TL;DR
- Hip thrusts, glute bridges, and sumo squats are your three best moves
- Train glutes 3-4 times per week with progressive overload
- Eat enough protein (0.7-1 g per lb of body weight) to fuel growth
- Results start showing in 4-8 weeks with consistent effort
Here's the routine. Beginner-friendly, doable from home, minimal equipment. Co-written with a personal trainer who builds androgynous and feminine figures for a living.
What You'll Need (Optional Equipment)
You can start with just your body weight, but these items will help accelerate results and allow for more progressive training over time:
The Starter Kit
Tap a cardFour cheap pieces of gear that do the heavy lifting. Tap any card to see the exact pick.
Your Full Routine at a Glance
- Squats or Goblet Squats3 sets of 20 (bodyweight) or 12 (weighted)
- Walking Lunges / Step-Ups3 sets of 20 per leg or 12 weighted
- Glute Bridges3 sets of 20 or 12 weighted
- Fire Hydrants3 sets of 20 per leg
- Side Plank Abductions3 sets of 20 per side
- Ab/Core Work (Ab Wheel or Plank Taps)3 sets
- Cardio2-3x per week, 20-30 minutes
Keep scrolling for GIF demos of each exercise, plus form cues and equipment upgrades.
Warm Up Before You Start
The glutes are sleepy muscles. If you sit a lot, they're barely firing even when you think you're squeezing them. Five minutes of activation before the main routine flips the switch so the big moves actually hit the target.
- Glute bridges, bodyweight — 15 slow reps. Hold the top position for 2 seconds and actively squeeze. This is the priming move.
- Clamshells — 15 per side. Lie on your side, knees bent, open the top knee without rolling the hips. Wakes up the glute medius.
- Walking hip circles — 10 per leg. Lift a knee, rotate it outward in a slow arc, set it down. Loosens the hips so squats sit deeper.
- Bodyweight squats — 10 reps. Slow descent, fast ascent. Final ramp before you add load.
If you only have 25 minutes total, steal 5 from the main routine. A warmed-up session of 4 exercises beats a cold session of 6 every single time.
The Beginner Bigger-Butt Routine (Glute-Focused)
This routine targets the glutes from multiple angles with a special focus on shaping, lifting, and rounding. Start with just three sessions per week with at least one rest day in between.
If you're brand new to working out, start with the exercises marked "[Beginner]" and build from there.
Photo by Huha Inc. on Unsplash
[Beginner] Bodyweight Squats or Goblet Squats
Routine: 3 sets of 20 reps bodyweight / 12 reps weighted
Squats are foundational for building glute strength and shape. Make sure you're going deep enough — your thighs should reach at least parallel to the floor. Drive up through your heels to activate the glutes, not just the thighs.
Upgrade this move with a dumbbell or kettlebell held at your chest (a goblet squat).
Credit to this images goes to 8fit on Gify.com
If your knees cave inward at the bottom of a squat, stop the set. Either drop the weight, add a mini-band above the knees to cue outward pressure, or shorten the range until your form is clean. Knee cave is the fastest way to an overuse injury.
[Beginner] Walking Lunges or Step-Ups
Routine: 3 sets of 20 bodyweight / 12 reps weighted
Lunges and step-ups are incredible for glute activation, especially the glute medius and minimus, which give your butt width and roundness. Walking lunges are preferred if you have the floor space. Step-ups are great if you have a bench, sturdy chair, or a staircase.
If you're looking for a challenge (or potentially faster results), hold a dumbbell in each hand while performing these.
Here is an example of a lunge:
Credit to this images goes to 8fit on Gify.com
Here is an example of a step-up:
Credit to this images goes to 8fit on Gify.com
[Beginner] Glute Bridges
Routine: 3 sets of 20 bodyweight / 12 weighted
This move is essential to glute-building. Focus on driving through your heels and squeezing your glutes at the top. To increase difficulty place a resistance band above your knees, or hold a dumbbell on your hips.
Credit to this images goes to 8fit on Gify.com
Fire Hydrants
Routine: 3 sets of 20 reps per side
This fun (and underrated) exercise targets the side of your glutes, helping to round out your hips. Fire hydrants get dramatically harder (in a good way) when you add load.
Add resistance — which one?
Pick the style that fits how you like to train.
A note from our personal trainer: this exercise especially can help if you spend a lot of time sitting, or if you've never worked on your side glute muscles!
Credit to this images goes to Dance Insanity on Gify.com
Side Plank Abductions
Routine: 3 sets of 20 reps per side
This move builds your side glutes and core at the same time. If you can't do it easily at first, start with lying side leg raises or banded side steps.
Here's a quick video showing what good form looks like:
Ab Wheel or Plank Taps
Routine: 3 sets of 6–10 rollouts or 10 taps/side
Your glutes and core work together to stabilize your pelvis. A strong core really supports a lifted butt. The ab wheel can be super effective if you have one, but you can also do plank hip taps or leg lifts as a great body-weight alternative.
Credit to this images goes to 8fit on Gify.com
Cardio: Don't Skip It!
While cardio alone won't help to sculpt your butt, it supports your overall fitness and helps to reduce fat covering your glutes.
Photo via Unsplash
Interesting question: "Hey, isn't this counter-intuitive towards our goals? Don't we want to have fat on our butt?"
Our personal trainer: "This is a little more nuanced than you might think. Sometimes the fat you have on your butt may contribute towards a shape you don't enjoy. In those cases, minimizing the fat (without doing excessive cardio) can help to bring out muscle gains, which can result in a better shape."
Beyond shape, improving your overall physical health supports your heart, decreases recovery time, and lets you train harder.
Do something you enjoy. Dancing, brisk walking, biking, or light jogging all work. Aim for 2-3 sessions per week of 20-30 minutes. You can get a lot out of just being more active in your day-to-day as well.
Eating to Grow Glutes: The Protein Rule
You can train perfectly and still get nowhere if you don't eat enough protein. Muscle growth is a construction job — the workout is the foreman yelling "build more," but protein is the raw material.
The research-backed target is 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. For a 150-lb person that's 105-150g daily. Sound like a lot? It is, until you start counting — two eggs at breakfast (12g), a can of tuna at lunch (25g), Greek yogurt as a snack (17g), chicken breast at dinner (40g) = 94g with room to spare.
Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, canned tuna, rotisserie chicken, eggs, protein shakes, edamame, and lentils. Hit two per meal and you'll rarely miss the target.
You also need a small caloric surplus — roughly 200-300 calories above maintenance on training days. Eating at a deficit while trying to grow glutes is fighting the program on both fronts.
Common Beginner Mistakes to Avoid
After helping dozens of clients through a first glute program, our personal trainer flagged these five as the ones that trip people up the most:
- Going too light on the "heavy" lifts. Glute bridges and hip thrusts respond to load. If you can cruise through 20 reps without struggle, add weight — otherwise you're doing cardio, not resistance training.
- Letting the quads steal the work. If your thighs are sore but your glutes aren't, you're squatting and lunging with a knee-dominant pattern. Push the hips back first, drive through the heels, and think about pulling your feet into the ground.
- Skipping the warm-up. Cold glutes don't fire. Cold glutes that don't fire make the quads and lower back compensate. That's how the knee pain starts.
- Training every day. Glutes grow during recovery, not during the session. Three hard sessions beat six half-hearted ones every time. Respect the rest day.
- Bailing on the program at week three. Visible change takes 6-8 weeks minimum. Most beginners quit right before the first real feedback loop.
Progress Over Perfection
In order to really see the changes you're looking for, you need consistency. Make sure you feel good about the path ahead and have a plan that hits your goals but respects your free time. You're allowed to take it slow. Celebrate every small step, and you'll be there before you know it. <3
A toned glute looks better with smooth, cared-for skin around it. Once the routine is running, it's worth pairing this work with our full guide to smooth skin and our hair removal guide — most of the body-shaping crowd ends up working both sides of that equation.
Build Your Starter Kit
Tick what you're ordering. The list below covers every upgrade mentioned in this article — grab the one or two you're missing and you're set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most people notice visible changes in 4-8 weeks of consistent training. Full reshaping typically takes 3-6 months depending on your starting point and genetics.
Absolutely. Bodyweight exercises like glute bridges, donkey kicks, and sumo squats work great at home. Resistance bands add extra challenge without needing a gym.
Focus on protein-rich foods like chicken, eggs, Greek yogurt, and legumes. Aim for 0.7-1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily, and eat at a slight caloric surplus.
Not if you focus on glute-isolation moves. Hip thrusts and glute bridges target the glutes directly with minimal quad involvement. Skip heavy barbell squats if thigh size is a concern.
Reviewed by Alex Hayward · Last reviewed April 12, 2026
Alex Hayward—7+ years of grooming & skincare editorial experience
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