Compound & Isolation Glute Exercises That Build Muscle Fast

When it comes to glute exercises, you should always prioritise compound glute exercises and compliment them with a good selection of isolation exercises. In this article we will delve into a wide range of compound and isolation glute exercises as well as provide a glute workout plan that you can get started with today.

Compound and isolation exercises aside, we also want to introduce you to some assisted glute exercises, because the assisted exercises, when used at the optimum time, contribute significantly to building your glutes.

Why Glute Exercises Are Important

Your glutes are the largest muscle group in your body, they are literally responsible for keeping you upright. When you train this muscle group, you don’t just make them bigger and stronger, you also improve your posture and functional strength, making your everyday physical life easier in the long run.

Building strong glutes also contributes to the sought after hourglass shape, no BBL required, everything you need to know about doing this naturally is here. You absolutely can grow your glutes with weightlifting exercises, you just need to know which exercises to perform and when to perform them for optimum results.

Which Glute Exercises Get The Fastest Results

There are certainly some glute exercises that will build your glutes faster than others, but ultimately it’s not about performing a handful of bum exercises on repeat, it’s about performing a range of compound, isolation and assisted glute exercises, in the optimum order, with a goal specific rep/set range.

As alluded to above, there are a number of assisted glute exercises that you can use while you’re in maximum muscle growth territory. This is towards the end of your workout, when your glute muscles are fatigued from working through their compound and isolation exercises, and now you’re ready to squeeze out those last few reps that arguably make the muscle grow the most.

So hopefully you can see that you don’t just need a few compound and isolation glute exercises, you need an entire strategy and it all starts with a good glute workout plan.

Sample our workout plans for free >>>

Glutes Are Built In The Gym

Just like abs are built in the kitchen, you can perform ab exercises all day long, but it will not reveal your abs unless you diet down to a low enough body fat percentage.

Glutes on the other hand, are the opposite, you can reduce your body fat, but you won't reveal glutes you haven’t built.

There are no shortcuts, well built glutes are earned through consistent effort. It takes time, but you will never get there if you don’t start.

Types Of Glute Exercises

Compound glute exercises

Isolation glute exercises

Assisted glute exercises

Glute exercises performed with barbells

Glute exercises performed with dumbbells

Glute exercises performed in the cable station

Glute exercises performed on machines

Bodyweight glute exercises

Let’s get you some more information and examples of the above types of glute exercises…

Compound Glute Exercises

A compound exercise is an exercise that recruits multiple muscle groups, through a multiple joint movement and generally requires the most overall strength and energy to perform. This is why you should do them first.

However, not everyone is able to achieve sufficient glute engagement on their compound exercises. Don't worry if that sounds like you, your isolation and assisted exercises will have you covered. More on those further down this article.

With that said, it is still worth adding some compound exercises to your glute workouts because this is your opportunity to load as much weight as possible. In that you will be building up the strength in your quads, hamstrings and core, which in turn will support you in moving more weight when it comes to isolation glute exercises. You can also use this as an opportunity to work on your mind muscle connection, try to really focus on the glutes and see if you can engage them better when you’re paying more attention.

See a selection of compound glute exercises below...

Deadlift

Lunges

Split Squats

Weighted Step Ups

Romanian Deadlift

Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

Sumo Squat

Kneeling Squats

Glute Exercises For Isolation

An isolation exercise is one that works on a single muscle group, usually through a single joint movement. Isolation exercises can really make a muscle group pop, they’re worth doing if you want to accentuate a single muscle group, in this case, your glutes.

It's worth pointing out that glute isolation exercises aren't always necessary to get the physical results. Some women are able to build the glutes they want through compound exercises alone. If you're not that woman then don't worry, this article has you covered. And if you are that woman, imagine how much stronger your glutes could be if you isolate them?

Below are some examples of glute isolation exercises. All of these exercises can and should be loaded with as much weight as you can safely manage. As a rule of thumb, you should start to struggle around the 8th rep of a 10 rep set.

Hip Thrusts

Glute Bridges

Cable Kickbacks

Clamshell

Assisted Glute Exercises

Finally, let's look at assisted glute exercises, these are a combination of isolation and compound exercises. The difference being; they are performed with the assistance of a machine.

An assisted exercise is one that you do on a machine or at the cable station. The assistance of the machine means that you are lifting the set weight through a very controlled range of motion. This helps to ensure good form and target muscle engagement, as well as act as a “safety net” when you’re squeezing out those last reps at the end of your workout.

By this point, after you have worked your free weight compound and isolation exercises, your muscles will be fatigued and the added assistance from the machine will be welcome. At this stage of your workout, you are in maximum muscle growth territory, so don’t skip the assisted glute exercises. You should still be loaded with a weight that challenges you. It is commonly said that growth happens in the last few reps, so no slacking off at this stage!

Leg Press

Cable Kickbacks

Abductor Machine

Smith Machine Squat

Hip Extension Machine

Hack Squat

Barbell Glute Exercises

Squats

Deadlifts

Hip Thrusts

Elevated Hip Thrusts

Good Mornings

Kneeling Squats

Glute Bridge (with a barbell across the hips)

Weighted Step Ups (with a barbell across the shoulders)

See related content: Glute Bridge vs Hip Thrusts

Dumbbell Glute Exercises

Dumbbell Sumo Squat

Goblet Squat

Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

Glute Bridge (with a dumbell across the hips)

Weighted Step Ups (with a dumbbell in each hand)

Cable Glute Exercises

Cable Kickback

Cable Hip Abduction

Machine Glute Exercises

Abductor Machine

Leg Press (wide foot stance for better glute engagement)

Bodyweight Glute Exercises

Glute Bridge

Standing Crab Walks

Single Leg Glute Bridge

Clamshell

Glute Exercises In One Place

The Secret To Building Glutes Fast

It is true that some women have a harder time than others when it comes to glute building, but usually, when women are struggling, it can be attributed to their training method.

Take an honest look at your workout plans, it may not necessarily be that you need to train more, it is most likely that you just need to train more appropriately for your goals.

To put it simply, high volume vs low reps builds muscle the fastest. Low volume vs high reps is also needed to build better functional strength which in turn will help you with the higher volume vs lower reps needed to add mass. The secret is in a combination of the two, and there are a few ways you can approach this:

You can enter into a bulking phase, where you focus your workouts on the high volume vs low rep method for a fixed period of 6-12 weeks. Then switch to a plan that uses lower volume vs higher reps.

Or you can work pyramid sets, or drop sets.

For a more advanced approach to building target muscles you can check out this article on Bodybuilding Exercises.

Also keep in mind that muscle growth requires a calorie surplus. See our Macro Calculator for your recommended daily macro breakdown in your bulking and cutting phases.

Glutes Galore Workout Pack

If you want to cut to the chase, you can work our Gutes Galore Fast Track Pack. This plan has you covered for the next 6-8 weeks. Simply follow the plan as written.

This article was updated in April 2024