Build Your Best Glutes Fast with This Workout Plan

A strong, defined backside is not just about looks. When you follow a smart glute building workout, you support your hips, protect your lower back, and move with more power in everyday life. Your glutes are the largest and most powerful muscles in your body, so when you train them properly, you feel the difference almost everywhere.

Below, you will find a simple, science-backed plan to build your best glutes, plus how to eat, rest, and progress so results actually show up.

Understand how your glutes grow

To build your glutes fast, you need to know what you are training and why it matters.

Your glutes include three muscles that work together:

Gluteus maximus, the largest muscle that gives your butt its shape and drives hip extension
Gluteus medius, a smaller muscle on the outer hip that stabilizes your pelvis
Gluteus minimus, the deepest glute that helps with hip stability and rotation

A good glute building workout targets all three through four main movement patterns: squatting, hinging, thrusting, and abducting. Guides like the Ladies Who Lift glute program recommend no fewer than three squat, hinge, and thrust variations and at least two abduction exercises per week so you cover every angle of your glutes.

Glute growth happens when you:

Challenge the muscles with enough resistance
Create tiny tears in the muscle fibers
Give your body enough food and rest to repair and rebuild larger, stronger tissue

You do not need to live in the gym, but you do need consistency, effort, and a plan.

Nail the basics: Training, food, and rest

Training is only one part of a successful glute building workout. Nutrition and recovery decide whether your hard work turns into actual muscle.

How often you should train glutes

Most experts suggest training your glutes 2 to 3 times per week to hit the sweet spot between stimulus and recovery. Bret Contreras, often called the glute guy, recommends about 3 weekly sessions for many people, with an optimal range between 2 and 6 depending on your genetics, volume, and effort.

If you are just starting, aim for 2 focused glute days per week. As you adapt, you can move up to 3.

Eat for growth, not just for “tone”

Up to 80% of health outcomes, including muscle building and firming your glutes, are influenced by diet according to Dr. Mar Mira of the Mira+Cueto Clinic in Madrid. For your body to build new muscle, it needs enough calories and the right mix of protein, carbs, and fats.

A practical daily target for glute growth is:

Protein: about 2 g per kilogram of body weight
Carbohydrates: about 2 to 4 g per kilogram
Fat: about 0.8 g per kilogram

Dr. Mira also highlights a “glute diet” centered on:

High quality proteins (fish, eggs, legumes, lean meats)
Healthy fats (olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado)
Low glycemic index carbs (oats, quinoa, lentils, vegetables)
Micronutrients that support collagen and muscle, like collagen itself, vitamin C, zinc, and magnesium

Following this kind of approach for 6 to 8 weeks, combined with training and enough sleep, can noticeably firm and tone your glutes while improving skin quality at the same time.

Respect rest and recovery

Your glutes grow when you are not in the gym. To support that process, aim for:

7 to 9 hours of sleep per night
24 to 48 hours of rest between intense leg or glute sessions

You can walk, stretch, or train upper body on your off days. Just avoid heavy leg work that hits the same muscles hard again before they recover.

Use the most effective glute exercises

Not all “booty moves” are created equal. Popular banded kicks and light abduction exercises have their place, but your main glute building workout should revolve around big compound lifts.

Fitness coach Jeremy Ethier points out that many trendy moves focus more on hip abduction instead of hip extension, which is the primary function of your gluteus maximus. He recommends exercises like back squats, leg presses, Bulgarian split squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts for optimal growth, especially when you use proper form so your glutes, not your quads or lower back, do the work.

Key compound glute builders

The following lifts are some of the best for strength, size, and power in your glutes:

Barbell hip thrusts
Back squats
Front squats
Bulgarian split squats
Conventional deadlifts
Romanian deadlifts

Research cited by multiple strength coaches shows barbell hip thrusts can produce higher gluteus maximus activation than back squats and split squats, which makes them especially useful for developing the lower glutes and improving overall lower body power.

Do not skip unilateral work

Single leg exercises like:

Single leg hip thrusts
Single leg deadlifts
Walking lunges
Step ups
Rear foot elevated split squats

help correct imbalances, train your weaker side, and improve stability and range of motion. The Oxygen Magazine 2024 glute guide and the Ladies Who Lift program both emphasize unilateral work to reduce injury risk and build a more symmetrical shape.

Try this 3 day glute building workout plan

This plan is designed to be simple, effective, and realistic. You will train your glutes 3 days a week, with at least one rest day between sessions.

Aim for about 60 to 80 minutes per workout. Most of your sets will fall in the 8 to 12 rep range at 60 to 80% of your one rep max, which is ideal for hypertrophy.

Workout A: Heavy thrust and squat focus

Warm up
Spend 5 minutes on a bike, treadmill, or cross trainer. Then do dynamic leg swings, bodyweight squats, and glute bridges to wake up your hips.
Barbell hip thrusts

4 sets of 6 to 8 reps
Pause briefly at the top and squeeze your glutes hard

Back squats

3 sets of 6 to 8 reps
Sit to at least parallel to increase glute activation

Bulgarian split squats

3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per leg
Keep your chest tall and drive through your front heel

Glute focused leg press

3 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Place feet higher on the platform to shift more load to your glutes

Mini band lateral walks

2 sets of 20 to 25 steps per side
Keep constant tension on the band to burn out the glute medius

Workout B: Hinge and unilateral strength

Warm up
Repeat the same pattern as Workout A with light cardio and hip mobility.
Romanian deadlifts

4 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Push your hips back, keep a slight knee bend, and feel the stretch in your hamstrings and glutes

Front squats

3 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Stay upright and control your depth for full range of motion

Walking lunges

3 sets of 10 to 12 steps per leg
Step long enough that you feel your glutes load, not just your quads

Single leg hip thrusts or glute bridges

3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per leg
Move slowly and keep your hips level

Curtsy lunges or lateral step overs

2 sets of 12 to 15 reps per side
Oxygen Magazine highlights multi plane moves like these for better glute medius and minimus development and more functional strength

Workout C: Volume, isolation, and burnout

Warm up
Same as earlier sessions, plus a light banded glute circuit if you tend to sit a lot during the day. Jeremy Ethier recommends activation work for people who sit frequently because prolonged sitting can blunt glute recruitment.
Hip thrusts (barbell or machine)

3 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Add a 2 second pause at the top to increase time under tension

Step ups

3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per leg
Use a bench height that lets you push through your heel and stand tall without bouncing

Cable kickbacks

3 to 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps
Focus on a slow, controlled squeeze at the top

Glute bridges with band abduction

3 sets of 15 reps
Press your knees out against the band as you lift your hips

Lying or seated hamstring curls

3 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Strong hamstrings support your glutes and protect your knees and lower back

Finish with light stretching for your hips, quads, and hamstrings.

Make every rep count

How you perform each exercise matters as much as what you do.

Use full range of motion and control

Guides from Gymshark and Oxygen Magazine stress that you should move through proper depth, maintain tension, and control every rep. Examples include:

Squatting to at least parallel or slightly below, which increases glute recruitment
Lowering slowly on RDLs and deadlifts, then driving up with your hips
Locking out hips and squeezing hard at the top of hip thrusts

Increasing time under tension by slowing reps, pausing at the bottom or top, and focusing on the eccentric (lowering) phase can dramatically boost your results.

Apply progressive overload

To keep growing, you need to steadily increase how much work your glutes do over time. You can do this by:

Adding small amounts of weight
Doing an extra rep or two with the same weight
Reducing rest slightly while maintaining form
Increasing range of motion or the length of your pauses

Both Gymshark and Oxygen Magazine highlight that progressive overload through load, time under tension, reps, or frequency is essential for ongoing glute hypertrophy.

Aim for your last 1 to 2 reps of each working set to feel challenging but still controlled. If every set feels easy, you are not giving your muscles enough reason to adapt.

Support your workout with smart nutrition and timing

Beyond daily calorie and protein targets, you can help your glutes grow by paying attention to when you eat.

A practical approach is:

Before training: about 25% of your daily carbs plus 20 to 30 grams of protein 1 to 2 hours before your workout
After training: another 25% of your daily carbs plus 20 to 30 grams of protein within 60 to 90 minutes

This strategy helps fuel your session and then supports repair and glycogen replenishment afterwards, which sets you up for better recovery and performance in your next workout.

Most specialty “booty” supplements are not necessary. The research you have seen suggests focusing on:

A simple protein powder, plant based if you prefer
Creatine, which supports strength and muscle gains for your whole body
Moderate caffeine, like coffee or tea, if you tolerate it well

Save your money on flashy pre workouts that promise miracle curves.

See and feel results faster

If you commit to this glute building workout 2 to 3 times per week, follow a supportive “glute diet,” and protect your sleep, you can expect to start noticing:

Firmer, rounder glutes
Better hip and knee stability
Less discomfort from sitting or standing for long periods
More power in daily activities and other workouts

Give yourself at least 6 to 8 weeks of consistent effort. Take progress photos, track your weights and reps, and pay attention to how your clothes fit and how strong you feel. Small, steady improvements are your best sign that your plan is working, and your best glutes are on the way.