You may wanna sit down for this. Or better yet, stand up. Nah, maybe sit down again. Anyway, do you feel that? That’s your powerhouse, powderkeg of a posterior hard at work, and we’re here to talk about it! Ah yes, the glute muscles — otherwise known as your tuchus, your derriere, and home to the single largest muscle in your body! 

The glutes are made up of three distinct muscles — the gluteus maximus, which handles thigh extension and external rotation; the gluteus medius, which stabilizes your pelvis and helps keep you upright; and gluteus minimus, which is your hip stabilizer and abductor. When working together, your glutes can do great things: they help us with running and jumping, climbing up stairs and standing up, and give us freedom of movement as we grow older. In short, they’re not just for making our backsides nice and pretty. 

But whether you’re hungry for that J.Lo look or not, simply having a solid fanny-foundation is key to having a strong lower body, good posture, stable spine, crushing core, and not to mention it’s a great way to reduce incidence of injury in the future! So with all that said, let’s jump right into the ultimate home glute workout, that’ll keep your keister killin’ it for years to come! 

Plié Squat

Kicking our home glute workout off right, let’s get down and dirty with the Plié Squat. This deep conditioning exercise targets your glutes as well as your inner thigh muscles perfectly. It’s easy to do, requires no equipment, and can be altered by simply squatting deeper and deeper. 

How It’s Done: 

• Start in a wide squat stance, with toes pointed at 45 degrees outward. 
• Descend into a squat, aiming to have your upper thighs parallel to the ground. 
• Keep your weight on your heels as you sink to the floor. 
• Push yourself back up again and return to the starting position.
• Try for three sets of 12 reps. 
• Spice it up option: Hold a weight plate, dumbbell, or kettlebell.

Curtsy Lunge

The Curtsy Lunge is an excellent home glute exercise that also gets your quads into the mix, along with your hip abductors and a few other upper leg muscles. It also requires no equipment and can be performed comfortably in your living room. 

How It’s Done: 

• Stand upright with your feet hip-width apart. 
• Place one leg behind you, crossing it behind your front leg. 
• Make sure both hips are facing forward, and keep your weight mainly on your front leg. 
• Push your weight on your front heel to return to starting position. 
• Alternating sides, try five sets of 8 reps each side. 
• Spice it up option: Hold a weight plate, dumbbell, or kettlebell.

Donkey Kicks

Our next home glute exercise is the Donkey Kick. These can be performed with no equipment, or a simple resistance band placed around the thighs to increase the intensity of the exercise, for an all-around glute pump. 

How It’s Done: 

• Start on all fours, with your elbows supporting your front weight at a 90-degree angle. 
• Lift one heel up to the ceiling while your other knee stays bent underneath you. 
• Maintain a straight back and keep your calves/shins perpendicular to the ceiling. 
• It’s not important to get your leg up too high, just enough for you to feel it. 
• Try two sets of 10 on each side. 
• Spice it up option: Wear ankle weights or place a light dumbbell behind the knee of the lifted leg.

Glute Bridge

The Glute Bridge appears as a resting, laid-back sort of movement, but it is anything but(t). This is a powerful centerpiece of the best home glute workout, targeting your gluteus maximus, along with your hamstrings and the transverse abdominis muscles of your core. 

How It’s Done: 

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. 
• With your arms remaining flat on the ground, press your hips upwards. 
• You’ll want to lift your hips until you form a straight line from your knees to your head. 
• Keep your heels underneath your knees if you can, and engage your core throughout the movement. 
• Return to the starting position, and repeat for four sets of 10. 
• Spice it up option: Lift one leg while keeping the other planted and make the reps 10 per side – ouch!

Bulgarian Split Squat

Coming up next in our at-home glute workout is the ever-present Bulgarian Split Squat. Along with a total-pump of the glute muscles, it also does some nice work for your hamstrings, quads, and calf muscles. All you need is a chair, workout bench, low-level couch, or other flat raised surface, and you’re good to go!

How It’s Done: 

• Start with your right foot on an incline about knee height (or lower to start) and your left foot on the floor with the knee right over the top of the ankle. 
• Lower your right knee down as low as you can without strain. 
• Push your weight into your left heel to return to the start position.
• Try eight reps, switch sides and repeat, for a total of three sets. 
• Spice it up option: Hold a weight plate, dumbbell, or kettlebell.

Side Lunge

Also known as Lateral Lunges, the Side Lunge rounds out this booty-bashing home glute workout in style. And it does so whilst working multiple muscle groups in your lower body, including your quads, abductors, adductors, hamstrings, and of course, the glutes! As always, no equipment is needed, but you may hold a dumbbell at chest height for increased resistance. 

How It’s Done: 

• Begin with your feet hip-width apart, standing tall. 
• Step your right leg to the side while you push your hips back at the same time. 
• Make sure your knees are pointing the same direction as your toes as you bend the right knee in a squat-like fashion. 
• Your left leg should be straight but without locking out the knee, while most of your weight rests on your bent leg. 
• Push off from the floor on your bent leg and lift yourself to starting position. 
• Switch to the other side – do 10 reps on each side for a total of four sets. 

By now, you should be seriously feeling something down in your caboose area. In fact, you should have some pretty sore dumplings at this point. But if it’s not enough, and you’re hungry for a bit more home-spun glute goodness, be sure to check out our huge collection of virtual At-Home Glute Workouts! We’ve got classes of all durations, skill levels, and intensities, with and without equipment — everything! And if you want access to our even bigger main library of workouts, sign up for a 7-Day Free Trial with Studio SWEAT onDemand – along with these booty-sculpting gems, we also offer Indoor Cycling, HIIT, Yoga, TRX, Barre, Kickboxing, Resistance Training, Tread Classes, and oh so much more! Sign up today and you’ll have no excuse not to get ripped from the comfort of your living room — no if’s, and’s, or, well…butt’s about it!