midpoint of each rep. There is no load on your spine, so it’s a very lower back-friendly exercise. While this exercise is typically done kneeling, it can also be done standing.
Make this exercise harder by using a stronger band. But, if you are using a very strong band, it may be necessary to brace and balance yourself by holding onto something like an exercise bench or the uprights of a squat rack.
There is no reason to go through life with a soft, flat, weak, or flabby butt! There are plenty of exercises you can do for your glutes, and many of them are perfect for home use. Most of the others are also pretty low-tech, so anyone with access to a basic gym should be able to do them.
While the ultimate size and shape of your glutes are determined by your genetics, everyone can improve the condition and appearance of their butt without resorting to implants, injections, or enhanced undergarments. It’ll just take some time, effort, and perseverance.
So, start training your glutes like you mean it, and kiss the flat-butt blues goodbye!
Patrick Dale is an ex-British Royal Marine, gym owner, and fitness qualifications tutor and assessor. In addition, Patrick is a freelance writer who has authored three fitness and exercise books, dozens of e-books, thousands of articles, and several fitness videos. He’s not just an armchair fitness expert; Patrick practices what he preaches! He has competed at a high level in numerous sports, including rugby, triathlon, rock climbing, trampolining, powerlifting, and, most recently, stand up paddleboarding. When not lecturing, training, researching, or writing, Patrick is busy enjoying the sunny climate of Cyprus, where he has lived for the last 20-years.
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