Flat to Full: 9 Glute Exercises That Build Shape and Strength

Quick question: Are you sitting right now? More likely than not, the answer is yes, which means you’re not doing your butt any favors. The amount of time most of us spend seated, not engaging our glute muscles, can easily leave them limp and weak, according to physical therapist and performance coach Haley Harrison, DPT, CSCS. (The loss of glute muscle is also super common during pregnancy, aka "mom butt.") The fix? To add some flat butt exercises to your weekly routine. With the right approach, you can boost your behind with both old-fashioned strength-training staples and a few more newfangled glute-burning moves. Here’s what you need to know to get the shape you’re after.  

The benefits of doing flat butt exercises

Although there’s nothing wrong with working your glutes simply to build a cuter, more sculpted backside, there’s also some pretty useful, ahem, perks you can get out of doing flat butt exercises. 

You’ll have more strength for daily activities

Whether you’re standing up out of a chair, climbing a flight of stairs, or chasing after your dog, you need a strong rear end. “The glutes are important for functional movements,” Harrison says. These muscles include the large gluteus maximus in the back, as well as the smaller gluteus medius and minimus underneath it that sit further on the top and side of the butt. And when they’re strong and stable, many everyday activities just feel a little easier. 

A strong backside helps prevent injuries

When your glutes are engaged, the whole posterior chain on the backside of your body, including the hamstrings and lower back, typically activates, too, Harrison says. “And all of those muscles are super important for injury prevention,” she says. 

Strong glutes in particular can help protect against back pain and knee injuries by keeping your body in a healthier alignment. “If you have back issues, having weak glutes can play into that or can be the cause of that,” says fitness coach Ashley Selman, CSCS, owner of Evolution Trainers in California. “The stronger our glutes are, the more healthy and stable our back will be.”

Well-rounded glute strength can make you a stronger runner

When you’re running, you need strong glute medius and minimus muscles to stabilize your pelvis as you stride from one foot to the next. And you need a powerful glute max to help you extend from the hip as you push off the ground. In fact, research shows that bigger glutes are strongly correlated with faster sprints. 

The 3 keys to effective flat butt workouts

Just doing a bunch of glute exercises will-nilly won’t give you the backside you’re after. Keep these three tips in mind to get the most out of a flat butt workout.. 

Make sure you’re actually targeting the glutes

“Everyone goes for these glute exercises but they don't know how to activate [the glutes] because it's actually harder than you would think,” says Olivia Lord, CPT, an NASM-certified personal trainer at Crunch Fitness. “They're feeling it in their hamstrings or their quads, and they're not seeing any gains in their glutes.” 

Selman says this is partially caused by all that sitting we do. “It shortens our hip flexors and quads, which will actually inhibit your glute from firing properly,” she says. Because of this, she recommends loosening up the front of your hips first with moves like a kneeling hip flexor stretch.  

One helpful tip: To make sure you’re tapping into the glutes in any kind of squat or lunge, pitch your upper body slightly forward. “If you look at the physics of the hip joint, if you're leaning forward at the torso, now you're biasing the glutes more than the quads,” Harrison says.   

Be well-rounded

Lord says that “for that full, round look and max gains,” the best strategy is to target all three glute muscles—the maximus, medius, and minimus. Flat butt exercises like banded walks and fire hydrants will target your side butt and sculpt that “shelf” along the top while picking up bigger weights for squats and deadlifts will work the glute max to give you that “bubble butt” look, Selman says.

“Band work, side-lying hip variations, fire hydrants are only one piece of the puzzle to have sculpted glutes,” Harrison says. “If aesthetics are an important goal, the foundation should be compound heavy lifts.” Building overall strength and stability will not only increase muscle size, but also give you a sturdy baseline from which to do all kinds of other exercises and activities that work the glutes in a variety of ways. 

Go heavy, and then heavier

The type of muscle fiber you build can affect the shape you create behind you, Selman says. Type I or slow-twitch muscle fibers that we use for endurance activities like jogging are longer and leaner, while type II or fast-twitch fibers that we use for power are generally bigger in diameter. “That means heavier loads will get more size impact,” Selman says. So instead of picking up lighter weights for endless amounts of reps, reach for the heavier stuff. 

Also, just like with any kind of strength training, to continue seeing gains you need to embrace the concept of progressive overload, where you steadily increase the challenge. “A muscle isn't going to make changes unless you place a load upon it that is gradually higher than it was before,” Harrison says. That might mean choosing heavier free weights, a tighter resistance band, or higher platform to step onto as you get stronger. 

The 9 best flat butt exercises

Ready to create a strong, shapely derrière? Add a few of these flat butt exercises to your workouts two to three times a week. 

1. Loaded squats

There’s a reason why so many flat butt workouts include squats: This basic move is an easily adaptable way to get those glutes firing. The key, Selman says, is to get low and work into your deep hip flexion. And don’t forget to lean slightly forward so you feel those glutes firing.

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing slightly out. Hold a kettlebell or dumbbells in front of your chest.

2. Keeping a neutral spine while leaning slightly forward, bend at the knees and hips to bring your glutes down and back as though you’re about to sit in a chair behind you. Lower down until your hips are in line with or even slightly below your knees.

3. Push through your heels to stand up. 

4. Aim for 10 to 12 reps, and 3 to 4 sets. 

2. Deadlifts

By hinging at the hips to bring your trunk closer to your legs, deadlifts are a great way to target the glutes, according to both Selman and Harrison. 

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, and place a weight like a barbell or kettlebell just in front of your shins. 

2. Hinge at the hips to lean down with a neutral spine and grab the weight with an overhand grip. Knees should bend slightly.

3. Extend through the hips to lift your torso until you are standing upright.

4. Slowly return the weight to the floor by hinging at the hips again.

5. Aim for 10 to 12 reps, and 3 to 4 sets.    

3. Hip thrust

The hip thrust has become a popular way to work the glutes, and all three experts we spoke with recommended it. “You really want to emphasize that end range of motion where you're tucking the pelvis, squeezing the glutes, getting as much extension in the hip as you can,” Selman says. Need a beginner’s alternative? Try a glute bridge instead. 

1. Sit with your back against a bench (it should hit at the bottom of your shoulder blades) and a loaded barbell on your hips.

2. Drive through your heels to lift your hips up until they’re fully extended. 

3. Pause at the top for a couple of seconds, squeezing the glutes, then slowly lower back to the floor. 

4. Aim for 10 to 12 reps, and 3 to 4 sets. 

4. Bulgarian split squats

By putting most of the work into the front leg, the Bulgarian split squat amps up the challenge to the glutes. “Keeping the knee from collapsing inward is the job of the glute musculature,” Harrison says. But you’ve still got a little balancing support from the back foot on the platform behind you, so this exercise can be a great intro to single-leg work.

1. Place your back foot on a platform like a bench, with your standing foot on the ground a couple feet in front. You can either hold weights in both hands, or just one weight in the hand that’s on the same side as your back foot. 

2. Angle your torso forward, and squat down far enough for the back knee to touch the floor. 

3. Drive through the heel to stand back up. 

4. Aim for 8 to 12 reps, then switch sides. Do 3 or 4 sets total.

6. Step-ups

The higher the step you choose for step-ups, the more your glutes have to work, Harrison says. So to increase the challenge as you get stronger, she suggests increasing the height of the platform.

1. Stand in front of a stable platform like a box or bench, with one foot placed on it and ready to step up. You can either hold weights in both hands, or just one weight in the hand that’s on the same side as your back foot.  

2. Push into the front foot to stand all the way up on the platform. 

3. Then, with your torso pitched slightly forward, lower down to gently tap the back foot onto the floor before standing all the way back up again. 

4. Aim for 8 to 12 reps, then switch sides. Do 3 or 4 sets total.

7. Single-leg deadlifts

The single-leg version of a deadlift works your glutes double time: The medius and minimus fire up to keep you balanced, while the maximus powers that hinging motion 

1. Stand on your right foot, holding a weight in your left arm. 

2. Hinge at the hips, bringing your torso forward and sending the left leg straight back behind you.

3. Return to standing.

4. Aim for 8 to 12 reps, then switch sides. Do 3 or 4 sets total. 

7. Wall drill

Selman likes to give this exercise to clients who have trouble extending their legs back behind their hips, since it helps to increase mobility in the front of the hip while working into maximal extension of the glute. “It's going to get the high part of your glute max,” she says. “If you have tight hip flexors, that is the part of your glute that won't fire.” 

1. Stand facing a wall, with your hands at chest height, leaning into the wall at a slight angle. 

2. Pick up and drive one knee towards the wall while pushing through your bottom leg like you're sprinting. “You're opening up that hip flexor and you're squeezing that glute as hard as you can to get that full extension,” Selman says. 

3. Hold for five seconds, then switch legs. To increase the challenge, just put more pressure into the wall and the floor. 

4. Aim for 6 reps on each leg, and 2 or 3 sets. 

8. Banded side-to-side walks

This move hits the gluteus medius and minimus, which can help add a “lift” to create a rounder—and more stable—butt, Harrison says. The key is to continue increasing the challenge, which means you’ll need to reach for a stronger band or amp up the tension with wider legs as your glutes get stronger. 

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, and loop a mini band around your thighs just above your knees.
2. Sit back into a shallow squat.
3. Step to one side, increasing resistance on the band. Keep both feet pointed straight ahead.
4. Bring the feet back to hip-width apart, maintaining some tension on the band.
5. Repeat 8 to 12 times in each direction, completing 3 or 4 sets on both sides.

9. Fire hydrant

The fire hydrant exercise is another classic way to hit the glute medius. To increase the challenge, wrap a mini band around your lower thighs.

1. Start in a tabletop position on your hands and knees. 

2. Lift one knee out to the side as high as possible while keeping your hips stable. 

3. Lower that knee back toward the floor (but don’t put your weight back into it). 

4. Aim for 8 to 12 reps, then switch sides. Do 3 or 4 sets total.