We Tested 17 Glute Exercises, These Are Best For Growth 

Hope you enjoyed this one! You can download the full glute workout here: builtwithscience.com/glutesPDF . Now go grow your booties! Cheers!

*Lower Glutes* Lower Body Presses (Reverse Lunges, Elevated Split Squats, Elevated Reverse Lunges, Bulgarian Split Squats): 3:16 Deadlift: 4:42 *Upper and Side Glutes* Cable Kickbacks: 6:08 Abduction Exercises (Seated Banded Abduction, Lateral Band Walks, Seated Machine Abduction): 6:31 Curtsy Lunges: 6:51 *Overall Workout Plan* - 7:21

This was literally phenomenal. The work. The data. The prep. The setup. The execution. Really great video.

I’ve merely watched the video and my butt already grew 5 inches, imagine when I start applying this in my workouts…

I've been waiting on this one since the second episode with Betty. I've been doing more glute exercises lately because I never did them that often, other than deadlifts. Thank you everyone in this video. 2023 year of glute growth

Speaking from experience, IF I had to do any ONE exercise to build the legs (AND glutes), it would be the Bulgarian Split Squat; no other leg exercise comes close. Builds unilaterally, builds quads and calves just as good as squats, has more hamstring engagement than regular squats and allows you to go deeper, and hits the glutes in a way that the regular squats and lunges can't do. And lastly, there's no load (if you're using dumbbells) or strain on lumbar spine. Those of us with lower back problems, the BSS is perfect, as it spares the spine.

Bulgarian split squats 4:50 Romanians Deadlifts 4:44 Regrular Deaelifts Hip Extension 5:52

*3:17** - lower glutes:* 1) 3:23 - lower body presses (foot pressing against floor to raise body up: barbell squats, step-ups, lunges, Bulgarian split squats), 3:43 - quad-dominant vs glute-dominant position (sl fwd at the torso w/vertical shin over foot), 4:17 - Bulgarian split squats & front-foot elevated reverse lunges (advanced lower body presses), 4:26 - great for growth b/c stretch glute at bottom position even more than regular lunges do, 4:34 - basic reverse lunge or split squat (beginner lower body presses), 2) 4:41 - deadlifts (conventional; glute-focused Romanian deadlift), 5:44 - hip extension (butt moving fwd & bkwds) *5:53** - upper & side glutes (abduction):* 6:08 - cable kickbacks (straight back; 30-degree angle to side), 6:24 - angled is better, 6:34 - abduction movements (seated & standing banded abductions, seated machine abductions, 6:54 - curtsy lunges, *7:25** - summary:* #1 - Bulgarian split squat, #2 - hip thrusts, #3 - anything from upper/side glute list

Bulgarian split squats followed by Romanian deadlifts make my glutes sore for days. 2 of the best overall lower body movements.

Bulgarian split squats...so painful but gives me best results

Thanks for your clear explanation! It's really friendly for those who want to find ways to make a progress and also avoid injuries!

I love this new content you've been putting out, has really added a new dimension to my workouts

Great idea using EMG sensors in this experiment. I do barbell squats, conventional deadlift, RDL, hip thrusts, lunges and Bulgarian split squats in all my lower body sessions. So far the one made me feel the most activation is Bulgarian split squats and I m really happy to see the growth.

I always liked curtsy lunges - I'm glad you mentioned rotating foot inwards. A guy from Mind Pump TV made a video on this exercise 2 years ago .. only one I found who mentioned at the time internally rotating the foot.

We all want to get maximum results every time we put in some work at the gym. This video really helps choosing the correct exercises to meet that challenge.

I'm pretty impressed with this video, good experimental design with what you had, good multi-level analysis, not clickbait, and I respect that you didn't flaunt your female participants to get more views. Really solid work from your whole team I think.

This simultaneously shattered notions I held, confirmed I understood why I was doing what I do in my workouts, and empowered my ability to keep going with applied knowledge! Thank you! This was excellent in form, flow, education, speed, etc. Impeccable 👌🏻

I loved this so very informative! I've been trying to find a way to grow my glutes and I appreciate all the work you put into this video

I just wanted to say this video is 👌👌👌👌👌 there’s so much out there on social media’s about training and training for glutes especially. I put together a workout using tips from this video and my glutes are K I L L I N G !! Please make these for every muscle group 😍 such a useful vid!

This is amazing, I’m currently on my journey to be Under 100Kgs and I’m doing really well , I’ve been watching your videos for a long time and I got back to the gym last year and lost almost 20Kgs, I’m currently 122kgs but I really hope I can see you guys do Ab/core with Obliques based on science. Wish me luck everyone ❤

As a personal trainer myself gotta say this channel is gold.

Just started hitting the gym and these are all new to me 🤭. My PT isn’t helping me so much so I’m doing my own research. You have my deepest gratitude. I’m subscribing!

Just did the workout at the gym and boy is my butt sore and pumped. Love it, thanks for the info

This is truly the best video I've seen so far on this subject, easy to understand and so informative. I love that it explains WHY the workouts impact the way they do and why it's in that order. Thanks!

1. Reverse Lunge 2. Deadlift 3. Cable Kickbacks

What you and your team do is amazing. Thank you for the education.

This info about starting lunges first and then progressing to split squats is 👌! Thanks!

THANK YOU!!!! Been looking for a video just like this! Can’t wait!

This video has literally all the answers I needed

After watching your video and looking at the blog post, I think it would be best to have a breakdown table similar to that of the one you posted on the chest video of all the exercises performed and it's corresponding EMG data. It would be nice to see where exercises that people are currently performing ended up on the list like previously. The individual data chart is also a big bonus because it helps to show the range of muscle activation during the study rather than just the average. I love your content man and I'm not sure if you're going to read this, but keep doing what you're doing.

I just want to say thank you for your videos man. They really did help me out a lot with building muscle and being comfortable in my own skin. Your the best

You are da best!! Exactly what I've been looking for. Thanks for making the PDF, so much awesomeness. Thank you !!

I am a scientist so i love the notes on the limitation and attention to both sample size and sample diversity. Good stuff

Love this series!!! Can wait for Legs, biceps and abs videos!

This is a great video!! Definitley taking notes to improve my gym routine based on science!

I was literary just researching glute exercises. Thanks for such detailed video, guys

Thanks for the PDF. I've been going to the gym often (5-6 days a week) where legs were the least on my list and my backside hasn't improved much because of it. With these glute workouts, I should be able to incorporate more glutes in my routine.

My doctor told me no exercise for three month due to an back injury. After two months, my wife asked me, "where's your butt?" I had stopped doing one-legged squats where I bend one knee and keep my weight off of it and do a full squat with the other leg. Apparently, that's all I needed to grow my glutes. I'll sure be looking forward to getting back to my vertical push and pulls, horizontal push and pulls and one-legged squat routine along with HIIT and shoulder exercises starting next week.

Insane Video, thank you so much for measuring the activation. I always asked myself what excercise activates the most. Great Job 💯🤩

I’ve been watching A LOT of videos on how to grow glutes and this one was THE BEST by far! Thanks!

Amazing, keep it up! So grateful for your channel and all you guys' hard work in putting this together.

Love this series jeremy! You’ve earned a new subscriber

I downloaded the free PDF and tried the routine yesterday with my at home equipment (dumbbells and mini bands). I'm used to follow workouts on youtube and although those workouts really burn my glutes, I don't really get sore the next day. But today, after trying this routine, my glutes are sooooo sore. Will definitely keep doing it

I loved this video. This is exactly what I was looking for!!!

Hey Jeremy! Before saying what i have to say, first i gotta say thank you.. you helped me a lot with achieving my first pull ups almost three years ago and now you re helping me a lot with these videos about the EMG tests.. Now i just wanted to ask you if you can use the EMG device for testing glute activation during hip thrusts with and without the glute band.. There are coaches that say that the glute band improves the contraction and that even without the band, doing a lil bit of extrarotation in the positive part of the excercise helps with the contraction but i found a video from another channel that explains that using a glute band in hip thrusts and squats Is counterproductive because it takes away tension from the glute maximus and reclutes other smaller muscles in the glutes that are external rotators.. So now i'd like to know the truth about the muscle activation in these excercises. I hope you will read this and again, thank you!

Jeremy I wanna say thank you for your hard work on your videos! You are one of those the men who changed my life, thank to you I started working out, also I was working in food delivery for a year, and thanks to u I finally made a channel about fitness and home workouts, nоw fееl like I'm where I should be, wоrking hard and hорe оne day my 200 people watching will bесomу 200k and I'll quit delivery and will be аble to help people like you helped me 👊

I'm so thankful, this video was everything I was looking for

Thanks for inviting Tony to the video about glutes. Made it much more interesting to watch.

Love This Series🔥🔥🔥 Hope we get a video on best leg exercises next 👀

My go to program for glutes included rdls, hip thrusts, hypertensions and cable kickbacks. So I guess I was doing something right. Reverse lunges and Bulgarian split squats are a bit dangerous for a damaged quad in my right leg but maybe I should try to incorporate reverse lunges a little bit… Thank you for this guide!

looking foward the Arm & Leg video. TY for your work...more effec = more gain... less time in the gym = more time to enjoy the life with the one you love ❤❤❤

Amazing video, thank you so much Jeremy

i have negative amounts of butt and i have only recently starting doing some exercises at home (i never worked out previously besides having to walk at work) and this is def interesting. obvi, all exercises are helping me get stronger but i would like to see some physical growth as well and make my time as effective/efficient as possible. so this is interesting and helpful

That one exercise is called one foot elevated curtsy lunge and it's a great exercise for glutes . I hate hip thruts , I can do glute bridges but not hip thrust . Anyways lunges and squats have been effective for my total lower body growth including glutes

what a PERFECT video! most complete and best edited video

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and helping reach goals !! Very appreciated!

What an amazing, insightful video! Thank you so much for your hard work and sharing this knowledge with us!

Love this series.😻 Test on more muscle groups especially the obliques.

This is the gym content I've been searching for! Thank you!

The video I was searching for all my life 🎉thank you for the effort ❤

I cannot stress curtsy lunges are life! From someone who does not perfer hip thrust, I am happy for this video. Girls be thinking I'm crazy. I hit glutes hard, and no thrust necessary. I do like bridges and single leg bridge pulses for burn.

this is so cool! i'm so grateful for people like you who give so much useful info. people must make gains so much faster now than even 10 years ago when it was much harder to come by this info.

Thank you so much, your videos are so well out together!

Always great videos! Thanks mate ❤

Just be careful with the curtsey squat - that the back knee aligns with the foot as many people end up with knee issues if done incorrectly. Great video!

RDLs with dumbbells have given me the most insane results

I watched the whole entire video and I must say it was very simple but with great detail.

No idea how much I’m loving this!! I wanted a flute workout and boom, here it is!

This video looks inspiring! I have been working on my glutes (and whole body ofc) for a couple years now and I guess I'm very leg dominant because my quads and hammies grow so big and thick but my glutes tend to be more sleepy. They have definitely improved in volume as I started as a straight flatty patty but I'm definitely at a point where I need to switch it up and do something new to really activate and wake them up. I do have crunchy knees and I have messed up my knees before with certain types of squats so I get really weary about doing any type of stand-up squat... any advice for someone with crunchy hurting knees and how to still successfully do these Bulgarian split squats and whatnot?? Thanks🙃

When you made the first 2 Videos of this series you gave us all the data like, the 10 most effective exercises for each muscle, any chance to get the full data? Best Regards

omg thank u for this!!! i work from home and have noticed that i've lost quite a bit of muscle and the hard work that i used to put in at the gym now that i travel & am more sedentary. excited to try these workouts!

This was soo helpful. Thank you!

I've found with squats that if you have strong quads and weak glutes, your quads take the majority of the work thus leaving you with DOMS in the quads and almost ignoring the glutes. More glute based workouts like hip thrusts etc to build up glutes is beneficially before using any squat movement. If that makes any sense.

I discovered on my own that side cable extensions work better than straight back ones. Also, the straight back ones I do with the knee bent at 90 degrees (keep it bent throughout the movement). You can REALLY feel your glutes being engaged. Three sets of 50 each with light weight. I was waddling like a penguin walking back from the gym.

I love this Great video It definitely helps when I want to customize certain exercises I want to do and what works best for me !

amazinggg thank you i love all your videos! i am so happy to see that i am doing all the workouts that you specified in the end i'm glad i'm on the right path haha!

I wish you would do a few videos for women, although you did mention that the exercises for men and women work the same , women want different a different look results , for example, Brazilian butt lift more focused on glutes ,smaller waist, chest exercised that help Lift our breast also what not to do, and what to do for a smaller waist we don’t really want a super defined back more of a sculpted look. Thats what I mean by more catered for women. Lol hope I explained myself well. The reason I subscribed to you is because I am a firm believer on scientifically based exercises versus what people think with no science to back it up. Thanks for all you do.

Not you posting this on my leg day and now I'm gonna spontaneously change my entire workout 😂

This video was sooooo enlightening and intelligible thank you!

loving this series

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🍑 *Study on glute exercises: 17 popular glute exercises were tested on male and female subjects to identify the most effective for building a powerful and well-rounded butt.* 00:28 🔝 *High Activation in Hip Thrusts: Among the exercises, hip thrusts showed the highest activation in both lower and upper glutes, but other exercises may be better for overall growth.* 00:42 📊 *Complexity of Glute Measurement: The glutes are complex muscles, and measurement involved placing sensors on the lower glute, upper glute, and glute medius.* 01:25 🧪 *Preparing for EMG Testing: Participants prepared for Electromyography (EMG) testing by ensuring equal challenge across exercises and establishing maximum voluntary contractions.* 02:37 📈 *Activation vs. Growth: Higher muscle activation, like in hip thrusts, doesn't always equate to more growth, especially since exercises that stretch muscles at the bottom position are typically better for growth.* 03:20 🏋️ *Lower Glute Targeting: Lower body presses, like squats and lunges with forward torso lean and vertical shins, effectively target the lower glutes.* 04:27 📌 *Exercise Complexity and Beginners: Beginners are advised to start with basic lunges or split squats before progressing to more complex variations for glute growth.* 04:55 🏋️‍♀️ *Deadlifts for Lower Glutes: Both conventional and Romanian deadlifts were effective in activating the lower glutes and are beneficial for overall backside muscle development.* 06:04 🧘‍♂️ *Upper and Side Glutes: Exercises like cable kickbacks and abduction movements effectively target the upper and side glutes, with variations like angled cable kickbacks showing better results.* 07:12 🚶‍♂️ *Unique Lunge Variation: A specific lunge variation, stepping back and to the side with a turned-in toe, was found to effectively activate both upper glutes and glute medius.* 07:27 📝 *Glute Workout Plan: A recommended workout plan includes starting with a hip extension dominant exercise, followed by hip thrusts, and then one or two exercises targeting the upper glutes.* Made with HARPA AI

Curious about glute measurements for high step-ups and kettle bell swings

exactly what I was looking for, thank you!

SO HELPFUL!!!! And thank you for the resources too!

Are Bulgarian splitsquats + RDL enough for the upper glute or do i need special upper glute exercises?

exactly the resource I was looking for. thanks!

You can simply lay on your side, lift your top leg straight up (about 12 to 18 inches) and slightly back. Hold for about 10 seconds and repeat. You don't need weights but can add a band if you want. I have done all of the exercises in your video and the one I mentioned gets me the most activation by far.

Hello Jeremy, I purchased your programs and I was wondering if you will be adding these workouts into your program? If so, how do you add "more effective"that glute exercises to your program? Will you send out emails for new book version, or will be it updated within the video lists? Thanks in advance if you respond ☺️ I enjoy your program so far 😉

Hello Jeremy, I am a woman -way past my prime- but I have always workout at least 4 or 5 times a week. As it happens with age, my -once great looking butt- is almost disappearing and getting flatter by the hour. It's almost depressing. . . but now, thanks to this great video, I have hope. You answered every one of my questions. Thank you !!

Great video! Thank you for the info!

Excellent video, truly. Thanks so much!

I do only deadlifts from this video and my ass is insane. I mostly worked it through leg presses and basic barbell squats, would have been interesting to see.

A good glute medius workout is to get the pad for the assisted dip/pull up machine and push it down (to almost fully extended) then very slowly bring it back up while feeling contraction and squeeze the glute as you push down again. If you keep your leg to the side (like when you're naturally standing up) you get even more work to the upper/side of your glute too. I do this after barbell squats and RDLs and it's so good (4 sets of 10 on each leg)

Great well organized video with an easy to implement program!

Excellent information Jeremy. THANKS!

Will the emg's for each of the 17 glute excercises tested be released? Where can I find that data. Thanks for your effort in making the video btw!

The performance of deadlifts kinda surprises me. I just don't seem to feel much from them but it's possible it's because I'm not really practiced at them; I did them for about 6 weeks (once a week) in the routine that I just finished. I think Bulgarian Split Squats are pretty great but they're pretty hard to do for me, even after working out for almost 3 years. I just have trash balance and it can be difficult to do them. Haven't done them in probably a year or more; I just use reverse lunges or walking lunges instead. I may give that Couch Kassam version a try though.

Love these videos! Thank you 😊

I've just been trialing and experimenting different glute exercises but this video will be helpful

This is a great series. Please do one for the core/abdominals and lower back