The Glute Muscles
The gluteal group is three muscles. The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the human body and forms most of the visible shape of the buttocks. It is the primary driver of hip extension — the movement that happens at the top of a squat, at the lockout of a deadlift, and with every stride when running. The gluteus medius sits on the outer hip and controls lateral stability, keeping the pelvis level during single-leg movements. The gluteus minimus lies beneath it and assists in the same function. All three are recruited in squats, lunges and deadlifts. The maximus in particular works hardest in deep hip extension — which is exactly what a full squat and a walking lunge provide.
You Are Already Training Them
This is the honest starting point. If you are squatting to depth, lunging with proper range and deadlifting correctly, your glutes are being trained. They do not need a separate day. They do not need isolation exercises. They are a secondary muscle in squats and lunges and a primary muscle in the hip extension patterns of deadlifts and good mornings. A proper leg session trains the glutes thoroughly whether or not a single dedicated glute exercise is included.
For the overwhelming majority of people training for general fitness, health and function, the squat and the lunge are enough. Athletes training for specific sports, or people with a specific reason to develop the glutes further, may need more. Everyone else — do the compound movements well and move on.
A Brief History of the Hip Thrust
In 1996, in a gym with no barbell rack on the bench press, a barbell loaded with heavy weight was lifted from the floor. It could not be controlled. The bar came rolling down the body and landed across the hips. The only way to get it off was to drive the hips upward. The bar shifted. Everyone watching had a laugh. Nobody ever did it again, because it was clearly ridiculous and there were better things to do.
Roughly two decades later, the hip thrust became the defining exercise of an era of social media fitness content. Barbells loaded across the hips, backs against benches, driving upward to the ceiling. It has an entire industry built around it — dedicated benches, pads, programmes. Whether the 1996 incident was the actual origin of the movement or not is unknowable. What is certain is that it went from something accidental and laughable to something filmed, filtered and posted daily by millions of people.
The hip thrust is an Instagram exercise. It exists almost entirely to be seen. If you can squat, lunge and deadlift correctly, you do not need it. If you cannot do those three things, you definitely do not need it. Learn the compound movements first. The glutes will develop. This site does not include the hip thrust in its exercise library and has no plans to.
What Actually Works
Squats and lunges cover the glutes for most people. Step-ups are the one specific exercise worth adding — they load the glute of the working leg directly, demand balance, and are genuinely felt the day after even when the weight is modest. Running, sport and any activity involving hip extension contributes to glute development in ways that are often underestimated. If you play sport at any level, run regularly or walk for distance, your glutes are working whether you are in the gym or not.
Squats and Lunges
The barbell back squat to depth and the walking lunge load the gluteus maximus through its primary function — hip extension — under significant load. If these are being done correctly on leg day, the glutes are being trained. No additional glute work is necessary for most people. See the Quads guide for full detail on both exercises.
Step-Ups
Step-ups onto a bench or box load the glute of the working leg in a way that bilateral exercises cannot replicate. They demand balance and stability, work each leg independently and are genuinely felt — at any age — in the glutes and upper hamstrings the day after. No barbell required to start. Bodyweight step-ups are enough to begin. Add dumbbells or a barbell when that becomes comfortable. Three sets of ten to twelve reps each leg.
Romanian Deadlift and Good Mornings
Both hip hinge movements work the glutes and the hamstrings simultaneously through hip extension. If these are part of the leg session — as they should be — the glutes receive additional direct loading through the hinge pattern. See the Hamstrings guide for full detail.
The Honest Summary
Train legs properly — squats, lunges, deadlifts, good mornings — and add step-ups when the session allows. Play sport, run, walk. That is glute training. It does not require its own day, its own machine or its own Instagram account. The people with the most genuinely developed glutes in any gym are almost always the people who squat heavy and run. Not the people doing resistance band walks in front of the mirror.
