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To train all three gluteal muscles, choose a mix of hip-extension exercises and movements that challenge hip abduction and pelvic control. Squats, single-leg squats, and deadlifts can emphasize the gluteus maximus; hip-hitch variations, hip abduction, step-ups, and single-leg bridge variations are options for emphasizing gluteus medius or minimus segments. No exercise is a proven universal winner: the evidence mainly compares acute muscle activity or modeled force, not long-term growth in each muscle.
Start with what each glute muscle does
Gluteus maximus: hip extension and external rotation
The gluteus maximus chiefly extends and externally rotates the hip. Extension helps when standing up from a chair or a bent position, climbing stairs or hills, and running. Exercises involving hip extension under load are therefore a practical starting point when your goal is to emphasize this muscle.
Gluteus medius and minimus: more than one segment
The medius and minimus each have multiple segments, and research does not show that every exercise loads every segment equally. Hip abduction and controlling the pelvis during single-leg support are useful movement goals when selecting exercises for these muscles. A result reported for one segment should not be treated as a ranking for the whole muscle.
Exercise choices by target
Options that emphasize gluteus maximus
- Single-limb squat or single-limb deadlift: These appeared among movements with comparatively high gluteus maximus activation in the tested protocols reported in a 2009 study of common therapeutic exercises.
- Squat and quadruped hip extension: The American Council on Exercise’s summary of an eight-exercise comparison reported the highest effort for gluteus maximus in these movements in that comparison. The summary also reported that most exercises had activity similar to the squat, while horizontal and vertical leg press produced significantly less.
- Other hip-extension variations: Choose a variation you can perform comfortably and progressively load. The evidence does not establish that one hip-extension pattern produces the greatest long-term growth.
Options that emphasize gluteus medius segments
A 2020 systematic review and meta-analysis by Moore, Semciw, and Pizzari found that hip-hitch or pelvic-drop variations produced at least high activity in all gluteus medius segments studied. It also identified standing isometric hip abduction for the anterior and posterior segments. For the middle segment, reviewed options included:
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- Single-leg bridge
- Side-lying hip abduction with the hip internally rotated
- Lateral step-up
- Resisted standing hip abduction, performed on the stance or swing leg
- Resisted side-step
An earlier systematic review by Ebert and colleagues found that unilateral stance exercises with movement of the opposite limb often produced high or very high gluteus medius EMG in the included protocols. Results for other functional weight-bearing exercises varied substantially.
Options that emphasize gluteus minimus segments
The 2020 review identified standing isometric hip abduction and hip-hitch or pelvic-drop variations among options for all minimus segments studied. For the posterior segment, it also listed side-lying hip abduction, the dip test, single-leg bridge, and single-leg squat. These are evidence-informed options, not a validated progression or a guarantee that an exercise will preferentially grow that segment.
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How to choose among the options
- Match the movement to your goal. For a gluteus maximus emphasis, select a hip-extension pattern such as a squat, single-limb deadlift, or quadruped hip extension. For medius or minimus emphasis, consider hip abduction, pelvic-control work, or a single-leg exercise.
- Account for the setup. Body position, single-leg versus bilateral support, movement of the free leg, and resistance all affect the task studied. A result from a resisted standing abduction exercise, for example, does not automatically transfer to every version of hip abduction.
- Pick a variation you can perform and progress. Balance demands, comfort, available equipment, and the ability to increase resistance are practical considerations. The studies do not identify one best choice for every person.
- Combine patterns rather than chasing a single winner. A routine can include a hip-extension exercise and one or more abduction or pelvic-control options. The evidence supports choosing complementary movements; it does not prescribe a universal set, rep scheme, or exercise ladder.
Equipment is optional
Many listed options can be performed with body weight. Elastic tubing or a resistance band can add load to standing hip abduction or side-steps; a 2013 study examined standing hip-strengthening exercises with elastic-tubing resistance. ACE also describes adding a band or ankle weight to quadruped hip extension. Equipment changes resistance, not the evidence status of an exercise as a guaranteed muscle-growth method.
What the evidence can—and cannot—tell you
Different studies measured different things
Moore, Semciw, and Pizzari’s 2020 review searched seven databases through May 2018, found 6,918 records, and included 56 studies. It pooled exercise data for a segment when at least two studies were available. Ebert and colleagues’ 2017 review covered 20 studies reporting 33 exercises or variations. These reviews help compare measured muscle activity across tested tasks, but they do not directly show which program grows each muscle most over time.
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EMG records electrical activity during a task; it is not a direct measure of future muscle size or strength. Surface EMG also has limitations: the 2020 review notes that measurements over anterior and posterior gluteus medius can be affected by coverage from the tensor fascia lata or gluteus maximus. In ACE’s comparison, gluteus minimus was not measured because it is deep and cannot be tested with surface electrodes.
Collings and colleagues’ 2023 study used motion capture, ground-reaction forces, and EMG in a neuromusculoskeletal model to estimate gluteal muscle forces during eight hip-focused exercises. Modeled force offers a different comparison from raw EMG, but it is still not a long-term hypertrophy trial. High acute activity or estimated force should not be presented as proof of superior muscle growth.
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Activity categories are study-specific
Ebert and colleagues categorized gluteus medius EMG as low at 0–20% MVIC, moderate at 21–40%, high at 41–60%, and very high above 61%. In their included protocols, prone, quadruped, and bilateral bridge exercises generally produced low or moderate loads, while specific hip-abduction and rotation exercises ranged from moderate to very high. These categories describe the review’s measured protocols; they are not universal thresholds for effectiveness.
When to get individualized guidance
This exercise-selection evidence does not establish a rehabilitation plan for a diagnosed injury. If you are choosing exercises because of pain, an injury, or a clinical restriction, get individualized advice from a qualified clinician rather than treating an EMG ranking as a prescription.
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