Have you ever noticed that no matter how much you run or do cardio, your glutes don’t seem to respond the way you want them to? Strengthening your glutes is not just about aesthetics—it’s about improving stability, supporting your lower back, and powering your daily movements.
The good news is that you don’t need any equipment to get toned hips and a firmer backside. With the right set of bodyweight exercises, you can activate every part of your glutes, boost your core strength, and feel stronger from your hips down to your thighs. Let’s explore 12 highly effective glute workouts you can do at home today.
1. Glute Bridges
Glute bridges are a foundational exercise for targeting the glute muscles while also engaging your hamstrings and lower back. This movement helps create a firm, lifted appearance in the hips and strengthens the posterior chain, which is essential for posture and overall lower-body power.
How to Do It?
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.
- Press your lower back into the floor and engage your core.
- Lift your hips toward the ceiling, squeezing your glutes at the top.
- Hold for a few seconds, then slowly lower your hips back to the floor.
- Repeat for 12–15 reps, keeping the movement controlled and your glutes engaged.
How It Helps:
Glute bridges strengthen the glutes, lower back, and hamstrings, improving hip stability and reducing the risk of injury. They also support better posture and enhance the efficiency of other lower-body movements, like squats and lunges, by activating muscles that are often weak from prolonged sitting.
2. Pulsing Glute Bridges
Pulsing glute bridges are a variation of the traditional bridge that emphasizes sustained tension in the glute muscles, maximizing the burn and promoting greater muscle activation. This exercise improves endurance and adds an extra challenge to your glute workouts without requiring any equipment.
How to Do It?
- Start in a standard glute bridge position with hips lifted and glutes engaged.
- Lower your hips slightly, about halfway, keeping tension in your glutes.
- Push your hips back up to the starting position immediately.
- Maintain a tight core and avoid arching your lower back.
- Repeat for 15–20 pulses, focusing on controlled movements rather than speed.
How It Helps:
Pulsing glute bridges target the glute muscles more intensely than standard bridges, increasing endurance and strength. They also improve hip mobility, assist in activating the hamstrings, and provide a low-impact way to tone and lift the glutes efficiently from home.
3. Donkey Kicks
Donkey kicks are a classic glute-focused exercise that strengthens and tones the gluteus maximus while improving hip mobility and core stability. They are ideal for activating the posterior chain and sculpting a lifted, defined backside with simple bodyweight movements.
How to Do It?
- Start on all fours with hands under shoulders and knees under hips.
- Engage your core and keep your back flat.
- Lift one leg toward the ceiling with your knee bent at 90 degrees.
- Squeeze your glute at the top of the movement and hold briefly.
- Lower your leg slowly without touching the floor and repeat 12–15 reps.
- Switch to the other leg and repeat the process.
How It Helps:
Donkey kicks isolate the glute muscles while engaging the core for stability. They improve hip extension, support lower-back strength, and help prevent muscular imbalances. Regular practice enhances glute shape and functionality, which contributes to better performance in squats, lunges, and daily movements.
4. Clam Shells
Clam shells are a subtle yet highly effective exercise that targets the outer glute muscles, particularly the gluteus medius, which helps stabilize the hips and prevent knee strain. This exercise is excellent for toning the sides of the hips and improving overall lower-body alignment.
How to Do It?
- Lie on your side with knees bent and legs stacked.
- Keep your feet together and lift the top knee as high as possible.
- Ensure your hips stay stable and your core engaged throughout the movement.
- Slowly lower the knee back down without letting your legs fully touch.
- Repeat for 15–20 reps on each side with controlled motion.
How It Helps:
Clam shells strengthen the gluteus medius and help stabilize the pelvis, which improves balance and reduces the risk of hip and knee injuries. This exercise also enhances the shape and firmness of the outer glutes, complementing other glute-focused movements for a full-toned look.
5. Single-Leg Glute Bridges
Single-leg glute bridges focus on one side at a time, challenging your balance while isolating each glute for maximum activation. This exercise strengthens the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back, and helps correct muscle imbalances between sides for more symmetry and stability.
How to Do It?
- Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Lift one leg off the floor and extend it straight or keep it bent for comfort.
- Press down through the heel of the foot on the floor and lift your hips toward the ceiling.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top and hold briefly.
- Lower your hips slowly back to the floor without letting your glutes relax completely.
- Repeat 10–12 reps per leg, keeping movements controlled and steady.
How It Helps:
Single-leg glute bridges enhance glute strength and stability while engaging the core for balance. They help correct side-to-side muscle imbalances and improve functional movement patterns, making daily activities and other lower-body exercises more efficient and injury-resistant.
6. Fire Hydrants
Fire hydrants target the gluteus medius and help strengthen the hip abductors, which are crucial for hip stability, posture, and preventing knee injuries. This exercise is effective for shaping the sides of the glutes and improving overall hip mobility.
How to Do It?
- Start on all fours with hands under shoulders and knees under hips.
- Engage your core and keep your back flat throughout the exercise.
- Lift one bent leg out to the side until it is level with your hip.
- Squeeze the glute at the top and hold for 1–2 seconds.
- Slowly lower the leg back to the starting position.
- Perform 12–15 reps per leg with controlled motion, avoiding any twisting in your torso.
How It Helps:
Fire hydrants strengthen the gluteus medius and support hip stability, which improves balance and functional movement. They also help correct posture issues and enhance the shape and firmness of the sides of the glutes, complementing other glute exercises.
7. Half Circles (New)
Half circles combine fire hydrants and donkey kicks into a circular motion, targeting multiple areas of the glutes for a comprehensive workout. This exercise engages both the gluteus maximus and medius, improving strength, coordination, and hip mobility.
How to Do It?
- Begin on all fours with hands under shoulders and knees under hips.
- Lift one leg to the side like a fire hydrant.
- Slowly circle your knee forward and downward, then extend it back into a donkey kick motion.
- Complete a smooth half-circle and return to the starting position.
- Perform 10–12 reps per leg with controlled movements and tight glutes.
- Keep your core engaged to prevent your torso from rocking side to side.
How It Helps:
Half circles work multiple glute muscles simultaneously, enhancing overall glute strength, hip mobility, and coordination. They also provide dynamic activation of the lower body and improve balance, making other leg and glute exercises more effective.
8. Double Pulse Squats
Double pulse squats are a squat variation that increases time under tension in the glutes and thighs. By adding small pulses at the bottom of the squat, this exercise maximizes activation in the glutes while improving lower-body endurance and stability.
How to Do It?
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly pointed out.
- Lower yourself into a full squat position, keeping your chest lifted and back straight.
- Perform two small pulses at the bottom of the squat without rising up completely.
- Press through your heels and return to the starting position slowly.
- Keep your core engaged and maintain a slight forward lean to focus tension on the glutes.
- Repeat for 12–15 reps, emphasizing controlled movements throughout.
How It Helps:
Double pulse squats increase glute engagement and strengthen the lower body, including quads and hamstrings. They improve hip stability, enhance muscle endurance, and help sculpt the glutes while providing a safe, low-impact alternative to weighted exercises.
Conclusion
These 12 glute workouts are designed to strengthen, tone, and shape your hips using only bodyweight movements you can do at home. By consistently practicing these exercises, you’ll improve glute activation, enhance hip stability, and support better posture and lower-body strength for everyday movement and long-term fitness.
