Your glutes are the biggest muscles you have. They stand you up from a chair, push you up the stairs, keep your hips stable when you walk and save your lower back from doing jobs it was never built for. Weak glutes at 70 means a walking stick at 75. Simple as that.
Good news: you don't need a gym for them. A floor, a sofa and a bit of honesty about effort is enough.
How to use this page: pick one exercise from each level below, so 3 to 4 exercises in total. Do 3 sets of each, two or three times a week. When the top of the rep range gets easy, move to the next exercise down the list.
Level 1: Beginner
Glute bridge Beginner
Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat and hip-width apart. Push through your heels and lift your hips until your body is a straight line from knees to shoulders. Squeeze your backside hard at the top for a second.
Mistake: pushing the hips too high and arching the lower back. The top position is a straight line, not a banana. Reps: 12–20.
Glute bridge march Beginner
Hold the top of a glute bridge and slowly lift one foot a few centimetres, then the other. Your hips must stay level. If one side drops, that is the weak side, and now you know.
Reps: 8–12 marches per leg.
Side-lying clamshell Beginner
Lie on your side, knees bent, heels together. Open the top knee like a clamshell without rolling your hips backwards. This hits the side of your glutes, the part that keeps your knees from caving in.
Reps: 15–20 per side. Add a mini band above the knees when it gets easy.
Level 2: Getting stronger
Frog pump Intermediate
Like a glute bridge, but with the soles of your feet together and knees falling out to the sides. Short, fast, hard squeezes. It looks a bit silly. Do it anyway, the burn is real.
Reps: 20–30.
Donkey kick Intermediate
On all fours, keep the knee bent at 90 degrees and push the sole of your foot towards the ceiling. Stop before your lower back starts to arch. The movement comes from the hip, not the spine.
Reps: 12–15 per leg.
Lateral walk Intermediate
Half squat, then step sideways, staying low the whole time. Toes forward, knees pushed slightly out. With a mini band around the knees or ankles, this becomes properly nasty.
Reps: 10–15 steps each direction.
Sumo squat Intermediate
Wide stance, toes turned out. Sit straight down between your legs, knees following your toes, chest up. The wider stance puts more work on the glutes and inner thighs than a normal squat.
Reps: 12–20. Hold a heavy bag or a full water bottle to the chest to make it harder.
Level 3: Hard
Single-leg glute bridge Hard
Same as the glute bridge, but one foot is in the air. Now one glute has to lift your whole hip. Keep the pelvis level. If it twists, you are not ready, go back to the march.
Reps: 8–15 per leg.
Feet-elevated glute bridge Hard
Feet on a sofa, low bench or sturdy chair. The longer range makes it harder, and the hamstrings join in. Make sure whatever your feet are on cannot slide away.
Reps: 10–15.
Hip thrust (shoulders on the sofa) Hard
Upper back against the edge of the sofa, feet flat, knees bent. Drive your hips up until your torso is flat, chin slightly tucked. This is the best glute exercise there is, and you can do it in your living room.
Reps: 12–20. Put a heavy backpack across your hips when bodyweight becomes easy.
Single-leg deadlift Hard
Stand on one leg, soft knee, and hinge forward from the hip while the other leg goes back. Back stays flat. Come back up by squeezing the glute of the standing leg. This one trains balance at the same time, which is exactly what you want for later life.
Reps: 8–10 per leg. Touch a wall with one hand at first. No shame in that.
Bulgarian split squat Brutal
Back foot on the sofa, front foot far forward, drop straight down. Lean your torso slightly forward and take a longer step to shift the work from the thigh to the glute.
Reps: 6–12 per leg. If you can do 12 clean reps, hold something heavy.
A ready-made home glute workout
Short on ideas? Do this two or three times a week:
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Glute bridge (or hip thrust if you are past level 1) | 3 | 12–20 |
| Sumo squat | 3 | 12–20 |
| Side-lying clamshell | 2 | 15–20 per side |
| Single-leg deadlift | 3 | 8–10 per leg |
Rest 45–90 seconds between sets. The last 2–3 reps should be hard. If they are not, you picked an exercise that is too easy.