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10-Minute At Home Glute Workout For Beginners (No Squats, No Lunges)

By: Lindsey Bomgren, CPT | July 30, 2024

Build strong glutes with this quick and effective at home glute workout! This glute-focused lower body workout combines 5 of the best glute exercises to target the butt from all angles – no squats or lunges needed. Add a resistance band to increase the intensity, or perform with just your bodyweight to make this workout beginner-friendly.

Jump To Workout

Build stronger glutes at home entirely from the mat – no squats, lunges or jumping necessary.

We’ve shared No Squat Booty Workouts and No Lunge Lower Body Workouts before – and you’ve been asking for more.

While many glute workouts prioritize squats and lunges, today’s knee-friendly workout instead uses a series of mat exercises to target the muscles in the glutes.

The five glute exercises found in this beginner butt workout target all three muscles in the glutes: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus.

Training your glutes not only strengthens and shapes the glute muscles, but also can reduce lower back pain and improve hip/pelvic stability.

two women performing donkey kick exercise as part of glute workout at home

10-Minute At Home Glute Workout for Beginners

The five best butt exercises at home. This isolation-style glute workout has no jumping, lunges or squats and is done entirely from the mat.

Add lower body workouts like this one to your home training program 1-2 times a week to build muscle mass and increase endurance.

Workout Equipment:

Mini Loop Resistance Band (discount code: NML). Or perform each move with just your bodyweight.

Workout Instructions:

Follow along with the guided Glute Workout for Women on YouTube, led by certified personal trainer, Lindsey Bomgren. 

Your Workout Looks Like This:

  • 5 Glute Exercises
  • Timed Intervals (perform each exercise for 40 seconds of work, followed by 20 seconds of rest)
  • Repeat x2 Sets (alternating sides as needed)
woman performing a donkey kick heel stamp from a quadruped position

Prefer to Watch On YouTube?

youtube icon Glute Workout

Workout Outline

  1. Fire Hydrant Lift and Kick
  2. Heel Stamp
  3. Prone Frog Lift
  4. Single Leg Glute Bridge
  5. Glute Bridge and Abductor Open

5 Glute Exercises At Home

Fire Hydrant Lift and Kick

Targets: Gluteus maximus, hip abductors and core.

two women performing a fire hydrant kick out as part of an at home glute workout

How To Do Fire Hydrant Lifts and Kicks

  1. Place an optional resistance band six inches above your knees.
  2. Start in a table top position, quadruped on all fours, shoulders stacked over wrists and hips stacked over knees. Option to place your forearms on the mat for more stability.
  3. Lift your right leg up and to the side so you create a straight line from glute to knee, stretching the resistance band but keeping a 90-degree bend in your right knee.
  4. Hold at the top and straighten your right leg; kicking through your right heel.
  5. Pull your right foot back in to bend at the knee and create a 90-degree angle again, then bring your right knee back down to the mat, returning to starting position.

Heel Stamp

Targets: The gluteus maximus (the largest of your three glutes muscles) core and shoulder muscles.

This quadruped heel stamp is the more isolated and controlled version of a “donkey kick” exercise, limiting the range of motion to increase tension on the glutes.

two women performing quaderuped donkey kick heel stamps as part of glute workout at home

How To Do Heel Stamps

  1. Place an optional resistance band six inches above your knees.
  2. Start in a table top position, quadruped on all fours, shoulders stacked over wrists and hips stacked over knees. Option to place your forearms on the mat.
  3. With right foot flexed, kick the heel of your right leg up towards the ceiling, stretching the band and keeping the knee bent. The sole of your right foot should “stamp” the ceiling.
  4. Slowly lower your right knee down an inch, then up an inch, focusing on creating a small, controlled movement.

Prone Frog Lift

Targets: Gluteus maximus (large glute muscles), gluteus medius (side butt muscles or outer glute muscles), gluteus minimus (hip extension) and lower back.

During a frog glute lift, you are abducting and externally rotating the hips (heels together and knees out). As a result, this eliminates the use of the hamstrings to isolate the glute muscles.

two women lying on their stomach performing prone froggy leg lifts to target the glutes

How To Do Prone Frog Lifts

  1. Option to place a resistance band around your thighs, six inches above your knees.
  2. Start lying on your stomach, with your knees bent and apart. Cross your forearms on the mat in front of you and rest your forehead on your arms.
  3. Bring the heels of your feet to touch, toes pointing out 45 degrees.
  4. Engage your core, then squeeze your glutes to lift your heels 1-2 inches towards the ceiling, aiming to slightly lift your quads off the mat. The movement is subtle but controlled.
  5. With control, lower your quads towards the mat, returning to starting position.

Modification: Perform froggy pumps/frog glute bridges if you’re not comfortable lying on your stomach.

Single Leg Glute Bridge

Targets: Glutes, hamstrings, hips, core and pelvic floor.

This single leg exercise will challenge your balance and has been named one of the best exercises to build glute strength.

two women lying on a black mat performing single leg glute bridges

How To Do Single Leg Glute Bridges

  1. Option to place a resistance band around your thighs, six inches above your knees.
  2. Start laying on your back, feet hip-width apart, right foot planted on the floor and left foot extended straight overhead (ankle stacked over knee). Arms extended at your sides or arms straight overhead.
  3. Press through your heels to lift your glutes off the mat, squeezing your glutes as you lift. Think about keeping your core engaged and knees in line with your hips.
  4. Exhale, slowly lowering your hips to hover an inch above the mat, returning to starting position.

Modification: Perform a “B-Stance” Glute Bridge. Plant your right heel and step your left heel out slightly further away from your body, finding a staggered stance. Keep most of your weight in your right heel, left toes popped off the ground.

Glute Bridge and Abductor Open

Targets: Hip abductors (outer glutes and thighs), gluteus medius and gluteus minimus (upper and side glutes).

Glute bridges are a great exercise to improve squat and deadlift performance, build bigger and stronger glutes and alleviate knee pain and lower back pain. 

two women lying on their backs performing glute abductor opens with a resistance band

How To Do Glute Bridges and Abductor Opens

  1. Place an optional resistance band six inches above your knees.
  2. Lie flat on the floor on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground, feet hip width apart.
  3. Press through the heels to lift your hips off the ground until your knees, hips and shoulders form a straight line. This is a glute bridge. Keep your abs drawn in, belly button pulled towards the spine, so you don’t overextend your back.
  4. With control, lower your hips back to the ground. Repeat for a total of five glute bridges.
  5. On your fifth glute bridge, hold your hips high at the top and pulse your legs open, stretching the band as far as you can. Repeat five pulses, then lower back down to the ground, returning to starting position.
  6. Continue this sequence, alternating five glute bridges with five abductor pulses.

At Home Glute Workout FAQs

How Can I Build My Glutes At Home?

Focus on exercises that activate all three parts of the butt: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus (the lower, upper and side glutes). Some of the best glute exercises that don’t require any equipment include donkey kicks/heel stamps, glute bridges, and hip abductions.

Can You Build Glute Muscles Without Weights?

While strength training is the most effective way to build the glute muscles, if you don’t have weights available you can strengthen the glutes using just your bodyweight or resistance bands.

What Is The #1 Glute Exercise?

Hip thrusts (or glute bridges) are the best exercise you can do to target the glutes, and they’re scalable for different fitness levels. Begin with body weight glute bridges, and scale up the intensity by adding a resistance band, dumbbell or barbell hip thrust as you build strength.

What Are The Benefits of Training The Glutes?

Strong glutes help protect your knees, hips and lower back. They’re also necessary for any explosive power movements, such as running or jumping. Additionally, the glutes are the largest muscle group in the body. That means training them is an efficient way to burn calories as well as promote muscle growth.

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