You can’t build big, muscular glutes in just one or two days. To get bigger glutes, you’ll really need to stick to a glute training programme. Our glute exercise programme will help you get started.
Some people simply have the perfect physique, body fat percentage and muscle-building potential to achieve big glutes.
If you don’t have this natural predisposition, nutrition plays a major role. A good, healthy dietary foundation will already make a big difference. Once the foundation is solid, you can start training. In this glute training programme, we’ll tell you which exercises to do and how often per week you should perform them.
Workout plan
When training your glutes, there are a few key factors to consider: rest and the exercises themselves. It has been scientifically proven that after a workout, you need to rest properly and allow your body to recover by consuming protein. You want to strike the ideal balance between training and recovery.
The exercises you do are also important; see this article by The Glute Guy.
This article explains just how important rest is; if you train too often or too little, your glutes won’t get bigger. So you need to train at the right frequency. It’s recommended that you take three days’ rest after every intense abdominal workout, or use those three days to train other muscle groups. Aim for a balance between, for example, abdominal and back muscles; this way, you can stay active every day.
There are also some handy tips for training your glutes six times a week; it has been proven that when you stretch your muscles (e.g. during a squat) with force, you need 72 to 94 hours to recover. If, for example, you shorten your muscle with a hip thrust, your recovery time is shorter: 48 to 72 hours. You can therefore make good use of this by selecting the right exercises. Use resistance bands, for instance. These are less strenuous than exercises you’d do with weights at the gym, but that makes them perfect for glute exercises with a short recovery time.
So, when you’re putting together a training programme, it’s important to pay close attention to recovery. Endurance athletes don’t build large muscles because they stimulate the muscles briefly each time, meaning they need less recovery time. Strength athletes stimulate the muscles much more intensively and therefore need more recovery time.
So, if you want to train a lot, it’s important to work the gluteus maximus properly, but if you really want round and firm buttocks, it’s important to rest properly after every session and consume the right ‘proteins’ to aid recovery.
Another important factor for achieving round buttocks is varying your exercises and training periods.
Divide your 4-week period into 4 separate weeks, approaching each week differently: in week 1, follow a varied programme alternating between exercises that stretch the glutes and those that shorten them. Follow this with a week of heavy weights, including plenty of squats and deadlifts, and other exercises that place a heavy load on your muscles whilst they’re under tension, followed by a rest period of 4 to 5 days.
In the final week, train six times using moderately intense exercises that take your muscles from a state of tension to relaxation. These exercises cause less damage, allowing you to train intensively for a week without incorporating any real strength elements.
Once you’ve completed these 4 weeks, your progress will be visible and you could post an update on social media.
Workout plan for a bigger bum (at home)
In this glutes training programme (at home), we’ll give you a helping hand with some great routines. Balance is key in this programme. If you repeat exercises too often, your body won’t be able to recover, so we recommend 3 to 4 days’ recovery for high-intensity interval glutes sessions and 2 to 3 days’ recovery for high-intensity interval glutes exercises that shorten your muscles.
So, to reiterate the rule: when you do an exercise that stretches your muscle whilst you’re applying force (squats – make sure you get to a good 90-degree angle), your recovery time will be longer than when you do an exercise that doesn’t stretch your muscle (hip thrusts – position your feet correctly for stability). Exercises using a resistance band (Band Sidewalk) are high-intensity, and your body only needs 1 day to recover.
So you can train more often, but at a lower intensity.
Programme 1: High-intensity programme, stretching the muscles.
The tricky thing about a glute programme is that you need to take plenty of rest; this programme focuses on the glutes. On your rest days, you can stimulate other muscles using less intense methods. Vary your routine.
| Dag 1 | Intensieve training | 6 Setjes Squatten |
| Dag 2 | Herstel | |
| Dag 3 | Herstel | |
| Dag 4 | Herstel | |
| Dag 5 | Intensieve training | Romanian Deadlift |
| Dag 6 | Herstel | |
| Dag 7 | Herstel | |
| Dag 8 | Herstel | |
| Dag 9 | Intensieve training | Lunges en front squat |
| Dag 10 | Herstel | |
| Dag 11 | Herstel | |
| Dag 12 | Herstel | |
| Dag 13 | Intensieve training | Landmine squat |
| Dag 14 | Herstel |
Choose your own exercises and weights, but always bear in mind that too little is always better than too much.
Programme 2: Less intensive
Less strenuous exercises are ‘pumpers’; with these exercises, you don’t stretch your glutes but rather tone them. These are less strenuous exercises, but they produce great results and you can do them more often.
| Dag 1 | Pumper training | Hip thrust |
| Dag 2 | Herstel | |
| Dag 3 | Herstel | |
| Dag 4 | Pumper training | Back extension |
| Dag 5 | Herstel | |
| Dag 6 | Herstel | |
| Dag 7 | Pumper training | Barbell + Band glute bridge |
| Dag 8 | Herstel | |
| Dag 9 | Herstel | |
| Dag 10 | Pumper training | Elevated glute bridge |
| Dag 11 | Herstel | |
| Dag 12 | Herstel | |
| Dag 13 | Pumper training | Double banded hip thrust |
| Dag 14 | Herstel |
Choose your own exercises and weights, but always bear in mind that doing too little is always better than doing too much.
Programme 3 (third party)
This is a combined programme: activation exercises for quick recovery and ‘pumpers’ are done first, leading up to a proper strength training session. See the results after 21 days.
| Dag 1 | Activatie training | Standing cable external rotation |
| Dag 2 | Pumper training | Double banded hip thrust |
| Dag 3 | Herstel | |
| Dag 4 | Activatie training | Barbell hip thrust |
| Dag 5 | Pumper training | Band side lying clam |
| Dag 6 | Herstel | |
| Dag 7 | Herstel | |
| Dag 8 | Activatie training | American hip thrust |
| Dag 9 | Pumper training | Band sumo walk |
| Dag 10 | Herstel | |
| Dag 11 | Herstel | |
| Dag 12 | Activatie training | Back extension |
| Dag 13 | Activatie training | Cable kick-back |
| Dag 14 | Intensieve trainin | Full squat |
Conclusion
To train your glutes effectively, it’s advisable to follow a programme. This gives you a solid framework and ensures you always know what to expect. As well as following a programme, it’s a matter of patience and plenty of perseverance. You can do it! Would you like to know everything there is to know about training your glutes? Then read our ultimate guide to glute training.