8 Best Glute Isolation Exercises For a Bigger Rear

The gluteus maximus, or glutes for short, is one of the most important muscles in the body. It is involved in various movements, including walking, running, jumping, climbing stairs, and lifting objects from the floor.

Unfortunately, many people have very weak glutes. That’s because we spend way too much time sitting than we should.

Sitting puts your glutes into a stretched, relaxed position. Habitual sitting can cause your glutes to become lazy and untoned. Deconditioned glutes can affect your ability to generate power, reducing athletic performance. Also, no one wants saggy, soft glutes!

As a personal trainer with over three and a half decades of experience, I’ve helped many people build a shapely derriere with isolation exercises. In this article, I share all my secrets with you. 

8 Absolute Best Glute Isolation Exercises

Isolation exercises involve a single joint. So, here are the eight best glute isolation exercises you can do:

1. Cable Hip Extensions
2. Cable Hip Abduction
3. Donkey Kicks
4. Hip Thrusts
5. Clamshell With A Booty Band
6. Fire Hydrants
7. Frog Pump
8. Lateral Band Walk

1. Cable hip extensions

Sets & Reps	Equipment Needed	Target Muscles
3 x 10-15	Cable Machine	Gluteus Maximus

Cable hip extensions target your gluteus maximus. This exercise involves minimal lower back stress and very little hamstring engagement. As such, it means you can focus all your attention on your butt, training one side at a time. You’ll need a low cable machine and an ankle cuff for this exercise, but you can also do it with a resistance band.

“Cable hip extensions are an excellent way to isolate the gluteus maximus, promoting optimal activation and growth,” says Saini. They’re a safer alternative to barbell hip thrusts for beginners and those with back issues.

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Beginner	Donkey kicks	Bodyweight hip extensions

Find out more about this glute-busting exercise here.

2. Cable hip abduction

Sets & Reps	Equipment Needed	Target Muscles
3 x 12-15	Cable Machine	Gluteus Medius, Minimus

This exercise primarily targets the gluteus minimus and medius, which help lift your legs out and away from the midline of your body. Using a cable machine and a cuff is one of the most effective ways to train the gluteus minimus and medius.

Saini adds that the cable hip abductions are often overlooked but are crucial for stabilizing the hip joint and pelvis during movement.

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Intermediate	Abductor machine	Standing banded hip abduction

Learn how to do cable hip abductions here.

3. Donkey kicks

Sets & Reps	Equipment Needed	Target Muscles
3 x 15-20	Bodyweight	Gluteus Maximus

Donkey kicks are a glute exercise that is often featured in group workout classes. It’s straightforward to learn, easy to perform, and you don’t need any special equipment to do it, so it’s perfect for home exercisers, too.

Saini says that donkey kicks are a classic bodyweight exercise that can be incredibly effective when performed with proper form. Focus on squeezing the glutes at the top of each repetition for maximum activation.

How to do it:

1. Kneel down on all fours, so your shoulders are directly over your hands, and your hips are over your knees. Your arms should be straight, and hands about shoulder-width apart, fingers pointing forward. Tuck your chin in and lengthen your neck.
2. Brace your core and ensure your lumbar spine is neutral, i.e., slightly arched.
3. Extending your hip, and keeping your knee bent, lift one leg out and behind you, pushing your heel up toward the ceiling.
4. Take care NOT to hyperextend your lower back. Instead, keep your hips/anterior pelvis pointing straight down at the floor.
5. Lower your leg back down and repeat on the same side or alternate legs as preferred.
6. Make this exercise harder by wearing ankle weights.

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Beginner	Add resistance band, smith machine donkey kicks	Quadruped hip extension

4. Hip thrusts

Sets & Reps	Equipment Needed	Target Muscles
3 x 8-12	Barbell, Bench	Gluteus Maximus, Hamstrings

Hip thrusts are a popular glute exercise that can be done using nothing more than your body weight for resistance. They can also be made harder by adding a barbell. For an even more intense workout, try hip thrusts with a booty band around your knees to increase glute activation.

“Hip thrusts are the king of glute exercises, offering unparalleled activation and growth potential,” highlights Saini. They’re a must-have in any glute-focused training program.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor. Place your arms on the floor by your sides.
2. Drive your feet into the floor and push your hips up toward the ceiling. Your knees, hips, and shoulders should form a straight line.
3. Lower your butt back down to the floor and repeat.

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Intermediate	Barbell RDL	Glute bridge, single-leg glute bridge

5. Clamshell with a booty band

Sets & Reps	Equipment Needed	Target Muscles
3 x 15-20	Booty Band	Gluteus Medius, Minimus

This exercise directly targets your gluteus minimus and medius. Located on the outer aspect of your butt, these muscles are responsible for the external rotation and abduction of your hips. Developing these muscles is good for increasing hip stability and will also give you a rounder, fuller-looking butt.

Saini recommends clamshells with a booty band as a simple yet highly effective isolation exercise for the gluteus medius and minimus that can be ideal for warm-ups or as an accessory exercise.

How to do it:

1. Put your booty band around your knees and lie down on your side. Stack your hips and bend your knees to 45-degrees.
2. Rest your head on your lower arm and brace your core to stabilize your spine and pelvis.
3. While keeping your feet together, lift and rotate your upper knee outward as high as possible without moving your hips or pelvis. Do NOT lean backward.
4. Return to the starting position and repeat before rolling over and changing legs.

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Beginner	Increase band resistance	Bodyweight clamshell

6. Fire hydrants

Sets & Reps	Equipment Needed	Target Muscles
3 x 15-20	Bodyweight	Gluteus Medius, Minimus

Fire hydrants are a good exercise for isolating gluteus minimus and medius. Because they’re done on all fours — the quadruped position — this exercise is spine-friendly and provides a good core workout.

How to do it:

1. Adopt the quadruped position with your knees directly under your hips and your hands under your shoulders. Brace your core and make sure your spine is neutral, i.e., your lower back is slightly arched. Tuck your chin in and gently extend your neck.
2. Keeping your knee and hip bent to 90-degrees, lift one leg up and out to the side. Keep the rest of your body stationary. Raise your leg to about 45-degrees. Make sure your knee and hip remain aligned.
3. Pause with your leg raised for 1-2 seconds and then, smoothly and controlled, lower your leg back down.
4. Repeat for the desired number of reps and then swap legs.
5. Make this exercise more demanding by wearing a booty band around your knees.

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Beginner	Add resistance band	Quadruped hip abduction

7. Frog pump

Sets & Reps	Equipment Needed	Target Muscles
3 x 15-20	Bodyweight	Gluteus Maximus

Frog pumps combine hip extension with abduction and external rotation, making it feel like a combination of hip thrusts and clamshells. As such, it involves all your gluteal muscles, which makes it a very functional, time-efficient exercise.

“Frig pumps are an excellent alternative for those who can’t perform traditional hip thrusts,” says Saini.

How to do it:

1. Lie down on your back on an exercise mat. Bend your knees and place the soles of your feet together so you look not unlike a frog. Press your knees apart to engage your outer hips.
2. Push your hips up by driving the outsides of your feet into the ground.
3. Contract your glutes at the top of the movement.
4. Return to the starting position and repeat.
5. You can make this exercise harder by resting and holding a weight on your lower abdomen.

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Beginner	Elevate feet on stability ball, add weight	Glute bridge

8. Lateral band walk

Sets & Reps	Equipment Needed	Target Muscles
3 x 10-15	Resistance Band	Gluteus Medius, Minimus

This exercise emphasizes the gluteus minimus and medius, but the gluteus maximus is also involved, as are your quadriceps. This is an excellent exercise for improving hip stability and firing up your glutes before squats, lunges, running, etc.

Saini recommends lateral band walks as they are perfect for improving hip stability and preventing knee valgus.

How to do it:

1. Put a booty band around your legs just above or below your knees. Step out to tension the bend. Bend your knees and descend into a quarter-depth squat. The deeper you squat, the harder your quads and gluteus maximus have to work.
2. Keeping your knees apart, take a series of steps to the left, and then return to your starting position in the same way.
3. Take wide enough steps that there is constant tension on the band.

Difficulty	Progression	Regression
Beginner	Increase band resistance	Standing hip abduction

Best Glute Isolation Workout To Build a Bigger Rear

Perform this workout at least once weekly for the best results:

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest (seconds)
Hip Thrusts	3	8-12	60-90
Cable Hip Abduction	3	12-15	60
Donkey Kicks	3	15-20	30
Clamshell with Booty Band	3	15-20	30
Lateral Band Walk	3	10-15	30

Glute Anatomy

Glutes are usually short for gluteus maximus. However, there are other muscles that make up the glute complex that are no less important.

Providing you use the best glute exercises, you should have no problem building a strong and muscular butt. Still, it’s always helpful to know a little about the underlying anatomy of the muscles you want to develop.

The muscles that make up the glutes complex are:

Gluteus maximus 

This is the muscle you are currently sitting on! The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the human body and also potentially the most powerful. Located on the back and side of your hip, the functions of the gluteus maximus are:

• Hip extension
• Hip lateral (external) rotation
• Hip abduction (superior or upper portion)
• Hip adduction (inferior or lower portion)

Gluteus medius

The gluteus medius is located above and beneath the gluteus maximus near the iliac crest of the pelvis. It works with the gluteus maximus and also has some additional functions:

• Hip abduction (movement away from the midline of the body)
• Hip medial (internal) rotation
• Pelvis stabilization

Gluteus minimus

This is a small triangle-shaped muscle located within the posterior aspect of the hip. Like the gluteus medius, gluteus minimus also works alongside the gluteus maximus, and its functions are:

• Hip abduction
• Hip medial rotation
• Pelvis stabilization

The gluteus maximus might be the most prominent muscle in the glute complex, but the other glute muscles deserve your attention too. They might not contribute as much to butt mass, but they are critical for hip stability and performance.

If these other, smaller glute muscles are neglected, your hips won’t be as stable, and that will affect your athletic performance. So, because of the complexity of this part of your body, you must train your glutes from several different directions to ensure you develop all of these muscles.

More on Glutes:

• Cable Pull Through Alternatives for Stronger Glutes and Hamstrings
• 13 Best Gluteus Medius Exercises For A Perfect Butt
• Gluteus Minimus Exercises For Rounder Hips & a Jaw-Dropping Side Butt
• The Best Glute Ham Raise Alternatives For A Stronger Posterior Chain
• How To Do The Glute Bridge
• The 12 Best Glute Exercises For Mass
• How To Grow Bigger And Stronger Glutes
• The Glute Ham Raise Or Back Extension?

Wrapping Up

Weak glutes can lead to hip, knee, and lower back pain. That’s because they play a critical role in hip joint stability. If your femurs roll in or out as you walk, run, jump, squat, or lunge, those extra movements will increase wear and tear on your joints. Strengthen your glutes, and your knees and hips will track better.

Your glutes are also the “engine room” that drives you forward. So, if you want to run faster or jump higher, or even just walk further without getting tired, working on your glutes will help.

Use the exercises in this workout to target your glutes and eliminate weakness. There is no need to go all glutes, all the time. However, including at least a couple of glute exercises in your leg workouts can really pay off.

Always include hip extension, hip abduction, and hip rotation exercises in your workouts to challenge and develop all three glute muscles – maximus, minimus, and medius. This will ensure that you hit your glutes from all angles and get better results from your training.

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