You’ve been doing your glute exercises, from the heavy hip thrusts to the fiery front squats. You’re seeing progress (well, a little), but when you look side-on in the mirror, the upper part of your glutes looks more developed than the lower part.
You’re looking for lifted lower glutes (AKA the underbutt). This part of the glutes is responsible for giving the glutes their perky shape, as well as creating that shelf divide between the top of the hamstrings and the start of the butt.
Some are blessed with more naturally perky lower glutes, while others find growing the lower glutes more difficult. However, as is the way with most muscle groups, there are specific lower glute exercises you can do to help you target this area.
We’re going to cover the best lower glute exercises, along with glute training tips, and answer common questions about lower glute workouts. So get your scrunch butt leggings (or 5-inch shorts) on because we’re going to build those lower glutes 🍑.
What Muscles Make Up The Lower Glutes?
You may know it as the mighty underbutt, underbooty, or lower glutes. Contrary to what you see on social media, the lower glutes are not actually a specific muscle; instead, they refer to the lowermost region of the gluteus maximus and the upper hamstrings.
Gluteus Maximus
The most famous of the gluteal muscles, probably due to it being the largest of the three [1]. You’re probably already well acquainted with this peachy muscle–and when it comes to building the lower glutes, it’s the gluteus maximus that will make your booty ‘pop’. Responsible for thigh extension, external rotation, adduction, and abduction, these powerful hip extensors will help you walk, run, climb, sprint, and jump.
Hamstrings
We know these aren’t strictly a muscle of the glutes, but hear us out: The glutes and hammies are partners in crime, especially when we turn our attention to the underbutt. While the glute max can pump up the size of your glutes, if you’re after that lower butt crease and perky shape, it’s the hamstrings that you want to turn your attention to. Extending from the knee to the hip joint, the hamstrings actually run beneath the glutes to connect to the lower end of the pelvis, helping to bend the knee and draw the hips backward.
How Do I Target My Lower Glutes?
While you can’t strictly isolate the lower glutes, you can do certain exercises to target the lower glutes. The best way to do this is with glute exercises that involve hip extension [2, 3]. Combine these with the right nutrition pre and post workout, and follow the lower glute exercise training tips below, and you should see your hard work start to pay off.
Do all five of these exercises to create a fully-focused lower glutes workout, or pick 2 or 3 of the below exercises and add them into your glute and hamstring workout or leg day session alongside other exercises.
The 5 Best Lower Glute Exercises:
1. Dumbbell RDLs
Move over hip thrusts–there’s a new king of lower glute max exercises in town, and they’re called Romanian deadlifts (AKA RDLs). Focusing on the posterior chain muscles, including the lower back, glutes, hamstrings, and calves, RDLs move the hips through an extensive range of motion using the hip-hinge motion. By not resting the weight on the ground (as you would for a regular deadlift), you keep the glutes and hamstrings under constant tension throughout to maximise growth.
How To Do Dumbbell RDLs:
Stand upright, holding two dumbbells in front of your thighs, arms fully extended.
Bracing your core and squeezing your glutes, push your hips back and lean your torso over so the dumbbell travels down your thighs. Keep your gaze on the floor just ahead of you and back straight to maintain a neutral spine.
Lower the weight as far as you can so that you feel a good stretch in your hamstrings, but not so far as your back rounds. This will likely be mid to lower shin.
Pause, then reverse the movement, hinging your hips back up and letting the dumbbell travel back up your thigh.
Squeeze your glutes at the top position, then repeat the movement.
Wondering how to do RDLs without feeling it in your lower back or struggling to feel them in your glutes? Make sure you consciously brace your core, hinge at the hips, and don’t round your back. There should be a slight bend in your knee. Think about squeezing your butt cheeks together at the top of the movement to maximize glute engagement. If you still feel RDLs in your lower back, reduce the weight or practice them using just your body weight first to master the movement pattern.
2. Donkey Kickbacks
If you’ve dismissed donkey kickbacks for being a #GymTok fad, we’re going to change your mind: These are some of the best bottom glute exercises for targeting the glute max–the muscle most responsible for the lower glute shape. We recommend using a resistance band to increase the tension. If you feel a bit self-conscious doing these at the gym (we’re mainly talking to the gym bros out there), don’t worry: These are some of our favourite lower glute exercises at home– so you have no excuses!
How to do donkey kickbacks:
Select a short resistance band and place it around your thighs, just above your knees.
Come onto all fours in a tabletop position.
Brace your core. Squeezing your right glute, raise your right leg into the air, keep your knee bent, foot flat, and drive your heel toward the ceiling. Keep the rest of your body fixed in place.
Hold for a second at the top, then lower the leg back in line with the other leg before repeating. (note: when you return to the starting position to repeat another rep, you don’t need to bring your knee back to the ground. Instead, keep your leg hovering a few centimeters off the ground before repeating the rep).
Once you have completed all reps on one leg, move to complete your donkey kicks on the opposite leg, using precisely the same steps as above.
The key to these is not to rush the reps. Perform your donkey kicks in a slow and controlled manner, focusing on mind-muscle connection to target maximum work through the glutes.
3. Bulgarian Split Squats
A leg day classic, research has proven that Bulgarian split squats provide higher glute max recruitment when compared to other leg exercises, such as back squats, and higher EMG activity for the hamstrings compared to the quads [4,5], making them an ideal lower glute exercise. That being said, to maximize lower glute recruitment (namely in the glute max and hamstrings) and minimise quad involvement, you’ll need to make a few minor tweaks to the exercise:
Ensure your foot is far enough forward from the bench so your front knee bends at 90 degrees.
Lean your torso forward slightly so your weight is over your front foot.
For even greater glute recruitment, stand your front foot on a weight plate to increase the range of motion.
How to do Bulgarian split squats (glute focused):
Select two dumbbells, set up a flat weight bench (or box of similar height), and stand a few feet in front of it. Reach down to take hold of your dumbbells in each hand, and place your rear foot (laces facing down) on the bench.
Brace your core, keep your chest proud, and squeeze your shoulder blades together to stabilise yourself. Keep your eyes focused on a spot ahead of you.
Lower yourself down, bending the front leg, aiming to get the back knee close to the ground but not touching it. In the bottom position, your front leg should be bent at a 90-degree angle, quad parallel to the floor, knee in line with toe. Lean your torso forward, bringing it over your front thigh.
Pause, then drive back up by extending the hip and squeezing your glutes at the top.
Repeat for the desired rep range, then swap legs.
Tip: Trial a few repetitions without weight first to find the ideal foot positioning for your front leg: when at the bottom of your split squat, your front knee should be bent at 90 degrees, and your butt should come close to the calve of your back leg.
4. Swiss Ball Hamstring Curls
A blended combo of a lying leg curl and a glute bridge, the Swiss ball hamstring curls take the legs through hip extension and knee flexion, simultaneously activating the hamstrings and glutes. They may be a bodyweight exercise, but don’t underestimate the difficulty and burn you’ll feel in your hammies after a few sets! This exercise requires strong core stability and control to keep you balanced.
How to do Swiss ball hamstring curls:
Lie on your back and place your heels and lower calves on a Swiss ball. Keep your arms extended on the ground beside your body.
Pressing your arms flat into the ground for stability, lifting your hips so your body forms a straight diagonal position, from toe to head, with your shoulders and upper back resting on the floor.
Squeezing your glutes to keep your hips up and bracing your core, bend your knees as you pull your heels towards your butt as you roll the ball toward you.
Bring your heels as close to your butt as possible, before reversing the movement, by straightening your legs and rolling back out on the ball.
Repeat the movement for 10 to 12 reps, not returning your butt to the floor until you have finished all 10 or 12 reps.
Tip: Practice your glute bridge position and get comfortable before performing hamstring curls on the Swiss ball. When you perform your Swiss ball hamstring curls, make sure your hips are driving up the ceiling throughout. To do this, you’ll need to consciously squeeze your glutes (yes, that’s what you call mind-muscle connection at work!).
5. High Box Step-ups
Box step-ups have been found to be the most effective exercise for the lower butt [6]. Take the classic exercise up to a high box, and you increase the hip flexion required to carry out the movement, placing a greater load through the glutes (and less in the quads and calves).
So, how high should you go? Well, the box should only be as high as you can carry out the movement with the correct form. That means not rounding your back or shifting your hips to the side to get up onto the box. For most people, that will be anywhere between 60 and 75cm (24 to 30 inches).
How to do high box step-ups:
Set up your box and grab a pair of dumbbells. Stand facing the box, dumbbells by your side.
Lift your right leg, placing your foot on top of the box, toes pointing forward.
Step up onto the box, leaning your torso towards your right leg, hinging your hips back slightly, and shifting your weight into your front leg.
Squeeze your glutes as you straighten your right leg. Bring your left foot in line with the right one, resting your toe on the box for stability.
Reverse the movement, taking your left foot off the box and slowly descending towards the floor.
Bring the left foot down to the floor, keeping the right foot on the box.
Repeat on the same leg for ten reps, then switch to repeat on the other leg.
Tip: Fight to control the descent. This will increase the muscle TUT (time under tension) to elicit more significant glute growth.
Tips For Growing Your Lower Glutes
Training Frequency
As with any muscle group, training your glutes twice a week is the sweet spot for muscle growth [7]. When it comes to growth, muscles follow a dose-response relationship between greater resistance training volume and increased growth [8]. However, when it comes to training more than twice a week, there is little evidence showing any benefit, with research finding no increased muscle hypertrophy when training frequency was increased to four days a week [9].
This is likely due to muscle protein synthesis (the process of building muscle mass) which must be kept higher than muscle protein breakdown (where protein is lost due to exercise), in order for the muscle to grow. If muscle are given enough time to repair and recovery post exercise, protein synthesis will exceed protein breakdown, allowing muscles to grow.
Training Volume
Aim to pick 2 to 3 exercises per muscle group and perform 3 to 4 sets of each exercise.
For example, choose 2 or 3 lower glute exercises and pair them with a couple of hamstring or quad exercises to complete your leg day.
Rep Range
While it’s traditionally believed that the ultimate rep range for hypertrophy is 8 to 12 reps, recent studies have found the hypertrophy range to be greater than this, with little difference in muscle growth for low load vs high load training [10]. Further research has proven that including a range of rep ranges in your training can provide greater strength adaptations.
You should vary the rep range depending on the exercise type in your under butt workout. For example, you would likely choose a higher rep range (15 reps+) for donkey kicks, a mid rep range (6-8 reps) for Bulgarian split squats, and a low rep range for compound exercises, such as squats or deadlifts (1 to 5 reps). This will help you increase both slow and fast twitch muscle fibres, building both your endurance energy system and your explosive power.
Eat In A Calorie Surplus
If you’ve been going to the gym for a while, you’re probably familiar with bulking. This refers to increasing your calorie intake to build muscle, which is supported by research that proves you need to be consuming more calories than you're expending in order to grow muscle [11]. This could be anywhere from a 5% to 15% surplus, but research found that the higher energy surplus results in more fat gain, with little effect on muscle or strength gains, suggesting it is better to stick to the lower end of this scale to minimise fat gains [12]. Within this, you must also ensure you are consuming adequate protein for muscle growth (1.6g - 2.2g of protein per kilogram of body weight).
Remember Progressive Overload
The core training principle for muscle growth, progressive overload, refers to the method of constantly challenging your muscles to gain muscle mass continually [13]. This can be done by increasing the weight, number of reps/sets, training frequency, or reducing the rest time between sets. An excellent way to measure progressive overload is by adding your lower glute workout to the Gymshark Training App and recording your reps, sets, and weights each week. The following week, you should aim to improve your previous numbers and optimize glute growth.
Remember To Activate your glutes.
Warming up any muscle group before you use it is important, but activating glutes before your under butt workout could make all the difference. Many of us spend most of our days sitting on our backsides, leading to weak glutes that rely on others. More actively used muscles to help with movements (such as hamstrings or quads). Properly activating your glutes before your under butt workout will ensure they are adequately engaged for the movements, allowing you to lift heavier and reducing the risk of compensatory movements or injury.
FAQs
How Long Does It Take to See Results?
Following the lower glute max exercises above, you might notice your butt looks noticeably rounder, fuller and perkier. The post-workout pump is real, thanks to increased blood flow following a training session, which leads to temporary inflammation.
To make those booty gains last, however, it can take a little longer. According to a study examining hypertrophy, muscle growth occurred after 4 weeks, however changes were only slight, and not visible to the naked eye [14]. Another study concluded that it takes an average of three months until you start to see noticeable gains [15].
While muscle growth begins early, it takes a few months of consistent training (along with being in a calorie surplus and eating enough protein) to see noticeable gains–so don’t expect your butt to grow overnight!
Can You Isolate The Lower Glutes?
No, you can’t strictly isolate the lower glutes. You can, however, perform exercises that place slightly more emphasis on the lower glute max and hamstrings to work on building that perky underbutt.
Knee-dominant exercises (such as lunges and Bulgarian split squats) are best for targeting the lower gluteus maximus. Targeting the hamstrings will also help create that underbutt crease in the lower glutes. Doing these bottom glute exercises, however, you will still target other muscle groups, including the glute medius, glute minimus and other leg muscles.
How Do I Activate My Lower Glutes?
Activating your glutes before your lower glute workout is a good idea to warm them up and build a solid mind-muscle connection. Studies have found that mentally focusing on the muscle group you’re using increases muscle activity [16]. While you can’t necessarily activate the lower glutes alone, performing general glute activation exercises (from your clams, to frog pumps to resistance band glute bridges) will teach you exactly how to contract the muscle and ensure your glutes are properly engaged in your lower glute workout.
Check out our Leg Day Warm-Up Exercises for more ideas of what to include in your lower body warm-up.
Should You Do Cardio if You’re Trying to Tone Your Butt?
Just because you’re trying to grow your lower glutes doesn’t mean you should skimp on the cardio. Research has proven that moderate-intensity exercise reduces cardiovascular disease risk, improves heart health, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, and strengthens the immune system [17, 18].
But will cardio kill your gains? Studies have proven that cardio can be done alongside resistance training without impacting muscle growth. A 2018 study found that intense cardio sessions, such as HIIT, had minimal effect on muscle loss, while another review proved that athletes could still build muscle when including cardio training (either medium-intensity continuous or HIIT) alongside resistance training [19, 20].
If growing your glutes is your primary goal, don’t skip the cardio–but do make sure you are eating enough calories and protein to optimize muscle growth. You need to be in a calorie surplus, which means eating more than the energy you expend.
The Only Lower Glute Exercises You Need
Building your lower glutes can improve athletic performance and posture, along with the obvious aesthetic benefits. But, unfortunately, there isn’t a shortcut to building this under-the-radar muscle: Building your lower glutes takes time, dedication, and hard work, and some people just find it easier to build a perky underbutt than others!
If you’ve found building your lower glutes hard, it’s time to step up your glute routine. Add 2 or 3 of these lower glute-focused exercises to your leg day workout (whether it’s a glutes and hammies session or general leg day) alongside a few other exercises.
So put on your shorts or grab your leggings, and let's get training.
Download the Gymshark Training App to access expertly programmed glute workouts, or add these lower glute exercises to your workout and track your sets, reps, and weights.
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