Best Glutes Workouts With Bodyweight

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About

This workout is designed to effectively target and engage the gluteal muscles, enhancing their strength and functionality.

Bodyweight exercises are utilized, involving no additional equipment for resistance while allowing natural movement patterns to be performed efficiently.

The glutes, located in the posterior hip region, are essential for movements such as leg extensions, squats, and hip thrusts, contributing significantly to lower body dynamics.

By focusing on these targeted exercises, this routine helps support overall physical performance and development of the buttock region.

Do you want to grow your glutes but don’t have access to any weights like barbells or dumbbells? Don’t worry, growing your glutes is very much possible even if you only have your bodyweight to work with.

Bodyweight exercise can build glutes if you have the right approach. First, you need exercises that target the glute muscle, such as the glute bridge. Then, you need to implement methods to progressively overload your glutes so you’re constantly challenging them to grow back bigger and stronger.

How To Build Your Glute Muscle

Building muscle takes more than just lifting weights.

To get results, you need to ensure that you’re progressively overloading your muscles, forcing them to rebuild bigger and stronger than before. Your nutrition is also an important variable in building muscle such as consuming enough protein and eating in a caloric surplus, i.e. eating more calories than you can burn.

However, for this article, we’re going to focus on the training side of things and while our points apply to the glutes, it also covers any muscle group in the body.

3 Ways You Can Progressively Overload Your Glutes Using Just Your Bodyweight

So, you know you need to progressively overload your glutes but how exactly do you do that?

Here are three ways:

1. MORE WEIGHT

Adding more weight to your movements is a way of ensuring that you’re challenging your glutes and forcing them to adapt to bigger loads.

However, as we’re looking at bodyweight exercises for your glutes and not adding weight in the form of barbells or dumbbells to the exercises, the following methods will be more relevant and will show you that progressive overload is doable even by just using your own body and gravity as resistance.

2. MORE VOLUME

Increasing the volume of your working bodyweight glute sets is ideal when it comes to progressive overloading and building the muscle.

This can come in the form of having higher reps to complete and adding in more sets. The good news is that because you’re only using your body weight, the higher volume is much more achievable, though be warned—don’t underestimate them. You’ll definitely feel a burn in your glutes that’ll still make the exercises challenging to do.

Check out my other article on 3 Leg Workouts You Can Do Without Weights.

3. INCREASE TIME UNDER TENSION

Time under tension (TUT) is an often overlooked method in increasing the load on your glute muscles. Time under tension refers to the amount of time your muscles will be working.

For example, if you hold a squat in the bottom position for 3 seconds before finishing the movement as opposed to executing the typical straight-down-and-straight-up squat, you’re increasing time under tension.

Holding a position, also known as pause exercises, is not the only way you can do this.

Tempo reps can slow down your movement so that you can really feel it from the very start to the very end. An example of this is a tempo squat with a tempo of 4010. This requires you to slow your descent so it takes you 4 seconds to reach the bottom position, hence increasing time under tension.

Bodyweight exercises are a great way to start building glutes. By implementing exercises that target this muscle in your fitness routine and ensuring that you are finding ways to progressively overload them, you’ll be well on your way to getting bigger and stronger glutes.

Workout 1

Glutes

The 8 Best Glutes Exercises with Bodyweight

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Ranked based on Fitbod's internal data set of the most effective exercises. Learn More

1. Single Leg Glute Bridge
Single Leg Glute Bridge demonstration video — proper form for this exercise.
SETS LOGGED
1,685,202
Glutes Strength
96 mScore
Glutes
The Single Leg Glute Bridge is a bodyweight exercise that focuses on strengthening your glutes one side at a time. This variation helps improve muscle activation and balance by isolating each side of your body.
How to do it
1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the ground, arms at your sides.
2. Tighten your core and tilt your pelvis slightly up.
3. Push through your right heel to lift your hips, squeezing your right glute until your body is in a straight line from knees to shoulders.
4. Lower back down and switch to the left side, repeating the movement.
Sets, Reps, Weight
1
8reps
2
8reps
3
8reps
4
8reps
Full Video & Instructions
2. Single Leg Hip Thrust
Single Leg Hip Thrust demonstration video — proper form for this exercise.
SETS LOGGED
543,574
Glutes Strength
90 mScore
Glutes
The Single Leg Hip Thrust targets the glutes and hamstrings while improving strength and balance on one leg. This exercise adds instability, enhancing muscle activation and helping to correct strength imbalances between your legs.
How to do it
1. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
2. Extend your arms beside your body, palms down.
3. Tighten your core by breathing deeply into your stomach.
4. Lift one foot off the ground and extend that leg out.
5. Push through the heel of the grounded foot to raise your hips, forming a straight line from your knees to shoulders.
6. Lower your hips back down and repeat on the other leg.
Sets, Reps, Weight
1
9reps
2
9reps
3
9reps
4
9reps
Full Video & Instructions
3. Hip Thrust
Hip Thrust demonstration video — proper form for this exercise.
SETS LOGGED
3,890,283
Glutes Strength
99 mScore
Glutes
The Hip Thrust is an easy exercise that focuses on strengthening your glutes. It helps improve your glute drive, which benefits many other movements and exercises.
How to do it
1. Lie on your back with your feet flat and hip-width apart.
2. Place your arms at your sides, palms down.
3. Tilt your hips up while tightening your tummy to keep your back flat.
4. Lift your hips by squeezing your glutes until your body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders.
5. Lower your hips back down to the ground in a controlled manner.
Sets, Reps, Weight
1
16reps
2
16reps
3
16reps
4
16reps
Full Video & Instructions
4. Single Leg Kickback
Single Leg Kickback demonstration video — proper form for this exercise.
SETS LOGGED
2,719,302
Glutes Strength
95 mScore
Glutes
The Single Leg Kickback is a bodyweight exercise that strengthens your glutes. By lifting one leg at a time, it helps improve muscle balance and stability.
How to do it
1. Start in a kneeling push-up position, hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips, bent at 90 degrees.
2. Engage your core to maintain a flat back.
3. Bend your ankles to 90 degrees and lift your right leg back and up using your right glute.
4. Raise your leg until your body is straight, keeping the knee bent. Squeeze your glutes at the top for a moment.
5. Lower your leg back down and switch to the left leg. Repeat.
Sets, Reps, Weight
1
8reps
2
8reps
3
8reps
4
8reps
Full Video & Instructions
5. Frog Pump
Frog Pump demonstration video — proper form for this exercise.
SETS LOGGED
511,755
Glutes Strength
93 mScore
Glutes
The Frog Pump is a bodyweight exercise that strengthens your glutes. By positioning your feet together and knees outward, it effectively engages your hips and glutes.
How to do it
1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet pressed together.
2. Lift your hips by squeezing your glutes until your body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders.
3. Lower your hips back down to the starting position.
Sets, Reps, Weight
1
8reps
2
8reps
3
8reps
4
8reps
Full Video & Instructions
6. Standing Leg Side Hold
Standing Leg Side Hold demonstration video — proper form for this exercise.
SETS LOGGED
225,519
Glutes Strength
79 mScore
Glutes
The Standing Leg Side Hold strengthens your glutes and hip muscles by holding one leg out to the side. This helps improve your balance and muscle endurance, making it perfect for beginners working on lower body strength.
How to do it
1. Stand on one foot and lift your other leg to the side with your toes pointing forward.
2. Engage your thighs, hips, and glutes to stay stable.
3. Hold this position for the set time while keeping your core tight, shoulders back, and chest up.
Full Video & Instructions
7. Straight Leg Kickback
Straight Leg Kickback demonstration video — proper form for this exercise.
SETS LOGGED
602,473
Glutes Strength
94 mScore
Glutes
The Straight Leg Kickback is a simple exercise that works your glutes. It helps strengthen and tone the muscles by raising your leg behind you while keeping it straight.
How to do it
1. Get on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your right knee under your right hip.
2. Extend your left leg straight back behind you.
3. Lift your left leg towards the ceiling, keeping it straight.
4. Lower your leg back down and repeat for the desired number of times.
5. Switch to the right leg and repeat.
Sets, Reps, Weight
1
9reps
2
9reps
3
9reps
4
9reps
Full Video & Instructions
8. Side Leg Kick
Side Leg Kick demonstration video — proper form for this exercise.
SETS LOGGED
49,526
Glutes Strength
93 mScore
Glutes
The Side Leg Kick exercise helps strengthen your glutes and hip muscles. By lying on your side and lifting your top leg, you engage these muscles effectively for a better workout.
How to do it
1. Lie on your side with your top hand on the floor for support.
2. Lift your top leg up while keeping your core tight.
3. Swing your leg forward and then back behind you.
4. Repeat the movements for the desired duration.
5. Keep your leg straight with a slight bend in the knee.
Sets, Reps, Weight
1
10reps
2
10reps
3
10reps
4
10reps
Full Video & Instructions