10 Best Exercises for a Bigger Butt FAST (At-Home Workout)

If you’re ready to get a bigger butt, then here you’ll find the best exercises you can do at home.

You don’t need hours in the gym or expensive equipment to get a bubble butt. With the right targeted exercises, you can maximize your results right at home and even lift a saggy butt fast.

Nobody wants to work so hard without any results because they were doing the wrong butt exercises. You can stop wasting your time, and instead start doing these targeted butt exercises that maximize your results in the shortest time and effort.

You don’t have to work super hard or need access to a fancy gym. In my 20 years as a personal trainer, I’ve discovered the most effective butt exercises. Keep going to discover the 10 best butt exercises you can do anywhere, and start getting that bubble butt today.

How to Make Your Bum Bigger (With Exercise)

There are only two ways to make your butt bigger naturally… either make it bigger with muscle or fat.

The problem with making it bigger with fat is you’ll end up making your entire body bigger too. And depending on your genetics, body fat can be stored preferentially stored in other areas like your belly or arms before your butt.¹

But with added fat, your bum will likely become saggier since it doesn’t have the muscle mass to hold it up firmly. Plus, there are various health concerns with gaining excess fat like increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancers.

So, the best option to naturally make your bum bigger is to add muscle with exercise. And the fastest way to increase your buttocks size is to use these targeted butt exercises.

Maximizing your gains with exercise is the secret to getting big glutes.

You could even see progress within a week when doing the right glute exercises. You’ll maximize the size and fullness of your glute muscles and also lift any saggyness in the bum.

While squats are a really good exercise for your glutes, they’ll mostly strengthen your thighs. If you only do squats then it’ll be better than nothing, but there are far better exercises that target and isolate the glute muscles to stimulate growth and strength.

You can increase your buttocks size even if you’re naturally skinny and have a “pancake butt.” Many naturally skinny women have a hard time fixing a flat butt, but with these targeted exercises you’ll bulk up the buttocks fast.

Exercises That Grow Glutes the Fastest

Progressive overload is critical for maximizing the growth of your glute muscles so you can get a bigger butt. This happens by teaching your muscles to handle more and more work over time.²

When using these butt targeting exercises, you’ll cause your glutes to grow bigger and stronger to meet the high demands you’re placing on them. I’ll also show you how to increase the resistance, intensity, and volume to continuously challenge your glute muscles so they keep growing.

Unfortunately, many traditional lower body exercises like squats, lunges, and step-ups will also train your thighs. But many want their butt to get bigger yet keep their thighs thinner. Doing these exercises also helps to get rid of cellulite on the thighs and bum.

These targeted exercises will grow your glutes the fastest since they enhance progressive overload, forcing your butt to become bigger.

The below targeted exercises are the best for growing glutes the fastest because:

• Isolate the glutes
• Enhanced glute activation
• Optimal body positioning

Isolating your glutes with the below targeted exercises will focus almost entirely your bum, unlike squats or lunges, which involve other muscles like the quads and hamstrings. This direct targeting creates a more efficient glute engagement.

These targeted exercises also emphasize your glutes’ primary function for hip extension.³ Hip extension is the movement of driving your hips backward and forward. Your glutes power this movement, so incorporating hip extension will activate your glutes the most.

You’ll notice many of the exercises below have slight variations in body positioning. In my many years as a personal trainer, I’ve discovered these small tweaks to the exercise that create a big difference.

Optimal body positioning will maximize the glute activation and isolation, creating more muscle growth.

Hip Thrusts

This is the number 1 exercise for the buttocks.

Hip thrusts are the best butt exercise because they completely targeted your gluteus maximus muscle (the biggest butt muscle), and have very minimal involvement of other muscle groups.⁴

Hip Thrusts have a full range of motion, stretching your glutes at the bottom and then fully contracting them at the top. This is optimal for muscle growth. By keeping your lower leg vertical (90 degrees to the ground), you’ll also reduce the thigh dominance that many other lower body exercises have.

You can also easily add a dumbbell by holding it on your hips to increase resistance. This exercise can be done with just your bodyweight virtually anywhere. If you don’t have access to a weight training bench, you can elevate your back using the edge of a couch or a sturdy chair.

Instructions:

1. Place your upper back on a bench or another sturdy surface, such as the edge of a couch or chair.
2. First, sit on the ground with your upper back resting against the bench.
3. Bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the floor, knees hip-width apart. At the top of the movement, remember to check your lower leg; your shins should be vertical.
4. You can grab a weight and place it on top of your hips.
5. Tighten your abs and keep your chin tucked to your chest to maintain a neutral spine position.
6. Lift your hips by driving through your heels. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement until your hips are fully extended (should be a straight line from your shoulders to your knees)
7. Pause at the top and hold for a second or two, this helps to maximize glute contraction.
8. Then slowly lower your hips back to the starting position, and stopping just before your glutes hit the ground.

1-Legged Hip Bridges

These are terrific for building butt size because they isolate and intensify the workload on each glute individually.⁵

You’ll also engage the other glute muscles, gluteus minimus, and gluteus medius since this single-leg variation requires more stabilization.

Doing Hip Bridges with one leg forces each glute to handle the full workload individually, preventing one side from compensating for the other.

Instructions:

1. Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
2. Lift one leg straight up towards the ceiling, and keep it in line with your hips.
3. Keep your other foot firmly planted on the ground, but with your toes pointed up to enhance glute activation.
4. Tighten your abs to brace your core muscles. This helps maintain a neutral spine and prevent lower back arching.
5. Drive through your heel on the ground to lift your hips up towards the ceiling. Raise your hips until your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knee on the bottom leg.
6. Pause and squeeze your glute muscle at the top for 1-2 seconds.
7. Slowly lower your hips back down into the starting position without letting them fully rest on the ground.
8. Repeat for the total amount of reps on the one leg before switching to the other leg and repeating.

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts (Staggered Stance)

Single-leg Romanian deadlifts are better than traditional regular Romanian deadlifts because they have greater glute activation.⁶ Single-leg Romanian deadlifts allow a deeper stretch in the glutes since it can move the working leg through a bigger range of motion

You’ll also correct muscle imbalances and improve the symmetry of your glutes with Single-leg Romanian deadlifts. This is because each leg works independently, so you can’t compensate with one leg over another.

To focus on building a bigger butt, I like to use a staggered stance with this exercise. This places more emphasis on the glutes instead of balancing on one leg.

Instructions:

1. Hold a pair of dumbbells and start by standing with your feet hip-width apart. Then, take a step forward so your feet are now in a staggered position, with one foot in front of the other.
2. Bend your back knee to about a 45-degree angle. With your back straight, lean forward, keeping your hands in line with your front leg.
3. Go low enough that you feel a stretch in the back of your glutes and hamstrings. You can pause at the bottom before slowly raising your body back up to the starting position.

Bulgarian Split Squats

You’ll build a bigger butt by adding in Bulgarian Split Squats because they heavily isolate the glute muscles. Bulgarian split squats give you a deep range of motion, allowing a greater stretch in the glutes, especially at the bottom of the exercise.

The trick is to lean your upper body forward when doing Bulgarian split squats to increase the glute leverage more than the thighs.⁷ Also, place your front foot farther forward to increase glute activation instead of emphasizing the thighs.

Instructions:

1. Stand a foot or two in front of a bench, box, chair, or other elevated surface about the same height as your knees.
2. Take a step forward with one foot, and then place the back foot up on the bench behind you.
3. Slowly lower your back knee towards the ground by bending your front knee. Try to keep your back straight as you lean slightly forward with your upper body.
4. Focus on keeping your front knee in line with your foot, and don’t let it go to one side or the other.
5. Stop lowering your back knee before it reaches the ground, pause at the bottom, and then slowly bring yourself back up to the starting position.
6. At the top, give the glute of your front leg a squeeze, then repeat.

Donkey Kicks

Donkey Kicks are a great exercise for building a bigger butt since they isolate and directly target the gluteus Maximus, the largest muscle on the butt. And this exercise is completely bodyweight so it can be done by anybody, anywhere.

You can also add ankle weights, or in the exercise example below, I’m using a resistance band. Place the resistance band underneath your bottom knee, with the other end wrapped around your thigh.

Instructions:

1. Begin on all fours on the ground. You may want to do this exercise with a mat or pad underneath your knee for comfort, instead of the hard ground.
2. Have your hands underneath your shoulders, and then raise one leg up into the air behind you while keeping it bent at 90 degrees.
3. Try to keep your back in a straight line throughout the movement. Tighten your abs to help keep your spine in a neutral position.
4. When your thigh reaches a height that it’s now in a straight line with your upper body, pause at the top for a second, then slowly lower your leg back to the starting position.
5. Don’t allow your knee to come all the down to the point it rests on the ground. Stop right before it touches the ground and raise it back up. This will help to keep the glute muscle activated throughout the movement.

Deep Goblet Squats

With Deep Goblet Squats, you’ll get a bigger glute stretch at the bottom and have more glute muscle recruitment. This forces your glutes to work harder to lift your body back up, giving you better results.

Holding a weight in front of your body shifts your center of gravity forward, engaging the glutes more than the thighs.

Instructions:

1. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell (or some other heavy object) close to your chest with both hands.
2. Stand with your feet wider than your hips, with your toes pointed slightly outwards.
3. Tighten your abs to engage your core, then slowly lower your hips towards the floor until your thighs are past parallel to the ground. (but only go as far as your mobility allows; if it hurts your knees, then avoid)
4. At the bottom, feel a deep stretch in your glutes and pause slightly before bringing yourself back up to the starting position.

Sumo Squats

Taking a wider stance with Sumo Squats compared to traditional squats will target your glutes more. The wider foot placement shifts more of the weight bearing to your glutes and some on your inner thighs instead of your quads.

Sumo Squats also allow a greater range of motion allowing for a deeper squat at the bottom. This stretches your glutes more and forces them to work harder to bring yourself back up to the starting position.

Having your toes pointed slightly outward also puts your hips into external rotation, which brings more muscle recruitment in your side glutes (gluteus medius and gluteus minimus).

Instructions:

1. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell with both hands in front of you. Take a wide stance with your feet so they’re wider than shoulder-width apart. Point your toes slightly outward at a 45-degree angle.
2. Tighten your abs to engage your core and keep your back straight throughout the movement.
3. Lower yourself into a squat by keeping your hips behind you and lower as deep as you can without losing form or bending your back.
4. Feel the stretch at the bottom and pause for a second before slowly bringing yourself back up to the starting position. Be sure to drive and push through your heels.
5. Squeeze your glute muscles at the top before repeating.

Lateral Band Walks

Lateral Band Walks are very effective for building the outer side glutes. This exercise targets the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, which are the smaller glute muscles on the sides.⁸

This exercise will help shape and round out the glutes since these side hip muscles are usually under-trained. It is also a great way to eliminate hip dips.

Instructions:

1. Place a resistance band around your thighs just about your knees.
2. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and knees slightly bent. Tighten your abs to engage your core.
3. The band should already be a little tight and taut, if not then take a wider stance because your feet are too close together.
4. Take a small, controlled step sideways with one foot, keeping your foot pointed straight ahead forward.
5. Follow with the other foot to return back to your starting position. Be sure not to bring your feet too close together; otherwise, you’ll lose tension from the band on your side hips.

Side Lying Hip Raises

Side Lying Hip Raises are another great exercise for rounding out the butt by building the side hip muscles.⁹ You’ll isolate the side glute muscles with this exercise, helping to sculpt and build the outer glutes.

When raising your hip, be sure to turn the top of your body slightly downward towards the ground and point your toes towards the floor. This will increase activation of the gluteus medius and lessen it in the tensor fascia latae and front hip flexors.

This is a very low-impact exercise and joint-friendly, so it should be suitable for all fitness levels.

Instructions:

1. Lie on your side on the ground with one leg on top of the other. Your legs should be straight except for a slight bend in the knees.
2. Shift your upper body slightly forward towards the ground. This helps to emphasize the back of your side hips instead of the front.
3. Point the toes of the top foot slightly towards the ground, and then focus on raising your heel up.
4. Pause for a second at the top to emphasize the glute activation before slowly bringing your foot back down to the starting position.

Deficit Step-ups

Deficit Step-ups are very effective for building a bigger butt because they place a lot of weight on a single glute while also stretching the glute more through a longer range of motion.¹⁰

Be sure to push through the heel of the working leg to maximize glute engagement. Avoid using momentum or pushing off with the bottom back leg. Let your working leg do the majority of the lifting.

Instructions:

1. Place a knee-height box, bench, or sturdy chair in front of you.
2. You can just use your bodyweight or hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides. Stand upright to start your feet hip-width apart.
3. Tighten your abs to engage your core.
4. Take a step with one foot and place it on top of the box. Then, push through the heel of that foot to step up on the box.
5. Lean slightly forward for increased glute activation, but keep your back straight at all times.
6. Stop before your leg completely straightens out, and then slowly bring yourself back down to the starting position.

How Long It Takes to Build a Bigger Butt

How long it takes you to start building a bigger butt will depend on how committed you are to doing these exercises. The more consistent you are doing these glute exercises, then the faster you’ll get results.

Ideally, you should be doing these glute exercises 1-3 times per week. Use progressive overload to keep the exercises challenging so you keep getting results.

Try to push yourself with each exercise a little bit past what’s easy or comfortable instead of focusing on just the number of sets and reps. By pushing yourself more than what’s easy, you’ll challenge your body to adapt and grow.

While walking can help tone your butt over doing nothing, you’ll get better and faster results by using the exercises above and pushing yourself past the comfortable range. This is why how many squats you do doesn’t matter compared to how well you’re stressing the butt muscles to grow.

Is It Possible to Build a Bigger Butt Without Exercise?

True growth in your butt and reshaping your hips is most effectively done with exercise. But it is possible to grow your butt without exercise too…

If you’re underweight, then gaining healthy weight can help to make your butt look fuller. Fat distribution is genetic, so you’ll more likely gain weight in your butt if you have a pear-shaped body type.

But if you have an apple-shaped body type, then you’ll probably end up gaining most of your weight in your abdomen area. This can cause your belly fat and love handles to grow instead of your butt.

Eat high protein foods to increase your buttocks size. Protein provides essential amino acids your body needs to repair and regrow muscle to make it bigger and stronger.

Increase your protein intake with these exercises or without them. Protein helps to build muscle even if you’re not exercising, and a lack of protein can cause your muscles to atrophy (become smaller).

It’s generally recommended to consume 0.8 grams of protein daily per pound of body weight.¹¹ So, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should consume 120 grams of protein every day.

If you have trouble meeting your daily protein needs, consider taking a low-carb protein shake to quickly boost your intake. To maximize your results, use protein powder that contains at least 20g of protein per serving.