20-Minute At-Home Glute Workout
This quick at-home glute workout is designed to target all 3 glute muscles for improved strength and functional stability. You’ll work through 5 dumbbell exercises that activate and fatigue your glutes while also engaging your core. This home workout is ideal for building strength, reducing lower back strain and boosting hip stability in just 20 minutes.
As a certified personal trainer and busy mom of 3, I know firsthand how hard it can be to carve out time for fitness. That’s why I love quick, focused workouts. A well-designed 20-minute workout can be incredibly effective. When it comes to building your glutes, the right movements, even in a short window, can target all 3 glute muscles (maximus, medius and minimus) and give you both aesthetic and functional benefits.
Your glutes are the largest muscle group in the lower body, so they’re important to train. Strong glutes help support your lower back (and reduce back pain), improve posture, enhance hip stability and make everyday tasks like lifting, bending and running after kids much easier. That’s functional fitness in action.
When people talk about “the glutes,” they’re talking about a team of 3 muscles that work together:
- Gluteus Maximus: This is the largest glute muscle that gives your butt its shape. It’s also key for explosive movements like sprinting, jumping and powering up from a squat. Strong glute max muscles protect your lower back, improve hip stability and make everyday tasks (like standing up from a chair or climbing stairs) feel easier.
- Gluteus Medius: This muscle sits a little higher and more to the side and is important for stability. It keeps your hips level when you walk or run, helps prevent your knees from caving in during squats, and plays a big role in lateral movements. Strong glute medius muscles mean better balance, less strain on your knees and smoother side-to-side movement.
- Gluteus Minimus: The smallest of the trio, this muscle works with the glute medius to rotate your legs and stabilize your pelvis, especially when you’re balancing on one foot. That’s crucial for preventing falls, improving athletic agility and moving efficiently in daily life.
You don’t need a fancy gym setup to activate your glutes and get results. The best glute exercises at home often come down to bodyweight moves like glute bridges, hip thrusts, step-ups and donkey kicks. These butt exercises can grow your glutes over time, especially if you focus on good form, mind-muscle connection and progressive overload.
Resistance band butt exercises are effective, too. By adding a band around your thighs during exercises like clamshells, banded hip thrusts or lateral walks, you can fire up those side glutes and add intensity without traditional equipment.
The key to targeting your glutes effectively at home is to choose moves that isolate the muscle, slow down your tempo and push close to fatigue. That’s exactly what today’s workout does. We’ll be using a set of dumbbells and focusing on classic exercises in a rep drop format for a serious glute burnout. If you don’t have dumbbells, you can still do these moves with just your bodyweight or a resistance band.
Grab your weights, clear a little space in your living room, and let’s build strong, functional glutes right at home.
Workout Specifics
This butt workout is designed to build muscle in just 20 minutes. Work through a variety of lower-body strength exercises designed to grow your glutes. This workout also includes a dynamic warm-up and a comprehensive cool-down.
For the best results, I recommend working your glutes 2-3 times a week with at least a day of rest in between. Pair this routine with proper nutrition and recovery, and you’ll not only see changes in shape and strength – you’ll feel the difference in your daily life. If squats and lunges bother your knees, you can try these exercise modifications.
Workout Equipment
Medium to Heavy Dumbbells. I’m using 20-30 lbs. Optional mini loop resistance band or glute band.
Workout Instructions
Follow along with the guided At-Home Glute Workout on YouTube, led by me — your certified personal trainer, Lindsey Bomgren.
Your Workout Looks Like This:
- 5 Glute Exercises with Dumbbells
- Rep Drop Format (decrease the number of reps you perform for each exercise as you move through the workout)
- Repeat x4 Drop Sets (performing 12 reps during the first set, then decreasing to 10 reps, 8 reps and 6 reps)
Workout Outline
1. Squat
Targets: Legs, glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, hips and core.
How to Do a Squat
- Start standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Place a resistance band 6 inches above your knees. Hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides, palms facing in towards your body.
- Lower down into a squat position, lowering your hips down parallel with your knees. Drive your knees out toward your outer toes.
- Drive through your heels to stand tall, returning to a standing position.
Modification: Reduce the intensity by omitting the resistance band, performing squats with your bodyweight or a pair of dumbbells.
2. Deadlift
Targets: All the posterior chain muscles, including the hamstrings, glutes, core, lats and lower back.
How to Do a Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of your hips (palms facing in towards your body). Place a resistance band 6 inches above your knees.
- Hinge at the hips, pushing your hips back towards the wall behind you as you glide the dumbbells down the front of your legs, keeping your core tight, slightly bending both knees. Lower your dumbbells until you feel a stretch in the hamstrings. The range of motion will look different for everyone.
- Drive through your heels to push your hips forward, pulling the dumbbells back up towards your hips and returning to the starting position. Aim for full hip extension at the top of the movement.
Modification: Reduce the intensity by omitting the resistance band.
3. Bulgarian Split Lunge
Targets: Legs, glutes, quads, hamstrings, hips and core.
How to Do a Bulgarian Split Lunge
- Kneel in front of your bench or chair, then place your left foot behind you on a chair or bench, shoelaces down. Hold a dumbbell in your left hand.
- Step your right foot forward (it will vary for everyone, but a little over a foot in front of your bench). Your front thigh will be parallel to the floor. This is the bottom of your movement.
- Drive through your front right heel, squeezing your right glute to return to standing. Feel your front glute engage to power the movement.
- With control, bend your knee to lower back down to the starting position (back left knee should lower down close to the ground), to make your front thigh parallel with the ground. Shoulders remain stacked over hips throughout the movement.
Modification: Perform a standard reverse lunge or split squat, keeping your back foot on the ground rather than elevating it on a chair.
4. Curtsy Lunge
Targets: Legs, quads (thighs), gluteus maximus, gluteus minimus, hip flexors and core.
How to Do a Curtsy Lunge
- Stand with your feet hip-distance apart, holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides.
- Step your left leg back into a curtsy lunge (left back knee should meet right calf as your left knee lowers towards the mat). Lower your hips until both knees reach a 90-degree angle, front thigh parallel to the floor.
- Squeeze your right glute to reverse the movement, stepping your left foot back to center and standing tall.
- Repeat, this time stepping your right leg back into a curtsy lunge (right knee should meet left calf as your right knee lowers towards the mat). Lower your hips until both knees reach a 90-degree angle, front thigh parallel to the floor.
- Squeeze your left glute to reverse the movement, stepping your right foot back to center and standing tall.
5. Dumbbell Hip Thrust
Targets: Glutes (both the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius), hamstrings and hip adductors.
How to Do a Dumbbell Hip Thrust
- Sit in front of a bench or chair, feet shoulder-width apart and planted on the floor. Then rest your upper back on a bench. Hold 1 or 2 dumbbells at your hips, resting on your hip bones.
- Press through the heels to lift your hips (or thrust your hips) until your knees, hips and shoulders form a straight line. Squeeze your glutes and keep your abs drawn in so you don’t overextend your back during the exercise.
- Hold at the top of the hip thrust for a moment before lowering your hips back to the starting position with control.
Modification: Perform glute bridges from the floor if you don’t have a bench or box available.
FAQs
Can you build glutes at home with no weights?
Yes, you can grow your glutes at home without weights. Bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges and glute bridges can target and build your glute muscles. That said, progressive overload is the key to muscle growth. Adding weights, increasing repetitions, sets or the difficulty of the exercises will build your glute muscles more efficiently.
Can I make my glute muscles bigger without bulking or cutting?
Yes, you can grow your glutes without significantly increasing your overall body mass (or bulking). Bulking refers to eating in a calorie surplus, which can accelerate muscle growth. Cutting refers to eating in a calorie deficit to reduce body fat while maintaining muscle mass. Consistent, targeted strength training, combined with a focus on protein intake to support muscle growth, can lead to noticeable glute growth.
Will 100 squats a day grow my glutes?
While doing 100 squats a day can strengthen your glutes, I don’t think it’s the most effective way to build strong glutes. For the best results, focus on progressive overload and vary your workout routine. You should incorporate heavier weights and a variety of exercises that specifically target the glutes.
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