We’ve already covered the best glute exercise to do at home. And while they are all extremely useful, especially in the last couple of years, the gym remains the main domain for fitness enthusiasts. Thus, if you are looking to boost up your leg days in the gym with the most effective booty exercises, this article is for you.

Glute muscles need to be trained regularly but with enough rest time to actually build and increase! As the booty is the biggest muscle in the body, it’ll need a lot of time to rest! And though home workouts are an effective tool, a smile resistance band used at home won’t do much. If you have no weights for your glute exercises at home, it’s time to hit the gym! Whether it be a hip extension or leg press, gym equipment is created to bring the best results with proper form.

Hamstring Curl

Hamstring curl is one of those highly effective exercises that’s impossible to replicate at home without proper equipment. Thus, when you have an opportunity to visit the gym, you better include several sets of hamstring curls in your routine.

Muscles Worked

• hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus)
• calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus muscles)
• glutes (maximus, medius, minimus)
• quadriceps
• shins

How to Do: 

1. Lie down on the leg curl machine. Position your feet underneath the moving pads. Grasp the front handles for support.
2. Engage your glutes and pull your ankles up to your booty as far as possible.
3. Hold for a second and lower your feet to the starting position.

Repeat for 3-4 sets around 12 reps. Do the movement slowly and controlled!

Leg Press

Leg press may be not as popular as hip raises for shaping a booty, but it’s still an effective exercise for a bigger butt! The secret lie in leg placement. Certain positioning targets quads more, and the one we’ll discuss here is meant to target glutes.

Muscles Worked

• quadriceps
• hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus)
• gluteus maximus

How to Do: 

1. Sit on the machine your back straight on the support pad.
2. Place your feet on the moving footplate slightly wider than shoulder-width close to the top of the plate for ma glute engagement. Lower and closer positioning of your leg will target leg muscles more.
3. Brace your core, release the security lever, and do the press. Depending on the machine, you may need to either bend your legs or push initially.
4. Remember not to lock your knees at the top of the movement.

Glute Kickback

Remember that your largest muscle needs some unilateral action as well. This way, you can get rid of any imbalances in muscle training. And this is where proper glute kickbacks technique is required.

Muscles Worked

gluteus muscles (the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus)

Secondary: 

• hamstrings
• quadriceps
• calves

How to Do: 

1. Set up the pulley to the lowest setting and attach an ankle cuff to your right leg.
2. Stand facing the machine, hinge at your hips, take hold of it for support, and lower your torso to around 90 degrees.
3. Bend your left knee slightly. Brace your core and bring your right leg back. You can also change the angle slightly to the side to engage the gluteus medius better.
4. Squeeze your glutes t the top of the motion, hold for a second, and lower your right leg to the starting position.

Recommended performing 3-4 sets of 12-15 repetitions.

Squat

In the gym, squats gain a new level of intensity thanks to the highly popular Smith machine. This squat variation allows you to gradually include the weights you are working with while eliminating the risks of free barbell squats. The main muscle group targeted is the gluteus muscles. however, your upper body acts as support and balance.

Muscles Worked

• gluteus maximus, minimus, and medius
• quadriceps 
• hamstrings 
• hip flexors
• calves

How to Do: 

1. Adjust the smith machine bar to the level of your shoulders. Place the safety stoppers around the level of your hips.
2. Place the smith machine bar on top or behind your shoulders. Maintain a neutral spine, legs slightly wider than shoulder width. Take your usual squat position.
3. Slightly raise the bar to free it. Brace your core and squat. Do not squat too low or cave knees too much.

Considering that squatting at a smith machine can be challenging the first time, here’s a detailed video on the whole process and how the machine works.

Lunges

Lunges are a must-have in any lower-body training routine. If you are avoiding them, you are not getting a bigger booty as fast as you could.

However, please, remember that walking lunges are not recommended for people with knee pain. Especially with weights! Alternatively, you can make back lunges that are less harsh on the knees!

Muscles Worked

• gluteus maximus, 
• hamstrings, 
• quadriceps, 
• calves.

How to do: 

1. Start in a standing position with dumbbells in your hands or any type of free weights you prefer.
2. Step with your left foot forwards longer than a regular stride. Anchor your foot straight to the ground, the back leg has the heel off the round.
3. Bend your legs and lower to the ground while keeping most weight on the front leg. Feel your butt muscles stretch. Lower until your right knee almost touches the ground.
4. Raise and repeat the process with the opposite. Alternatively, you can do lunges in one place by working one leg and then the other.

Hyperextension

Typically, hyperextension is done by gym bros to strengthen the lower back. In this scenario, you keep your back straight as you raise. However, glutes-oriented gymgoers have long adapted the exercise to bring focus to the gluteal region!

And this is how you would do it!

Muscles Worked

• gluteus maximus, 
• hamstrings, 
• lower back muscles (erector spinae)

How to Do:

1. Use the hyperextension machine. Place your hips on the pad (in the region of your hip bones). Your feet firmly on the lower pad.
2. Take a plate or a dumbbell in your hands and keep it close to your chest.
3. To keep the focus on the glutes, internally rotate your shoulders so your upper back is hunched a bit.
4. Lower your torso to the ground, and feel the hamstrings stretch.
5. Pause for a second and raise. Do not extend your back too much – it’s better to stop a bit lower than you’d initially think to!

Glute Ham Raise

An advanced glute training routine should also include glute ham raises. They are also known as nordic curls. This is an extremely hard movement that’s almost impossible to do for beginners. If you are already experienced in strength training, it’s suggested to include three sets of three reps of glute ham curl in a lower body session.

Muscles Worked

• gluteus maximus
• gluteus medius
• gluteus minimus
• hamstrings

How to Do:

1. Find something to fix your legs, either a partner or wedge your feet underneath an immovable study piece.
2. Stand on your knees, back straight, core engaged.
3. Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings and slowly lower your body towards the floor. Lower while you have complete control over the movement.
4. As you can go no further, place your hands on the floor and finish the movement to the floor with support.
5. Move your body back up to the starting position in a reverse manner (first with the help of hands, then without them).

Step Up

Though step-ups can be done both at home and in the gym, I’d like to include this exercise in the list due to the availability of the designated stepping platforms and boxes in the gyms. At home, step-ups can be an injury-prone exercise to the unstable surfaces usually used. In the gym, you can safely add weights as well!

Muscles Worked

• quadriceps
• hamstrings
• gluteal muscles
• calves
• core muscles

How to Do:

1. Place a stepping bench or a box in front of you. Take a pair of dumbbells in your hands. Stand with feet hip-width apart.
2. Place your right foot on the elevated surface, find your balance and raise up shifting all your weight to it.
3. Hold the balance for a second and slowly return your left foot back to the initial position.
4. You can either repeat the movement on the same side or switch them repeatedly.

I hope these few select exercises you can do in the gym will help you to build strong glutes in no time! But remember that dedication and proper healthy diet are the keys.

P.S. If you have no idea how gym machines work, it may be a good idea to hire a personal trainer to the initial workouts to learn how to operate them! Gym safety should be considered!