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Exercises

Glute exercises at home, with or without equipment

Published October 19, 2026

The best glute exercises at home are the single-leg glute bridge, the reverse lunge, the skater squat and a side glute move such as the lateral band walk or standing side leg raise. With no equipment, train one leg at a time so your whole bodyweight loads each glute. If you buy one thing, get a loop band or a kettlebell: a band makes hip thrusts and pull-throughs harder near lockout, and a kettlebell gives you swings and loaded thrusts. Two or three sessions a week, each set ending a rep or two short of failure, is enough to grow your glutes at home.

  1. Single-Leg Glute Bridge Glutes
  2. Reverse Lunge Quads, Glutes
  3. Skater Squat Quads, Glutes
  4. Band Hip Thrust Glutes
  5. Kettlebell Swing Glutes, Hamstrings
  6. Kettlebell Hip Thrust Glutes
  7. Lateral Band Walk Abductors
  8. Donkey Kick Glutes

Glute bridges and hip thrusts at home

Bridges and thrusts load the glutes in their fully squeezed position, and at home you can do them from the floor, a couch edge or a sturdy chair. Start with the one-leg bridge on bodyweight, add a band when it gets easy, and use a kettlebell or dumbbell across your hips once you own one.

Glute max, one-leg floor bridge

Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Glutes

Lifting your hips on one leg puts your full bodyweight through one glute, which is enough load to grow it without any equipment. It is the first exercise to master at home and the base of the no-equipment plan.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up with one foot planted near your hips and the other leg lifted, knee bent or straight.
  2. Press your arms into the floor beside you for balance.
  3. Drive the planted heel down and raise your hips until your thigh and torso line up, keeping the pelvis level.
  4. Pause, lower slowly until your glutes graze the floor, and do every rep before switching legs. Rest a kettlebell or dumbbell on the working hip once bodyweight gets easy.

Cues

  • Pelvis level, both hips up together
  • Heel heavy, toes light
  • Two-second hold at the top

Common mistakes

  • Letting the unsupported side sag: if one hip drops, shorten the range until it stays level.
  • Pressing up with the lower back instead of the glute: tuck your ribs down before each rep.

Swap for: Band Hip Thrust, Kettlebell Glute Bridge, TRX Hip Bridge

Build a session with Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Glute max, banded hip thrust

Band Hip Thrust

Glutes

A loop band over your hips and pinned under your hands or feet adds resistance that grows as you rise, so it is hardest in the squeezed top position where the glutes work most. It gives bodyweight thrusts a load you can increase with a thicker band.

How to do it

  1. Sit with your shoulder blades against the front edge of a couch or sturdy chair, knees bent, feet flat.
  2. Run a long loop band across your hip crease and hold each end down against the floor beside your hips.
  3. Drive through your heels until your hips are level with your knees, keeping your chin tucked.
  4. Hold the band tight at the top for a second, then lower until your hips are just off the floor.

Cues

  • Band stays on the hip crease
  • Chin down, ribs down
  • Fight the band at the top

Common mistakes

  • Letting the band slide up to your belly, where it pushes on your stomach instead of loading the hips: reset it before every set.
  • Using a couch that slides: put its back against a wall first.

Swap for: Single-Leg Glute Bridge, Kettlebell Hip Thrust, Band Pull-Through

Build a session with Band Hip Thrust

Glute max, weighted hip thrust

Kettlebell Hip Thrust

Glutes

If you own one kettlebell or dumbbell, the thrust is where it does the most good for your glutes, since you can hold a load across your hips that you could not hold in a lunge. A couch edge or a bench works as the back support.

How to do it

  1. Sit with your upper back on the edge of a bench or a stable couch and your feet flat about hip-width apart.
  2. Hold the kettlebell by the horns on your hip crease, with a folded towel underneath if the metal bothers you.
  3. Push the floor away with your heels until your hips line up with your knees and shoulders.
  4. Squeeze at the top, lower under control, and repeat.

Cues

  • Shins vertical at the top
  • Hold the bell steady on the hips
  • Lower slowly

Common mistakes

  • Overarching your back at lockout: stop where your torso is level and squeeze harder instead.
  • Setting your feet too close so the quads take over: walk them out until the shins are upright at the top.

Swap for: Band Hip Thrust, Kettlebell Glute Bridge, Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Build a session with Kettlebell Hip Thrust

Lunges, single-leg squats and step-ups

Without heavy weights, one-leg work is how you make your bodyweight count: each glute carries everything you weigh. Take longer steps and lean slightly forward to keep the work in the glutes rather than the thighs. A stair or a sturdy chair is all the step-up needs.

Glutes and quads, step-back lunge

Reverse Lunge

Quads, Glutes

Stepping back keeps the front heel loaded and the knee over the foot, which aims the work at the glute. It needs only a few feet of floor, and with a bell hanging from each hand makes it harder once bodyweight reps get easy.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, hands on your hips or with a kettlebell hanging at each side.
  2. Step one foot well back and bend both knees until the back knee nearly reaches the floor.
  3. Keep a slight forward lean so you feel the front glute stretch at the bottom.
  4. Press through the front heel to return to standing, then switch legs or finish one side first.

Cues

  • Step back far
  • Heel of the front foot drives
  • Slight lean from the hips

Common mistakes

  • Short steps that push the front knee far over the toes: lengthen the stride.
  • Crashing the back knee into the floor: control the descent and stop just above it.

Swap for: Skater Squat, Band Reverse Lunge, Kettlebell Split Squat

Build a session with Reverse Lunge

Glutes and quads, single-leg squat

Skater Squat

Quads, Glutes

The skater squat lowers you on one leg until your back knee nears the floor, with the free leg bent behind you. It loads one glute with your full bodyweight through a long range, which makes it one of the hardest no-equipment glute builders.

How to do it

  1. Stand on one leg with the other knee bent so that foot floats behind you, arms reaching forward for balance.
  2. Sit your hips back and lower slowly, letting your chest tilt forward.
  3. Go down until the knee of the back leg lightly touches a pillow or the floor.
  4. Drive through the standing heel to rise, then finish the set before switching. Hold a light weight out in front if you need a counterbalance.

Cues

  • Hips back, chest over the knee
  • Touch the knee down softly
  • Arms forward to balance

Common mistakes

  • Dropping fast and bouncing off the floor: take three seconds on the way down.
  • Letting the standing knee collapse inward: push it out over your little toe.

Swap for: Reverse Lunge, Pistol Squat, Kettlebell Step-Up

Build a session with Skater Squat

Glutes and quads, weighted step-up

Kettlebell Step-Up

Quads, Glutes

A step-up onto a sturdy chair or stair works one leg through a long range while the other leg cannot help. Two bells at your sides or a single one at your chest adds load without needing a rack.

How to do it

  1. Face a sturdy step, box or bench at about knee height, with a kettlebell hanging at each side or one at your chest.
  2. Plant one whole foot on the step.
  3. Lean forward slightly and push through that heel until you stand fully on top, without springing off the floor foot.
  4. Lower the trailing foot back down slowly and repeat all reps on the same leg.

Cues

  • Whole foot on top
  • No push from the floor leg
  • Lower slowly

Common mistakes

  • Springing off the floor foot: lift its toes so it cannot push.
  • Using a chair that tips or slides: put it against a wall or use a stair.

Swap for: Reverse Lunge, Skater Squat, Step-Up

Build a session with Kettlebell Step-Up

Hinges with a kettlebell or band

Hinges train the glutes at the stretched end of the movement and are hard to load with bodyweight alone, which is why a single kettlebell or a long band is the best home purchase for glutes. Pick the swing if you own a bell, the pull-through if you have a band and a door anchor.

Glutes and hamstrings, explosive hinge

Kettlebell Swing

Glutes, Hamstrings

The swing trains a hard, fast hip snap, so your glutes get power work and your heart rate climbs in the same set. With one kettlebell it fits a short home session as the main hinge or a finisher.

How to do it

  1. Set your feet a bit wider than your hips with the kettlebell a foot in front of you.
  2. Hinge, grab the handle, and hike the bell back between your thighs.
  3. Snap your hips forward so the bell floats to about chest height, arms relaxed.
  4. Let it fall back into the hinge and keep the rhythm for every rep.

Cues

  • Hips snap, arms float
  • Stand tall and squeeze at the top
  • Bell stays above the knees on the way back

Common mistakes

  • Squatting instead of hinging: the knees bend only a little.
  • Lifting with the arms: if your shoulders are tired first, snap the hips harder.

Swap for: Band Pull-Through, Kettlebell Deadlift, Dumbbell Swing

Build a session with Kettlebell Swing

Glutes and hamstrings, banded hinge

Band Pull-Through

Glutes

Facing away from an anchored band and pulling it through your legs gives you a hinge where the resistance is heaviest at lockout, the position where the glutes do most of the work. It needs only a band and a door anchor or post.

How to do it

  1. Anchor a long band low behind you, step forward until it is taut, and hold the band between your legs with both hands.
  2. Hinge back, letting the band pull your hands back through your thighs while your back stays flat.
  3. Drive your hips forward to stand tall, pulling the band through.
  4. Hold the lockout with a hard squeeze for a second and repeat.

Cues

  • Hips back, then hips through
  • Arms are just hooks
  • Lock out with the glutes, not the back

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with your arms: they stay straight the whole time.
  • Leaning back at the top: finish standing upright.

Swap for: Kettlebell Swing, Band Deadlift, Band Good Morning

Build a session with Band Pull-Through

Side glute exercises and finishers

The side glutes lift the leg sideways and keep your knees from caving in, and they need their own exercises. These four are light on load, so take them to within a rep or two of failure, usually 15 to 30 reps, and put them at the end of the session.

Glute max, quadruped kickback

Donkey Kick

Glutes

On all fours, kicking one bent leg up toward the ceiling isolates the glute without loading your back or knees. It works well as a high-rep finisher when your bigger moves are done.

How to do it

  1. Get on your hands and knees with your hands stacked below your shoulders and knees under your hips.
  2. Keep your knee bent at about 90 degrees and lift one leg until the thigh is parallel to the floor, sole of the foot facing the ceiling.
  3. Hold the top for a second without arching your back.
  4. Lower until the knee is just off the floor and repeat.

Cues

  • Sole of the foot to the ceiling
  • Back flat, no arch
  • Pause at the top

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the leg higher by arching your lower back: the thigh only needs to reach level.
  • Rushing through reps: two seconds up, two seconds down.

Swap for: Band Glute Kickback, Single-Leg Glute Bridge, Fire Hydrant

Build a session with Donkey Kick

Side glutes, banded side step

Lateral Band Walk

Abductors

Stepping sideways against a loop band trains the gluteus medius, the side glute that keeps your knees steady and rounds out the upper hip. It is the easiest way to train that muscle with a band.

How to do it

  1. Put a mini band just above your knees or around your ankles and stand with your feet hip-width apart.
  2. Sit into a shallow quarter squat with your chest up.
  3. Step sideways with one foot, then follow with the other, keeping tension on the band the whole time.
  4. Take 10 to 15 steps one way, then the same number back.

Cues

  • Stay low the whole set
  • Toes point forward
  • Never let the band go slack

Common mistakes

  • Standing up tall between steps: hold the quarter squat.
  • Dragging the trailing foot: lift and place each step.

Swap for: Band Seated Hip Abduction, Standing Side Leg Raise, Clamshell

Build a session with Lateral Band Walk

Side glutes, seated band push

Band Seated Hip Abduction

Glutes, Abductors

Sitting with a band above your knees and pushing them apart isolates the side glutes with no balance demand, so you can take sets close to failure. Leaning forward slightly shifts more of the work to the glutes.

How to do it

  1. Sit on the edge of a chair with a mini band just above your knees and your feet flat.
  2. Lean your torso slightly forward.
  3. Push your knees out as far as they go against the band.
  4. Hold for a second, return slowly, and repeat.

Cues

  • Knees out, feet stay put
  • Pause at the widest point
  • Slow return

Common mistakes

  • Letting the band snap the knees back together: control the way in.
  • Rocking your torso to push wider: stay still and let the hips do it.

Swap for: Lateral Band Walk, Standing Side Leg Raise, Clamshell

Build a session with Band Seated Hip Abduction

Side glutes, no-equipment abduction

Standing Side Leg Raise

Abductors

Lifting a straight leg sideways trains the gluteus medius with nothing at all. It is easy to start and easy to make harder with a slow tempo, a pause or a band around your ankles.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall beside a wall or chair and rest one hand on it.
  2. Keep the outside leg straight with the toes pointing forward.
  3. Raise it out to the side until you feel the side of your hip working, without tilting your torso.
  4. Pause, lower slowly, and finish all reps before switching sides.

Cues

  • Toes forward, not up
  • Torso stays upright
  • Slow down, no swing

Common mistakes

  • Leaning away to lift the leg higher: the range is small when you stay upright, and that is the point.
  • Turning the toes to the ceiling, which moves the work to the front of the hip: keep them pointing ahead.

Swap for: Lateral Band Walk, Band Standing Hip Abduction, Fire Hydrant

Build a session with Standing Side Leg Raise

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

No equipment at all

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You train at home with nothing but your bodyweight, a wall and a pillow, and you want your glutes to grow, not just burn.

Without weights, the only way to make a set hard is to put your whole body on one leg, so every main exercise here is single-leg: the bridge, the skater squat and the reverse lunge. They run to 12 to 20 reps at 1 rep in reserve, close enough to failure that a light load still grows muscle. Donkey kicks and side leg raises finish each day at 0 to 1 reps in reserve because they are easy to stop safely. Each session is 12 working sets.

Home Glutes A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Single-Leg Glute BridgePer leg. 2 s hold at the top. 3 × 12–20 1 1 min
Skater SquatPer leg. Knee to a pillow. 3 × 6–12 1 90 s
Donkey KickPer leg. Back flat. 3 × 15–25 0 45 s
Standing Side Leg RaisePer leg. Toes forward. 3 × 15–25 0 45 s

Open Home Glutes A in the session builder

Home Glutes B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Reverse LungePer leg. Long step back. 3 × 12–20 1 90 s
Single-Leg Glute BridgePer leg. 3 s down. 3 × 12–20 1 1 min
Skater SquatPer leg. 3 × 6–12 1 90 s
Standing Side Leg RaisePer leg. Pause at the top. 3 × 15–25 0 45 s

Open Home Glutes B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Home Glutes A and B once each per week with two days between, three times a week if you alternate A, B, A. Use a pillow under the back knee on skater squats.
How to progress
When you reach the top of a rep range at the target reps in reserve, slow each rep to three seconds down and add a two-second pause when the bridge is fully up or the bottom of the lunge. That keeps the sets hard for months before you need any equipment.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Loop bands and a door anchor

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets23 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentResistance Bands, Dumbbells

You have a set of loop and mini bands, a door anchor, and a couch, but no weights.

Bands are heaviest at the end of the movement, so they suit the thrust and the pull-through, where the glutes work hardest at lockout. The reverse lunge stays on bodyweight to keep a deep stretch in the program, and the walk and seated abduction train the side glutes the two thrust-style moves miss. Thrust and pull-through sets run 15 to 25 reps at 1 rep in reserve, because band tension jumps in big steps and reps are the easier way to progress. Sessions are 12 and 11 working sets.

Band Glutes A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Band Hip ThrustOff a couch edge. Band on the hip crease. 3 × 15–25 1 1 min
Reverse LungePer leg. Bodyweight, slow lowering. 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Lateral Band WalkSteps each way. Stay low. 3 × 12–20 1 45 s
Band Seated Hip AbductionLean forward slightly. 3 × 15–25 0 45 s

Open Band Glutes A in the session builder

Band Glutes B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Band Pull-ThroughHips back, then through. 1 s squeeze. 3 × 15–25 1 1 min
Single-Leg Glute BridgePer leg. 3 × 12–20 1 1 min
Band Hip ThrustLast set: 3 s hold on the final rep. 3 × 15–25 0 1 min
Lateral Band WalkBand around the ankles. 2 × 12–20 1 45 s

Open Band Glutes B in the session builder

How to run it
Run Band Glutes A and B once each per week, two to three days apart. Anchor the band low in a door hinge for the pull-through and close the door toward you.
How to progress
Add reps until you hit the top of the range, then move to the next band thickness and drop back to the bottom of the range. Double up two bands on the thrust if your thickest one runs out.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

One kettlebell and 20 minutes

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets33 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentKettlebells, Flat Bench

You own one kettlebell, between 12 and 24 kg, and you have about 20 minutes, two or three times a week.

One bell covers the two places bodyweight falls short: the swing gives you a loaded hinge and the thrust a loaded top position. To fit 20 minutes, the step-up and the thrust are paired as a superset so you rest only after both, and the side-glute work goes last on its own. Swings stop at 2 reps in reserve because they lose form before the glutes fail; the thrust and step-up go to 1. Each session is 11 working sets.

Kettlebell Glutes
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell Swing1 warm-up set firstHips snap. Bell to chest height. 3 × 15–20 2 1 min
A1 Kettlebell Hip ThrustOff a couch or bench. 3 × 10–20 1 30 s
A2 Kettlebell Step-UpPer leg. Bell at your chest. 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Standing Side Leg RaisePer leg. 2 × 15–25 0 45 s
How to run it
Do this one session two or three times a week on non-consecutive days. Alternate the starting leg on the step-ups each session.
How to progress
Add reps on the thrust and step-up until both hit the top of their ranges at 1 rep in reserve, then switch the thrust to one leg with the bell on that hip. Move up to a heavier bell when 20 swings feel easy at 2 in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What home exercises work the glutes?

Single-leg glute bridges, hip thrusts off a couch, reverse lunges, skater squats and step-ups work the glutes hardest. Donkey kicks, side leg raises and band walks add direct work for the side glutes. A kettlebell adds swings and loaded thrusts.

Can you grow your glutes at home without weights?

Yes, if your sets are hard enough. Single-leg bridges, skater squats and reverse lunges load each glute with your full bodyweight, and taking them within one or two reps of failure grows muscle. When they get easy, slow them down and add pauses, then add a band or kettlebell.

Will 20 squats a day make my bum bigger?

Not much. Twenty bodyweight squats are too easy to push your glutes close to failure, and squats lean on the thighs. Three hard sets each of a one-leg bridge and a reverse lunge, two or three times a week, will do more.

What are the signs of weak glutes?

Common signs are knees that cave inward when you squat or land, a hip that drops when you stand on one leg, and feeling squats and lunges only in your thighs. The single-leg bridge and the side glute moves on this page train exactly those positions.

How often should I do glute exercises at home?

Two or three times a week, with a day off between sessions. Glutes recover in about 48 hours from a hard session, and daily training at home usually means easy sets that do not add up to much.

How many reps should I do for glutes at home?

With bodyweight or bands, 12 to 25 reps per set is normal, as long as the last reps are hard and you stop one or two short of failure. Light loads build muscle when the set ends close to failure, so count reps in reserve rather than reps.