Stronger glutes are useful for much more than building a better-looking lower body. Your glute muscles help control the hips, support the knees, share load with the lower back, and produce power for walking, running, lifting, climbing stairs, and sport. When they are weak, undertrained, or hard to feel during exercise, other areas often pick up the slack.

At Vaughan’s Fitness in South Langley, our university-degreed kinesiologists often see clients who have been told to “activate their glutes,” but were never shown how to progress from activation into real strength. The best glute exercises are not magic moves. They are well-coached patterns that load hip extension, single-leg control, lateral hip stability, and pelvic position in a way your body can actually use.

Direct Answer: The 5 Best Exercises to Build Stronger Glutes

The best exercises to build stronger glutes are hip thrusts or glute bridges, Romanian deadlifts, split squats, step-ups, and lateral band walks or cable hip abductions. Together, these exercises train the glutes through hip extension, hip control, single-leg strength, and side-to-side stability. For best results, use controlled technique, progressive load, and a range of rep targets instead of relying on high-rep “burnout” work only.

If you have hip, knee, or back pain, these exercises may need to be modified. This article is educational and not a diagnosis. If an exercise causes sharp pain, nerve symptoms, worsening joint pain, or symptoms that linger after training, it is worth getting assessed by a qualified professional such as a kinesiologist, physiotherapist, or physician.

Why Glute Strength Matters

Your glutes are a group of muscles around the back and side of the hip. The gluteus maximus helps extend the hip, which is the action you use when standing up from a chair, climbing stairs, sprinting, deadlifting, or driving out of the bottom of a squat. The gluteus medius and minimus help control the pelvis and thigh, especially when you are standing on one leg.

That matters because most real-life movement is not perfectly symmetrical. Walking, running, lunging, changing direction, stepping down, and balancing all ask one hip to control the body while the other leg moves. If the hip cannot create or control enough force, you may see the knee cave inward, the low back overarch, or the body shift away from one side.

We covered the “why” in more detail in our article on why glute strength matters for the knees, hips, and back. This guide focuses on the practical side: which exercises to use, how to coach them, and how to progress them intelligently.

Exercise 1: Hip Thrusts or Glute Bridges

Hip thrusts and glute bridges are often the easiest exercises for people to feel in the glutes because the movement is simple and the spine can stay relatively stable. They train hip extension without requiring as much balance or coordination as a squat or lunge.

How to do it

• Start with your upper back on a bench for a hip thrust, or your shoulders on the floor for a glute bridge.
• Place your feet about hip-width apart and close enough that your shins are roughly vertical near the top.
• Drive through the mid-foot and heel as you lift your hips.
• Finish with your ribs down, pelvis level, and glutes squeezed, without overextending your lower back.
• Lower under control and repeat.

A good starting point is 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 15 reps. If you are new, begin with body weight or a band. As you improve, add a dumbbell, barbell, or longer pause at the top.

Kinesiologist cue: Think “hips up, ribs down.” If you feel the exercise mostly in your lower back, reduce the range slightly and focus on finishing with the glutes instead of arching higher.

Exercise 2: Romanian Deadlifts

The Romanian deadlift, often called an RDL, trains the glutes and hamstrings through a hip hinge. This is one of the most useful strength patterns because it teaches you to load the hips while keeping the spine controlled.

How to do it

• Stand tall holding dumbbells, a barbell, or a kettlebell.
• Soften your knees slightly, then push your hips back as if closing a car door with your hips.
• Keep the weights close to your legs and your spine long.
• Lower until you feel a controlled stretch through the hamstrings and glutes.
• Drive the floor away and stand tall by squeezing the glutes.

Try 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps for strength, or 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps when learning the pattern. The goal is not to touch the floor. The goal is to move through the hips while maintaining control.

Kinesiologist cue: If your lower back feels like it is doing all the work, shorten the range, lighten the load, and practice the hinge with a dowel or wall tap first. Our deadlifts for beginners guide explains the hinge pattern in more detail.

Exercise 3: Split Squats

Split squats are one of the best glute exercises because they train one leg at a time. They also reveal differences between sides, which is useful for people returning from injury, athletes, and anyone who notices one leg feels stronger or more stable than the other.

How to do it

• Start in a staggered stance with one foot forward and one foot back.
• Lower straight down with control, keeping your front foot planted.
• Let the torso lean slightly forward if that helps you load the front hip.
• Press through the front foot to return to the top.
• Keep the front knee tracking over the toes without collapsing inward.

A good beginner option is a supported split squat, holding a rack, wall, or dowel for balance. Start with 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps per side. Add dumbbells once the movement is steady.

Kinesiologist cue: Do not rush to the rear-foot-elevated version. A well-controlled regular split squat usually builds more useful strength than a shaky advanced variation.

Exercise 4: Step-Ups

Step-ups are excellent because they connect glute strength to a real-life task: getting your body up onto something. They can also be scaled easily by changing the box height, load, tempo, and amount of hand support.

How to do it

• Choose a box or step that lets you keep control. Knee height is not required.
• Place the whole working foot on the step.
• Lean forward slightly from the hips and drive through the working leg.
• Stand tall at the top without pushing excessively off the back leg.
• Lower slowly and reset before the next rep.

Use 2 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps per side. If you feel your knee more than your hip, lower the step height, slow the lowering phase, and focus on keeping your foot and knee aligned. For more knee-friendly lower-body options, see our guide to knee-friendly leg exercises.

Exercise 5: Lateral Band Walks or Cable Hip Abductions

The first four exercises focus heavily on hip extension and single-leg strength. Lateral band walks and cable hip abductions add side-hip strength, which is important for pelvis control, knee tracking, running mechanics, and change-of-direction sports.

How to do it

• For lateral band walks, place a band around the knees, ankles, or feet depending on your strength and control.
• Keep a slight athletic stance with hips back and ribs stacked over the pelvis.
• Step sideways without letting the knees collapse inward.
• Control the trailing leg instead of snapping it back.
• For cable hip abductions, stand tall and move one leg out to the side while keeping the pelvis level.

These usually work well for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 20 controlled reps. They are not meant to be the entire workout. Think of them as accessory work that supports bigger movements.

Kinesiologist cue: You should feel the side of the hip, not the low back or front of the hip. Smaller steps with better pelvis control beat big, sloppy steps.

How to Program Glute Exercises

Most people do not need a separate “glute day” to get stronger glutes. They need consistent lower-body training that includes a hinge, a bridge or thrust, a squat or lunge pattern, and some single-leg or side-hip work.

Here is a simple two-day weekly structure:

• Day 1: Hip thrust, Romanian deadlift, split squat, lateral band walk.
• Day 2: Step-up, goblet squat, single-leg RDL, cable hip abduction.

For strength, use some sets in the 5 to 8 rep range once your technique is solid. For muscle-building and control, use 8 to 15 reps. For accessory hip stability work, 12 to 20 reps often makes sense. Progress gradually by adding a small amount of load, adding a rep or two, improving range of motion, slowing the lowering phase, or making the movement more controlled.

If you are already training at a gym, these exercises fit well inside a broader personal training program. If you are dealing with pain, asymmetry, or uncertainty about which variation fits your body, a kinesiologist can help you choose the right starting point.

Common Glute Training Mistakes

The most common mistake is chasing the hardest-looking exercise before earning control. A heavy hip thrust, deep lunge, or advanced single-leg hinge is only useful if the right tissues are doing the work and your joints tolerate the load.

• Only doing band work: Bands can help you feel the glutes, but stronger glutes usually require progressive loading over time.
• Turning every rep into a low-back extension: More range is not better if it comes from arching the spine instead of extending the hip.
• Ignoring single-leg work: Squats and deadlifts are valuable, but single-leg exercises expose control gaps that bilateral lifts can hide.
• Changing exercises too often: Keep key movements long enough to measure progress.
• Training through sharp pain: Muscle effort is fine. Joint pain, nerve symptoms, or worsening discomfort need a smarter plan.

At Vaughan’s Fitness, we keep glute training practical. In our private South Langley studio at 658 200th St, clients are coached through the version that fits their current strength, mobility, injury history, and goals. We have been helping Langley clients train this way since 2013, and all of our trainers are university-degreed kinesiologists.

FAQ

How often should I train glutes?

Two to three times per week works well for most people. You can train glutes through lower-body sessions, full-body workouts, or sport performance training. Recovery matters, so more is not automatically better.

What is the best glute exercise for beginners?

A body-weight glute bridge is often the best starting point because it is simple, easy to control, and helps people learn hip extension without needing much balance. From there, progress to hip thrusts, hinges, step-ups, and split squats.

Do squats build glutes?

Squats can build glutes, especially when they are deep enough, well-controlled, and progressively loaded. However, many people also need direct hip hinge, thrust, and single-leg work to fully train the glutes.

Why do I feel glute exercises in my hamstrings or lower back?

You may be using too much range, too much load, or a setup that does not match your body. Foot position, pelvis position, rib position, and tempo can all change where you feel the exercise. A coach can help adjust the movement.

Can glute exercises help knee or back pain?

Glute strengthening can be part of a helpful plan for some knee, hip, or back issues because the glutes influence load sharing and control. It is not a guaranteed cure, and pain should be assessed individually. For injury or car-accident-related recovery, our ICBC active rehab service may be a better starting point.

Build Stronger Glutes With Better Coaching

If you want stronger glutes, better lower-body strength, or a program that respects your knees, hips, and back, Vaughan’s Fitness can help. Our kinesiologist-led team builds individualized programs in a private studio, with no locked contracts and coaching that meets you where you are.

Book your 2 FREE sessions at Vaughan’s Fitness and we will help you choose the right exercises, technique, and progression for your body.