Best Glute Exercises For Women: Beginner’s Guide

by Village Gym + Les Mills

Ladies, ready to lift, tone, and sculpt your glutes? Whether you're aiming for a perkier backside, stronger hips, or just want to feel more empowered in your daily movements, the right glute exercises can truly transform your routine.

Your glutes are more than just a visual asset—they're some of the most powerful muscles in your body, assisting with everything from squats and lunges to running and maintaining a strong posture. By targeting them with effective glute workouts, you’ll not only build strength and shape but also enhance your overall performance.

Let’s jump into the best glute exercises you can add to your workout plan that will leave your buns looking toned, lifted, and ready for anything!

Benefits Of Glute Training

Working your glutes isn’t just about how your backside looks—it has some serious benefits for your whole body. Strong glutes help keep your posture in check by supporting your pelvis and spine, which can help prevent lower back pain.

They’re also a powerhouse for athletic moves like running, jumping, and sprinting, giving you more speed and explosive power. Plus, strong glutes help protect your hips and knees, reducing the risk of injuries. And because these muscles are big, working them can even give your metabolism a boost, helping you burn more calories.

Recent studies have found that exercises like hip thrusts and squats are great for building glute strength and size. Other studies show that strengthening the gluteus medius can improve leg function and lower the risk of knee injuries. So adding targeted glute exercises to your routine isn’t just about shaping your butt—it’s about moving better, performing stronger, and staying injury-free.

What Are The Glute Muscles?

Your glutes—yep, your booty muscles—are the largest and most powerful muscle group in your body. They’re the driving force behind some of your most essential movements: walking, running, squatting, and jumping. Strong glutes don’t just look amazing—they help you move better, prevent injuries, and power up your workouts.

Let’s break down the three muscles that make up your glutes:

Gluteus Maximus

The superstar of the bunch! This is the biggest and strongest glute muscle, responsible for extending and rotating your hips. It helps you maintain perfect posture and crush movements like climbing, jumping, and sprinting.

Gluteus Medius

Sitting on the outer side of your hips, this muscle is your stability hero. It keeps your pelvis steady while you walk, run, or balance on one leg, and it also assists in lifting and rotating your hips.

Gluteus Minimus

The smallest and deepest glute, it works behind the scenes to stabilise your pelvis, especially when one leg is off the ground—like when you’re tackling stairs or lunges.

Knowing how these three muscles work means you can target your glutes more effectively, sculpting a stronger, rounder, and more toned booty. And with Village Gym’s state-of-the-art equipment, achieving your ultimate glute goals has never been easier—or more fun!

Top Glute Exercises For Women

The best glute exercises for women include step-ups, deadlifts, squats, lunges, hip thrusts and kickbacks which target the glute muscles and help to build strength, tone, and shape, while also improving hip stability and functional lower-body movement.

For maximum effectiveness, focus on form, intensity, and engagement, gradually increasing the weight and number of repetitions per set. Be sure to warm up with a few glute activation exercises like glute bridges or cable kickbacks before your workout and finish with a glute stretch afterward.

Choose 3–5 exercises for your workout circuit.
Complete 10–15 repetitions of each exercise before moving to the next.
Take a short rest of up to one minute after finishing the full circuit.
Repeat the circuit three more times, for a total of four rounds.

Hip Thrust

The hip thrust is one of the most effective glute isolation exercises, directly targeting your glutes for strength, tone, and growth. You can start with just your bodyweight and gradually add resistance using a dumbbell or barbell as your form improves.

Sit on the floor with your upper back resting against a sturdy surface, such as a workout bench (or even the edge of a bed). Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor, roughly shoulder-width apart.
If you’re using bodyweight, place your elbows on either side of you for stability. With a dumbbell or barbell, position the weight across your hips and hold it in place with your hands. Ensure it is centred and stable.
Tighten your core and, keeping your upper back in contact with the bench, squeeze your glutes to lift your hips toward the ceiling. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.
Hold the top position for a moment, feeling the glutes fully engaged. Slowly lower your hips back down to the starting position with control.

Deadlifts

Deadlifts are a powerful exercise for women looking to build a stronger, more toned bum. You can perform them using a barbell or a dumbbell in each hand—what matters most is maintaining proper form. Keep your core engaged, back straight, and focus on driving the movement through your glutes.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, shins close to the barbell (or holding dumbbells in front). Keep knees slightly bent, chest up, and core engaged.
Hinge at the hips, push them back, and grasp the bar just outside your knees (or hold dumbbells at your thighs) with a straight back and shoulders down.
Drive through your heels, extend your knees, and stand tall, pushing your hips forward and squeezing your glutes at the top. Avoid leaning back.
Lower the weight with control by hinging at the hips, keeping it close to your body. Reset and repeat.

Step-Ups

Step-ups are a highly effective lower-body exercise that primarily target the glutes while also engaging the quads, hamstrings, and core for stability. They can be performed using just your bodyweight or made more challenging by holding a dumbbell in each hand. All you need is a sturdy surface such as a step, plyo box, or bench in front of you.

Stand tall in front of a sturdy bench, step, or platform with your shoulders back and core engaged.
Place one foot firmly on the platform and push through your heel to straighten your leg, lifting your body upward.
Drive through the working leg and bring your other foot up so both feet meet on top of the step.
Bend your knees and carefully step back down with the same leg, followed by the other. Alternate legs or complete all reps on one side before switching, focusing on squeezing your glutes each time you drive upward.

Squats

Squats are often considered the gold standard for building and strengthening the glutes. For beginners, bodyweight squats provide plenty of challenge and are ideal for mastering proper form.

As you progress, you can increase resistance by holding weights at your chest, using kettlebells, or placing a barbell across your shoulders. This versatility makes squats one of the most effective exercises for developing stronger, more toned glutes while also engaging the quads and hamstrings.

1. Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width to slightly wider, toes turned slightly outwards. Engage your core, keep your chest lifted, and shoulders down and back.

2. Push your hips back as if sitting into a chair, bending your knees while keeping them in line with your toes (avoid letting them go too far forward).

3. Go as low as your mobility allows—aim for thighs parallel to the floor or below while keeping your back straight and chest upright.

4. Press through your heels, squeeze your glutes, and push your hips forward to return to standing.

squat

Lunges

Lunges are a highly effective exercise for shaping and strengthening the entire lower body, with a strong emphasis on the glutes, quads, and hamstrings. They also engage the core for stability, making them a great all-around movement.

Beginners can perform lunges using just bodyweight, while adding dumbbells in each hand increases resistance and intensity for greater results.

Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, core engaged, and shoulders back.
Take a controlled step forward with one leg, keeping your torso upright.
Bend both knees to lower into a lunge, ensuring your front knee stays stacked above your ankle and your back knee hovers just above the floor.
Push through the heel of your front foot to rise back up to standing, then repeat on the opposite leg.

lunge

Glute Bridges

Glute bridges are a highly effective exercise for isolating and strengthening the glutes while also engaging the hamstrings and core for stability. They help build a lifted, toned bum and improve hip mobility, making them an excellent addition to any lower-body workout.

Beginners can start with just their bodyweight, while adding a dumbbell or barbell across the hips increases resistance and intensity for greater glute activation and results.

Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.
Brace your core and keep your upper back and shoulders relaxed on the ground.
Push through your heels to raise your hips toward the ceiling, forming a straight line from shoulders to knees.
Pause at the top, squeezing your glutes, then slowly lower your hips back to the starting position.

If you want to take your workout up a notch, give a single-leg glute exercise a shot. Begin with the glute bridge as you typically do, but stretch one leg out straight while keeping the other foot on the floor.

Lift your hips by pressing through the heel of the grounded foot, making sure to focus on squeezing your glutes. This modification increases the load on the active glute, improving strength and engagement.

Hip Abductions

Hip abductions are an excellent exercise for targeting the gluteus medius and minimus, the smaller muscles of the glutes responsible for hip stability and shaping the outer glutes. Strengthening these muscles not only improves lower body aesthetics but also supports balance, posture, and injury prevention.

Beginners can perform hip abductions using just bodyweight or a light resistance band, while adding heavier bands, cables, or a machine increases resistance for greater results.

Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, core engaged, and shoulders back.
Slowly lift one leg out to the side in a controlled motion, keeping your torso upright and avoiding leaning.
Pause briefly at the top of the movement, squeezing through the side glutes.
Lower your leg back to the starting position with control, then repeat for the desired reps before switching to the other side.

hip abduction

Tips For Maximising Glute Growth

To optimise glute growth and strength, focus on these key training and lifestyle strategies:

Gradually increase weight, reps, or intensity to keep challenging your muscles.
Slow down, squeeze at the top, and really focus on activating the glutes.
Combine hip hinge (deadlifts), squat patterns, and abduction work (band walks) for full glute development.
Train glutes 2–3 times per week, but give them time to rest and grow.
Prioritise protein, whole foods, and hydration to support muscle repair.
Don’t skip warm-up: Activate with glute bridges, clamshells, or banded walks before lifting.

For more workouts tailored to women, explore our full collection of exercise guides:

Sculpt And Strengthen Your Glutes With Village Gym

Ready to lift, tone, and shape your glutes? Try our bootylicious classes at Village Health & Wellness Clubs and leave every session feeling stronger, more confident, and unstoppable.

Our Village-exclusive BUILD class is a 45-minute strength workout focused on overload and technique, with nutrition tips to support results. Les Mills Strength Development takes a hypertrophy approach to build muscle, boost metabolism, and improve confidence.

Whether you’re new to lifting or looking to level up, our sessions target the glutes while engaging the core and lower body for a complete, empowering workout.

Find your nearest Village Gym, browse the timetable, and book your spot online or via the Village Gym app today!