5 Bodyweight Exercises for Glute Growth

Not only is growing your glutes a great idea from an aesthetic perspective, they are also the largest muscle in the body, so strengthening them is really important to support your whole body as you go through  your daily life.

Growing your glutes requires progressive overload through resistance training. This means lifting a heavier weight or increasing the reps of a certain exercise week on week. However, glute activation is really important too in order to ensure the glutes are really working with every single exercise you do.

Progressive overload also requires repetition – this means training the same body part minimum twice a week.

Bodyweight glute exercises are key for the activation of the glutes, and can be done absolutely anywhere – even from the comfort of your home!

Single-leg exercises, such as lunges or split squats, can be incredibly effective just using your body weight, as you are loading the whole of your body’s weight onto one leg. In this way, you can effectively achieve progressive overload using just your bodyweight before you need to actually add some weights in.

1.Bulgarian split squats

These are fantastic in isolating and overloading each leg. As you are elevating one of your legs on a bench, you can get great depth into the split squat too.

• Stand in front of a bench, facing away from it.
• Stretch your left leg behind you, so the top of your left foot is resting on the bench.
• Bend your right knee until the leg reaches a 90 degree angle, with your left knee almost touching the floor.
• Press upward, through the right foot, to return to the starting position.
• Repeat 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps before you switch the legs over.

2. Bodyweight squats

Squats are absolutely key when it comes to lower body workouts, not just glutes. To feel an extra burn here, add a resistance band just above your knees.

• Stand with your feet shoulder width, or just wider, apart.
• To target the glutes even more, slightly turn your toes outwards.
• Slowly sit yourself down onto an imaginary chair, sending your bum back and down
• Squat down as deep as you can, you want your bum to be at least at the level of your knees, if not lower.
• Pushing up through your heels, send yourself back up to standing.
• Repeat 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps.

3. Glute bridges

Another killer move for the glutes, glute bridges really isolate those muscles. A resistance band just above the knees can add a real extra dimension to this exercise too.

• Lie on your back with your knees bend and feet flat on the floor.
• Round the tailbone under, then raise your glutes, pushing through the heels.
• Squeeze your glutes at the top of the move, hold and then slowly lower yourself back to the ground.
• Repeat for 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.

4. Glute kickbacks

Another exercise that can be intensified with a resistance band, but you really don’t need it with this one as it really isolates the glutes. 

• Start on all fours, on your knees with your hands directly below your shoulders.
• Extend your right leg outwards, keeping your foot flexed and squeeze your right glute at the top of the movement.
• Make sure your hips stay square to the ground, keeping the core tight, with all movement coming just from the glute.
• Repeat on the same side for 10-12 reps, then swap sides. Do 3-4 sets here.

5. Step ups

Step ups are a great exercise you can do practically anywhere. The higher your step, the more challenging this exercise will be.

• Stand facing a bench or chair.
• Step up onto the bench with your right foot, pushing through the heel.
• Ensure your whole bodyweight is being pushed up through the heel, not momentum.
• Step back to the ground and reset.
• Repeat on the same leg for 8-10 reps, then swap onto the other.
• Do 3-4 sets here.

Hopefully this has given you some inspiration for your next at-home glutes workout. Repeat this at least twice a week, increasing the number of sets, reps or adding a weight every time and you will see results!