Glute workout plan

Choosing your starting weightEmerging evidence

Warm up, then pick a weight you think you could lift about 10 to 12 times at most. Do the bottom of the rep range (for 8 to 12, do 8) and ask: how many more could I have done with good form? Two or three more: that is your weight. Five or more: go up one step next set. None or one: go down one step.

For bodyweight moves, choose the version (the easier or harder option on each move's page) where you reach the bottom of the rep range with 2 or 3 reps to spare.

In the first two weeks, stop each set with 3 or 4 reps to spare. Most people misjudge how many reps they have left by about one, and you are still learning the movements.

Sources 1, 2, 3

Progressing week to week: double progressionEmerging evidence

Each exercise has a rep range, such as 8 to 12. Keep the weight the same and add reps, set by set and session by session, while still stopping 1 to 3 reps short of failure.

When every set reaches the top of the range, add the smallest weight step you have (roughly 2 to 10%, smaller jumps for the upper body and small muscles) and go back to the bottom of the range. Adding reps and adding weight both work; this rule uses both.

With body weight, add reps, then slow the lowering, then move to the harder option. If a lift stalls for 2 or 3 sessions, hold the weight, check your sleep and food, and consider a lighter week.

Sources 4, 3, 1

How hard each set should feelStrong evidence

You do not need to train to failure. Stopping 2 or 3 reps short, often written as 2 to 3 reps in reserve (RIR), gives similar results for most people.

Squats and deadlifts stay at 2 to 3 reps in reserve and hip thrusts at 1 to 3; the last set of hip abduction can go to 0 to 2.

Sources 1, 5

Rest between setsEmerging evidence

Heavy compound lifts in sets of 5 to 8 (squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, chin-up): 2 to 3 minutes. Other compound lifts in sets of 8 to 12: about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Isolation moves such as raises, curls, extensions and calf raises: 60 to 90 seconds.

For muscle growth, resting more than about a minute gives a small advantage, with no clear extra gain past about 90 seconds. For strength the evidence on rest is mixed: 1 to 2 minutes is enough for beginners, and trained lifters may do better with longer rests on heavy lifts.

Short on time? Pair two moves that do not compete, such as a press with a row or a leg move with a core move, and rest after the pair. Supersets like this roughly halve session time while keeping the sets.

Sources 6, 7, 1, 8

Lighter weeks (deloads)Mixed evidence

Not compulsory, especially for beginners. Take one in week 8, or sooner if your performance drops for two sessions in a row and you feel run down or achy: same days, same exercises, about half the sets, and weights that feel easy (4 or more reps in reserve). Then restart at your previous weights.

Deloads are common practice: in a survey of competitive strength and physique athletes they lasted about a week, roughly every 5 to 6 weeks. Direct evidence is thin. In the one trial, a full week off mid-programme did not change muscle growth but slightly reduced strength gains, so a lighter week looks better than a week off if strength matters. Whether recreational lifters benefit has not been tested.

Sources 9, 10, 11

Warm-up and cool-downEmerging evidence

Warm up with 3 to 5 minutes of easy movement, the moves listed at the start of each session, then 1 or 2 lighter sets of the first lift. A short warm-up specific to the exercise is enough.

The cool-down is optional. Its stretches are there for comfort and flexibility; they do not add strength or muscle.

Source 8

Missed days, soreness and when to stop

Missed a session? Do the next one in the order rather than doubling up. Muscle soreness for a day or two after a new exercise is common and fades as you repeat it.

Stop and get medical help for chest pain or pressure, unusual breathlessness, dizziness or fainting. If a joint pain is sharp, gets worse during a set or lingers into the next day, swap to the move's easier option, and see a clinician if it persists.

WHO notes that people without contraindications generally do not need medical clearance before light or moderate activity. If you have a heart, lung or metabolic condition, are pregnant, or have osteoporosis with fractures, ask your clinician first.

Source 12

Hip thrusts or squats? BothMixed evidence

In a 9-week trial that measured the glutes with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, hip thrusts and back squats grew them about equally, and squats also grew the front and inner thighs more. One smaller 12-week trial in trained women found squats grew the glutes more, but a later review questioned its methods. So this plan uses both, plus a deadlift and side-hip work.

Sources 13, 14, 15

What muscle activity (EMG) studies can and can't tell youStrong evidence

Electromyography (EMG) measures the electrical activity in a muscle during an exercise. In 16 EMG studies, step-ups lit up the gluteus maximus most, with deadlifts, hip thrusts, split squats and lunges all very high. That tells you which muscles an exercise uses.

It does not tell you which exercise grows them most. When it was tested, the hip thrust's higher EMG did not predict more glute growth, and reviews say EMG readings are not a validated predictor of muscle growth.

Sources 16, 13, 17, 18

Train the side of the hip tooEmerging evidence

Hip thrusts and squats grew the gluteus medius and minimus, the smaller muscles at the side of the hip, very little. In a 10-week trial, 17 adults trained one leg with hip abduction (moving the leg out to the side) and the other with hip extension. Abduction grew the upper part of the gluteus maximus by about 10% and the medius and minimus a little; extension grew the gluteus maximus more overall, mostly its lower part.

That is one small 2026 trial, and we have read only its abstract, so treat it as a promising lead rather than settled. The 5 side-hip sets a week in this plan are our editorial choice.

Sources 13, 19

Go deepEmerging evidence

Full squats grew the gluteus maximus about three times as much as half squats in a 10-week trial of 17 men (6.7% against 2.2%), and the 2026 position stand of the American College of Sports Medicine found that full range of motion helped strength. Squat and lunge to the deepest position you control without pain.

Sources 20, 1

Full body or split: similar resultsStrong evidence

When weekly sets are matched, full-body and split routines give similar strength and muscle gains, and how often you train a muscle matters little for growth. So the choice is about your schedule, session length and what you enjoy.

Sources 21, 22, 23

How much training this isStrong evidence

Counting direct sets in the build phase, this plan gives about 16 to 18 direct glute sets a week (6 of hip thrusts, 3 of deadlifts, 2 of back extensions, 5 of side-hip work and 2 optional kickback sets), plus 8 sets of squats and lunges that also work the glutes; about 8 for the quads, 8 for the hamstrings, 7 for the chest, 12 for the back, 12 for the shoulders and 4 each for the biceps and triceps.

More weekly sets build more muscle, with diminishing returns that arrive sooner for strength than for size. The 2026 ACSM position stand saw extra growth from about 10 or more sets per muscle a week, and a review of time-efficient training suggests about 4 hard sets a week as a reasonable floor for busy people.

That clears the 10-set mark for the glutes over two main sessions. Past about 20 sets a week each extra set adds less, which is why the Saturday session is optional.

Sources 1, 24, 23, 8

No plan can promise a shapeStrong evidence

Trials measure muscle size, not shape: over 10 weeks the gluteus maximus grew by about 2 to 9%, and by up to 14% in one region. Training a muscle doesn't burn the fat over it, so how your hips look also depends on body fat, which exercise alone changes slowly. Judge progress by your weights and reps.

Sources 20, 19, 25

Women and men grow lower-body muscle alikeStrong evidence

In 29 studies, women and men gained muscle at similar rates relative to where they started, and in the lower body at similar absolute rates too. The plan is the same for everyone.

Source 26

At homeStrong evidence

Muscle grows with light or heavy loads when sets are taken close to failure; heavier loads build more maximal strength. At home, use single-leg moves, bands and dumbbells, and stop 1 to 2 reps short instead of 2 to 3.

Sources 27, 1

Protein: enough, not endlessStrong evidence

In 49 trials of protein supplements with strength training, extra protein added muscle up to a total intake of about 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day, and no further gain above that.

Source 28

Cardio does not cost you muscleStrong evidence

Doing cardio as well as strength training does not reduce muscle growth or maximal strength. It can blunt explosive strength, such as jumping and sprinting, mainly when both are done in the same session; keep them at least 3 hours apart if that matters to you.

Source 29

Fewer days, pain or pregnancy

Three days a week: Glutes A, an upper body day and Glutes B, switching between upper A and B each week. Add 2 sets of push-ups and rows at the end of each glute day, so every muscle is still trained twice a week, as World Health Organization guidelines advise for strength; this version is our editorial suggestion.

Knee pain: favour hip thrusts and deadlifts and shorten the squat range. Back pain: the leg press instead of the back squat, with light hip thrusts and back extensions, and see the back pain guide. Pain on the outside of the hip: keep abduction light and see the hip bursitis guide. Pregnancy: after the first trimester, keep time flat on your back to a few minutes and use a propped-up or side-lying bridge; the women's plan covers more swaps.

Source 12