How do I grow my glutes at home?
Squats, lunges and bridges, 2 or more days a week. You don’t need a gym. In trials, light loads built similar muscle to heavy ones. The catch is how you end each set.
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Which glute exercises can I do at home?
Bridges, squats and lunges. Your glutes are your bottom muscles. The bridge and the squat both have you squeeze them.
An NHS physio team gives all three for hip pain at home. Each is done for 30 seconds, with a goal of 3 to 5 sets.
A 3-move glute session with no gym
- 1
Bridge, then single-leg
Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat. Squeeze your bottom and lift. When that’s easy, lift one foot off the floor. Hold 5 seconds, lower, repeat for 30 seconds.
- 2
Goblet squat
Hands together at your chest, hips back, thighs level with the floor, or as low as is comfortable. 30 seconds.
- 3
Lunge
Step forward and let your front knee bend. Step back, or walk on with the other leg. 30 seconds.
- 4
Repeat
Aim for 3 to 5 sets. 3 to 4 times a week is usually enough.
Source: Sussex Community NHS physio
New to exercise? Start with the NHS chair moves. Mini-squats have you stand up squeezing your buttocks, and leg extensions work the back of your thigh and bottom.
Pick three moves and do them twice this week.
How do I do a bridge, squat and lunge properly?
Squeeze your bottom first, then move. These cues come from the NHS physio video and the NHS strength exercises.
| Move | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Bridge | Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat and hip-width apart. Squeeze your bottom and lift it 6 to 9 inches. | Pushing hard through your arms and heels. |
| Single-leg bridge (harder) | Same, with one leg straight or lifted. | Letting your hips tip. Keep them level. |
| Goblet squat | Feet wider than your shoulders, toes slightly out. Chest up, hips back, then stand and squeeze. | Knees going too far past your toes. |
| Lunge | Take a big stride and lower your hips straight down. Keep your body upright. | Your front knee drifting across your body. |
| Chair mini-squat (easier) | Hands on the back of a chair. Bend your knees as far as is comfortable, knees facing forwards and back straight, then stand, squeezing your buttocks. | A chair with wheels or one that slips. |
| Leg extension (easier) | Hands on a chair. Raise one straight leg back, hold up to 5 seconds, 5 times each leg. | Arching your back. |
Sources: Sussex Community NHS physio; NHS: strength exercises
Need support for a lunge? Holding a chair is fine, the physio says.
Pregnant? In later pregnancy, the NHS says try to avoid lying flat on your back for more than a few minutes. It can make you feel dizzy and isn’t good for your baby, so swap floor bridges for standing moves.
Squats or hip thrusts: which grows the glutes more?
Neither won in a 2023 trial. A hip thrust is like a bridge with your upper back on a bench and a weight on your hips.
In that trial, 34 young adults new to weights did barbell squats or hip thrusts for 9 weeks. Body scans (MRI) measured their muscles before and after.
| What was measured | Squat group | Hip thrust group |
|---|---|---|
| Glute growth on MRI | Similar | Similar |
| Front thigh growth | More | Less |
| Glute muscle activity during a set | Lower | Higher |
Source: Plotkin 2023
Hip thrusts lit up the glutes more. But that activity did not consistently predict how much they grew. So the move that works your glutes hardest in the moment didn’t grow them more.
It was one small trial in young adults. Still, it suggests you can pick the move you like. At home, squats need no bench.
Can bodyweight exercises build glutes?
Probably, if the sets are hard. A review of 21 studies found light weights (60% of your max or less) built similar muscle size to heavy ones. It didn’t test bodyweight moves.
Heavy loads built more strength for the most you can lift once.
That catch is how each set ends. In the review, every set went to failure: the point where you can’t do one more good rep.
The NHS puts it more gently. For health benefits, do strength moves to the point where you need a short rest before repeating.
That’s fine for health. The review’s result was for sets taken until you couldn’t do one more good rep.
Make each glute set count
- Keep going until you need a short rest before the next set.
- To train like the review, end the last set when you can’t do one more good rep.
- When that gets easy, add reps or time, or work one leg at a time.
- Add weight, like a filled backpack, or use a stretchy resistance band.
- Don’t push through pain. It shouldn’t last hours or days after a session.
- Pregnant? In later pregnancy, swap floor bridges for standing moves.
Sources: Sussex Community NHS physio; NHS: physical activity guidelines; Schoenfeld 2017
Using a booty band? It’s one way to add resistance. The NHS counts working with resistance bands (stretchy exercise bands) as muscle-strengthening.
See resistance band exercises and progressive overload for beginners.
How often and how many sets?
At least 2 days a week. The NHS says adults should work all major muscles, including legs and hips, on at least 2 days a week. You don’t need to train daily.
More sets tend to grow more muscle. In a review of 15 studies, each extra weekly set was linked to about 0.37% more gain.
- Below 5 sets a weekUnder 5: the lowest group.
- 5 to just under 10 sets a week5 to 9: the middle group.
- 10 sets a week or above10 or more: a trend to the most growth, not proven.
Source: Schoenfeld 2017, J Sports Sci
Count every glute move. The 3-move session with 3 sets each, done twice a week, is 18 sets. The review’s top group was 10 or more, but that trend was not proven.
Hoping to lose fat from your bum too? Training one spot doesn’t seem to burn its fat. In a 12-week study of 11 people training one leg, fat fell in the arms and body, but not in that leg.
Sore for days? See muscle soreness and progress. For a full-body week, see the two-day strength routine.
When to speak to a GP
Get help if:
- You haven’t exercised for some time, or you have medical conditions or concerns. The NHS says speak to your GP first.
- Hip pain stops your normal activities or sleep, gets worse or keeps coming back, or hasn’t improved after 2 weeks of home treatment. Also if your hip is stiff for more than 30 minutes after waking. See a GP.
- Severe hip pain starts suddenly without a fall or injury, your hip is swollen and feels hot, or the skin around it changes colour. Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111.
- You have hip pain, feel generally unwell and have a high temperature, or feel hot, cold or shivery. Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111.
- Call 999 or go to A&E for severe hip pain after a fall or injury, or if you can’t walk or put weight on your leg. Also for tingling or loss of feeling in your hip or leg after an injury.
In many areas, you may be able to get physio from NHS community services without a GP referral.