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Exercises

Machine exercises for glutes: thrusts, presses, kickbacks and abduction

Published October 29, 2026

The best machine exercises for glutes are the Smith machine hip thrust for heavy loading at the top of the hip, the wide-stance leg press and Smith machine Bulgarian split squat for glutes under a deep stretch, the cable pull-through and 45-degree back extension for the hinge, the cable kickback and multi-hip extension for one glute at a time, and the hip abduction machine for the upper side of the glutes. A complete glute day uses one thrust, one press or split squat, one kickback or hinge and one abduction exercise, 3 to 4 sets each at 0 to 2 reps in reserve, twice a week.

  1. Smith Machine Hip Thrust Glutes
  2. Wide-Stance Leg Press Glutes, Quads
  3. Hip Abduction Machine Abductors
  4. Cable Glute Kickback Glutes
  5. Smith Machine Bulgarian Split Squat Quads, Glutes
  6. Cable Pull-Through Glutes, Hamstrings
  7. Multi-Hip Glute Extension Glutes

Hip thrust machines for the most glute load

The hip thrust loads your glutes hardest when your hips are fully extended, the point where squats go light. The Smith machine keeps the bar on a fixed track, so setup is quick and you can push heavy without a spotter. If your gym has a dedicated glute drive or hip thrust machine, it trains the same movement and fits the same slot in every plan here.

Glutes, loaded hip extension

Smith Machine Hip Thrust

Glutes

The fixed bar path means no wobble at the top and no fight to balance the weight, so the set ends when your glutes are done. It is the heaviest glute exercise most people can do on a machine, which makes it the first lift in every plan below.

How to do it

  1. Place a flat bench parallel to the bar and lower the bar to roughly hip height when you are seated on the floor.
  2. Sit with your upper back against the bench and the bar across the crease of your hips, with a pad under it.
  3. Plant your feet about hip width apart so your shins are vertical at the top.
  4. Unhook the bar and drive your hips up until your torso and thighs make one straight line.
  5. Hold the top for a second with your chin tucked, then lower until your hips nearly touch the floor.

Cues

  • Shins vertical at the top
  • Ribs down, chin tucked
  • Squeeze, then lower

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back to get the bar higher: the extra height comes from your spine, not your hips. Stop at a straight line from knees to shoulders.
  • Feet too far out: the work slides to your hamstrings. Walk your feet in until the top position cramps your glutes, not the backs of your thighs.

Swap for: Hip Thrust, Dumbbell Hip Thrust, Glute Bridge

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Leg press, hack squat and split squats for stretched glutes

Glutes also grow from work at long lengths, deep in a squat. Setting your feet wide and high on the leg press shifts more of the press into your glutes, the hack squat lets you sink deep with your back supported, and the Smith machine split squat stretches one glute at a time with no balance to manage.

Glutes and quads, machine squat

Wide-Stance Leg Press

Glutes, Quads

Feet wide and high on the platform let your hips bend further than your knees, so your glutes take more of the press than with a narrow stance. You can load it heavy and go deep without your lower back or balance limiting the set.

How to do it

  1. Sit in the leg press and place your feet high on the platform, wider than shoulder-width, flat and parallel.
  2. Release the safeties and lower the sled by bending your hips and knees together.
  3. Go as deep as you can while your lower back stays on the seat.
  4. Drive the platform away through your heels until your legs are straight but not locked.

Cues

  • Feet high and wide
  • Lower back stays down
  • Drive through the heels

Common mistakes

  • Letting your hips lift off the seat at the bottom: stop the rep just before that point.
  • Snapping the knees straight at the top: stop just short of locking out.

Swap for: Leg Press, Hack Squat, 45-Degree Leg Press

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Quads and glutes, machine squat

Hack Squat

Quads, Glutes

The back pad holds your torso in place, so you can sink to full depth where the glutes stretch the most. It is the best machine for a gym-goer who wants glutes and thighs to grow together from one exercise.

How to do it

  1. Stand on the platform with your back against the pad and shoulders under the pads, feet shoulder-width.
  2. Unlock the safeties and sink down as deep as your knees and hips allow.
  3. Push through your whole foot to stand back up, stopping just short of locking your knees.

Cues

  • Knees travel forward over toes
  • Deep and slow

Common mistakes

  • Cutting depth as the set gets hard: keep the same depth on every rep, and reduce the weight if needed.

Swap for: Leg Press, Smith Squat, Barbell Back Squat

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Glutes and quads, single-leg squat

Smith Machine Bulgarian Split Squat

Quads, Glutes

With your rear foot on a bench, the front-leg glute works through a long stretch at the bottom, and the Smith bar takes away the balance problem of a dumbbell split squat. Leaning your torso a little forward puts even more of it into your glutes.

How to do it

  1. Put a bench behind the Smith machine, set the bar on your upper back, and rest one foot on the bench behind you.
  2. Place the front foot far enough forward that your shin stays close to vertical at the bottom.
  3. Unhook the bar and lower straight down until your back knee is close to the floor.
  4. Drive through the front heel to stand up, finish the set, then switch legs.

Cues

  • Front foot well forward
  • Straight down on the track
  • Heel stays heavy

Common mistakes

  • Setting the front foot too close so the knee travels far forward: move it out before you load the bar.
  • Pushing off the back foot: it only rests on the bench.

Swap for: Bulgarian Split Squat, Cable Split Squat, Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

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Hinges and kickbacks

A hinge trains your glutes and hamstrings together through a long range, and a kickback isolates one glute with almost nothing else helping. Use one of each per week: the pull-through or Roman chair as the hinge, the cable kickback or multi-hip machine as the kickback.

Glutes and hamstrings, cable hinge

Cable Pull-Through

Glutes, Hamstrings

The cable pulls you backward, so the work is in driving your hips forward to stand tall, the same finish as a hip thrust. It teaches the hinge with light loads and no strain on your hands or upper back.

How to do it

  1. Attach a rope to a low pulley, turn your back to the stack and take the rope ends between your legs.
  2. Walk forward until the stack lifts, feet a bit wider than your hips.
  3. Hinge back, letting the rope pull your hands between your thighs, back flat and knees softly bent.
  4. Drive your hips forward to stand tall and squeeze your glutes at the top.

Cues

  • Hips back, then hips through
  • Arms just hold the rope
  • Squeeze your glutes to finish

Common mistakes

  • Squatting down instead of hinging: keep your shins near vertical and move your hips back.
  • Pulling with your arms or leaning back at the top: stand tall and stop.

Swap for: Band Pull-Through, 45-Degree Back Extension, Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

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Glutes and hamstrings, Roman chair hinge

45-Degree Back Extension

Glutes, Hamstrings

Rounding your upper back slightly and pushing your hips into the pad turns the Roman chair into a glute exercise, with a big stretch at the bottom. Hold a plate or dumbbell to your chest once 15 reps feels easy.

How to do it

  1. Set the pad so it sits just below your hip bones, then hook your heels under the foot rollers.
  2. Fold your arms over your chest and stand straight in line with the bench.
  3. Bend forward at the hips until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
  4. Lift your torso back to a straight line with your legs, squeezing your glutes, and stop there.

Cues

  • Hinge at the hips
  • Stop at a straight line
  • Squeeze your glutes at the top

Common mistakes

  • Arching back past a straight line at the top: the rep ends when your body is straight.
  • Setting the pad too high so it blocks your hips: you should be able to fold freely over it.

Swap for: Back Extension, Superman, Weighted Back Extension

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Glutes, single-leg isolation

Cable Glute Kickback

Glutes

An ankle cuff on a low pulley lets you kick one leg back against steady resistance, with your glute doing almost all of the work. It is the easiest way to add glute sets at the end of a session without tiring your legs or lower back.

How to do it

  1. Strap an ankle cuff to a low pulley and attach it to one ankle.
  2. Face the machine, hold the frame and hinge forward slightly.
  3. Kick the cuffed leg straight back, leading with the heel, until your hip is fully open.
  4. Return slowly until your foot is beside the other one, finish the reps, then switch.

Cues

  • Heel back, not up
  • Squeeze at the end, hold one second
  • Hips stay square

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back to get the leg higher: the rep ends when your hip is straight, not when your foot is high.
  • Swinging the leg: control the return as slowly as the kick.

Swap for: Hip Thrust, Cable Pull-Through, Glute Bridge

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Glutes, machine kickback

Multi-Hip Glute Extension

Glutes

The pad sits behind your thigh and the pivot lines up with your hip, so each rep follows the exact arc of a kickback with no need to stabilize a cable. Selectorized weight makes small jumps easy as you get stronger.

How to do it

  1. Set the machine for hip extension and adjust the platform so the pivot lines up with your hip.
  2. Stand on the platform, put the back of your working thigh against the pad, and hold the handles.
  3. Drive the leg back until your hip is fully extended, keeping your torso still.
  4. Return under control and finish all reps before switching legs.

Cues

  • Pivot lined up with the hip
  • Torso stays still
  • Slow return

Common mistakes

  • Leaning forward and back to move more weight: fix your torso and lower the stack.
  • Short reps that never bring the leg forward: let the pad come all the way back.

Swap for: Cable Glute Kickback, Band Glute Kickback, Donkey Kick

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Abduction for the side of your glutes

Moving your leg out to the side trains the glute medius and the upper fibers of the glute max, the part that gives your hips their width. The seated machine lets you load both sides at once and go near failure, and the standing multi-hip version reaches a little further into the range.

Glute medius, seated abduction

Hip Abduction Machine

Abductors

The seated abduction machine trains the side of your glutes with both legs at once, and leaning your torso forward shifts more of the work into the glute max. It can be pushed to failure without your form breaking down, so it works as the last exercise of a glute day.

How to do it

  1. Sit with the outside of your knees against the pads and set the start so your legs are close together.
  2. Lean your torso forward slightly and hold the handles.
  3. Push your knees apart as far as the machine allows.
  4. Pause at the widest point, return slowly without letting the stack touch, and repeat.

Cues

  • Lean forward a little
  • Pause at the widest point
  • Do not let the plates rest

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing the pads out and letting them slam back: count two seconds on the way in.
  • Using so much weight that the range shrinks to a few inches: full range with less load works better.

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

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Glute medius, standing abduction

Multi-Hip Abduction

Abductors

Standing on one leg and sweeping the other out against the pad trains the working side's glute medius, while the standing side holds your pelvis level. It is a good second abduction exercise when the seated machine is taken or when you want one side at a time.

How to do it

  1. Set the pad just above the outside of your knee and stand side-on to the machine, holding the handle.
  2. Put your weight on the leg nearest the machine and stand tall with your hips square.
  3. Sweep the working leg out to the side against the pad, keeping your toes pointing forward.
  4. Return it under control until it nearly crosses your standing leg, then repeat. Switch sides after the set.

Cues

  • Toes forward
  • Tall standing hip
  • Slow on the way in

Common mistakes

  • Leaning your torso away to get the leg higher: the lift ends where your trunk starts to tip.
  • Turning the toes up toward the ceiling, which shifts the work to the front of the hip.

Swap for: Hip Abduction Machine, Band Standing Hip Abduction, Lateral Band Walk

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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.

Session 1

A machine-only gym, two short glute sessions

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentFlat Bench, Smith Machine, Leg Press, Hip Abductor +1

You train in a gym that is mostly selectorized machines and a Smith machine, you are fairly new, and you want rounder, stronger glutes from two short sessions a week.

Each session is 12 sets in about 40 minutes: one thrust, one press, one kickback and one abduction, at 2 reps in reserve so every rep stays clean while you learn the machines. Over the week that is 18 direct glute sets plus 6 sets of leg press, all stopped 2 reps short, which a beginner recovers from in the days between sessions.

Day A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Smith Machine Hip Thrust1 warm-up set first 3 × 10–12 2 2 min
Wide-Stance Leg Press 3 × 10–12 2 2 min
Multi-Hip Glute ExtensionPer leg. 3 × 12–15 2 1 min
Hip Abduction Machine 3 × 15–20 2 1 min

Open Day A in the session builder

Day B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Wide-Stance Leg Press 3 × 12–15 2 2 min
45-Degree Back Extension 3 × 12–15 2 90 s
Smith Machine Hip Thrust 3 × 12–15 2 2 min
Hip Abduction Machine 3 × 15–20 2 1 min

Open Day B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Day A and Day B with at least two days between, for example Monday and Thursday. If you train upper body too, put it on the days between.
How to progress
Keep the weight until every set reaches the top of its rep range with 2 reps in reserve, then add the smallest step on that machine and work back up. Expect the hip thrust and leg press to move up every week or two for the first months.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Glutes are your priority, two hard glute days

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets31 a week
  • Per workout~45 min
  • EquipmentFlat Bench, Smith Machine, Adjustable Cable, Hip Abductor +2

You have trained for a year or more, your glutes are the body part you most want to grow, and you can give them two longer sessions a week.

Day 1 is built around heavy hip extension and Day 2 around deep, stretched positions, so the week covers both ends of the range. 16 and 15 sets make 31 a week, about 25 of them direct glute work, which is volume for someone who has made glutes the priority. The isolation machines go to 0 to 1 reps in reserve because a missed rep on them costs nothing but the rep.

Day 1: Thrust and kickback
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Smith Machine Hip Thrust2 warm-up sets first 4 × 6–10 1 3 min
Cable Pull-Through 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Cable Glute KickbackPer leg. 3 × 12–15 0 1 min
Hip Abduction Machine 3 × 15–20 0 1 min
Multi-Hip AbductionPer leg. 3 × 12–15 1 1 min

Open Day 1: Thrust and kickback in the session builder

Day 2: Stretch and press
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Smith Machine Bulgarian Split Squat1 warm-up set firstPer leg. 3 × 8–12 1 2 min
Hack Squat 3 × 8–12 1 2:30 min
45-Degree Back Extension 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Multi-Hip Glute ExtensionPer leg. 3 × 12–15 0 1 min
Hip Abduction Machine 3 × 20–25 0 1 min

Open Day 2: Stretch and press in the session builder

How to run it
Run Day 1 early in the week and Day 2 three days later. Keep any separate quad or hamstring work off the day before Day 1 so the hip thrust starts fresh.
How to progress
Double progression on every exercise. On the hip thrust, once you hit 4 sets of 8 at 1 rep in reserve, add 5 to 10 pounds. If your top weight stalls for three sessions, drop one set from each exercise for a week, then build back.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Knees that ache on leg press and squats

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets28 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentFlat Bench, Smith Machine, Adjustable Cable, Hip Abductor

Deep knee bends on the leg press, hack squat or lunges make your knees ache, but you still want to train your glutes hard on machines.

Every exercise here moves your hips while your knees stay bent at a fixed angle or nearly straight, so the glutes get full work with very little knee travel. 14 sets per session at 1 to 2 reps in reserve, done twice a week, keeps glute volume close to the priority plan without a single deep knee bend.

Glutes, knees quiet
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Smith Machine Hip Thrust1 warm-up set first 4 × 8–12 1 2:30 min
Cable Pull-Through 3 × 12–15 2 90 s
Multi-Hip Glute ExtensionPer leg. 3 × 12–15 1 1 min
Multi-Hip AbductionPer leg. 2 × 12–15 1 1 min
Hip Abduction Machine 2 × 15–20 1 1 min
How to run it
Repeat this one session twice a week, leaving two or three days for the glutes to recover before the next hip thrust. On the hip thrust, set your feet so your shins are vertical at the top, which keeps the knee angle comfortable.
How to progress
Add reps first, then weight. When the hip thrust reaches 4 sets of 12 at 1 rep in reserve, add the smallest plate. On kickbacks and abduction, add a rep per set each week until you reach the top of the range.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

Which gym machine is best for glutes?

A hip thrust machine or a Smith machine set up for hip thrusts, because it loads your glutes heaviest at the top of the movement. Next is the leg press with your feet wide and high, then the hip abduction machine for the side of your glutes.

What are the top 5 machine exercises for glutes?

The Smith machine hip thrust, wide-stance leg press, Smith machine Bulgarian split squat, cable glute kickback and hip abduction machine. Together they train your glutes at the top of the hip, under a deep stretch, one leg at a time and out to the side.

What is the best machine to tone my glutes?

Toned glutes are glutes with more muscle on them, so the best machine is the one you can load progressively: the hip thrust, followed by the wide-stance leg press. Pair them with the abduction machine to fill out the upper side of the hips.

Can you grow glutes with only machines?

Yes. Glutes grow from hard sets close to failure with more weight or reps over time, and machines make that easy to measure. The plans on this page use nothing but machines and a Smith bar.

How many glute sets should I do per week?

Around 10 to 20 hard sets a week of direct glute work, split over two sessions. Newer lifters grow well toward the lower end; people who have trained for years and want more growth usually need 20 or more.