In 2026, training glutes as a woman in Portugal is still poorly explained. The content in European Portuguese is either overly simplified (five exercises with no progression, no coherence), or completely gender-neutral (the same routine copied for everyone with no adaptation to the female body or to the typical goals of those who train glutes for aesthetics and function).
You will leave with four things: the functional anatomy of the three glutes (because most routines train only one), the seven exercises that actually matter and how to perform them, a concrete weekly plan you can start straight away, and five myths that hold back the progress of most trainees in Portugal.
Almost every list of glute exercises starts from the assumption that "glute" is a single muscle. It is not. There are three, with distinct functions, and training them properly means working all three.
Gluteus maximus. The largest muscle in the human body. It extends the hip, that is, it drives the thigh backwards (think of the "lift" of the hip thrust or the "stand-up" from the bottom of the squat). It is the muscle that adds volume in the rear view and that defines the "look" of the glutes. It works mainly in hip extension: hip thrust, Romanian deadlift, deep squat, kickback.
Gluteus medius. Lateral, above and slightly behind the maximus. It performs abduction (moving the leg away from the centre of the body) and, above all, pelvic stabilisation when you are on one leg. It is responsible for the lateral shape of the glutes (the curve that distinguishes a "round" glute from one that is purely vertical). It is worked in banded hip abduction, lateral kickback and in any resisted lateral walking drill.
Gluteus minimus. The smallest of the three, deep beneath the medius. Function is similar to the medius (abduction, partial internal rotation). It is almost always trained together with the medius because the movements that activate one activate the other.
Why does this matter for trainees? Most routines work the gluteus maximus almost exclusively, with sets of hip thrust and squat. The medius and minimus are undertrained, which translates into a glute with volume but possibly flat on the sides, and most importantly, weak lateral stabilisation of the pelvis, lower back and knee in movements such as squatting and running. A complete workout always includes at least one abduction exercise per session.
What the Science Says About Glute Hypertrophy
Before exercises, three principles drawn from recent meta-analyses that govern any serious hypertrophy programme.
Volume is the main factor. The meta-analysis by Schoenfeld et al. (2017), published in the Journal of Sports Sciences and cited as a reference in the literature, showed a clear dose-response relationship: each additional weekly set, up to roughly 20 per muscle group, adds hypertrophy. For most trainees, the practical optimum sits between 10 and 16 weekly sets per muscle group (in this case, per region of the glutes). Below 10 you are below the demonstrated optimum; above 20 you enter diminishing returns and a higher risk of accumulated fatigue with no proportional gain.
Loads work across a wide range.Mitchell et al. (2012), in a seminal study on the relationship between load and hypertrophy, demonstrated that reps between 5 and 30, as long as they are close to muscular failure, produce similar hypertrophy. There is no universal "ideal rep range". There is adequate stimulus: getting close to the limit with controlled technique. Heavy loads with few reps are efficient (more weight moved per unit of time); medium loads with more reps are equally effective (greater time under tension). Most solid plans combine both registers.
The hip thrust is not the exclusive "king" (though it's my favourite). Electromyography (EMG) studies led by Bret Contreras show that the hip thrust generates up to 113% MVIC activation of the gluteus maximus, the highest value recorded for any exercise. But acute activation is one thing; muscle growth measured by MRI after months is another. Longitudinal studies of 9 to 12 weeks show that the deep squat grows the gluteus maximus just as much or more than the hip thrust, probably because it demands greater range of motion and produces greater muscle tension in the stretched position. The practical conclusion is simple: combining the two is what works best, not choosing one over the other. The hip thrust is more dominant at peak contraction; the squat, in the stretched position.
The 7 Essential Exercises (Ranked By Effectiveness)
The list below is ordered by practical value and scientific support, not by fashion. Each exercise has a target (which muscle), key technique, the most common gym mistake, and equipment.
1. Barbell hip thrust. Target: gluteus maximus, with the highest documented EMG activation (113% MVIC). Back supported on an adjustable bench (about 35 to 40cm in height), Olympic bar over the hips with padding, feet shoulder-width apart and at 90 degrees on the floor. You drive up until trunk, hip and knee align in a horizontal plane, squeeze the glute at the top for half a second and lower under control. Most common mistake: finishing with lumbar hyperextension, that is, arching the spine instead of squeezing the glute. Clear sign: lower back pain the next day instead of fatigue in the glutes. Equipment: adjustable bench plus Olympic bar plus plates. See our gym bench guide to choose a bench with the right height.
2. Romanian deadlift (RDL). Target: gluteus maximus and hamstrings in co-activation. Dumbbells or a bar in front of the body, knees slightly bent (they will not bend more during the movement), you lower by pushing the hips back (horizontal movement, not vertical) until you feel a stretch in the hamstrings and the trunk is almost parallel to the floor. The spine stays neutral from start to finish. Most common mistake: bending the knees as if it were a squat, or rounding the lower back as the weight goes down. Equipment: dumbbells (up to 22.5kg per hand is enough for most) or an Olympic bar.
3. Deep squat. Target: gluteus maximus (not quadriceps — same exercise, different technique). Depth until the hips are below the knees, with load appropriate to your level, knees tracking in line with the feet (they do not cave inward), proud chest, neutral lower back. Minimising quadriceps work means not letting the knee drift forward over the foot. Most common mistake: stopping halfway (partial squat). Without depth, without range of motion, the stimulus on the glutes is minimal. If your mobility does not allow a full squat with proper technique, work on mobility using lighter but still challenging loads, with more reps to push closer to mechanical failure.
4. Bulgarian split squat. Target: gluteus maximus and medius in a single-leg stance, with the back foot resting on a low bench (not a high step), front foot far enough away that, on the way down, the front knee sits roughly over the heel. You descend vertically until the back knee almost touches the floor. Most common mistake: instability across the reps and letting the knee drift forward of the heel, which turns the exercise into a quad-dominated movement. Done with dumbbells at your sides (least stable), with a single dumbbell in the hand opposite the front leg and the other hand supported for balance, or with a bar across the shoulders (most advanced).
5. Cable kickback. Target: gluteus maximus isolated, with peak tension at the top. Low pulley with an ankle strap on the leg, hands resting on the machine for stability, leg extended back in a short arc (do not use the lower back for extra range), half-second squeeze at the top. Most common mistake: using a heavy weight and compensating with the lower back (the leg goes up at the cost of the trunk going down). Equipment: low pulley with ankle strap. See the cable machine exercises guide for more variations.
6. Feet-elevated glute bridge. Target: gluteus maximus, a short and safe version for beginners or warm-up. Back on the floor, feet on a low bench (about 20cm). You lift the hips until trunk and thigh align, squeeze the glute at the top. It is the step before the full hip thrust: you learn the motor pattern without needing a bar yet. Also useful as a finisher exercise with high reps.
7. Lateral band walk and hip abduction. Target: gluteus medius and minimus. Resistance band placed above the knees (harder version) or at the ankles (easier version), short controlled lateral steps keeping constant tension on the band. Most common mistake: letting the knees collapse inward between steps, which switches off the gluteus medius (which is exactly the muscle responsible for preventing that collapse). Alternatively, cable hip abduction or the specific machine works just as well.
How to Structure the Weekly Workout
You have the exercises. Now the part that separates those who train well from those who just train a lot: weekly structure. Here are the concrete parameters based on the evidence.
Frequency.Two or three glute-focused sessions per week, separated by at least 48 hours of recovery between sessions that train the same muscles. More than three dedicated sessions rarely adds hypertrophy for most; fewer than two distributes the volume poorly.
Total weekly volume.Between 10 and 16 weekly sets for the glutes, spread across the sessions. Each set should have between 6 and 15 repetitions close to failure (leaving 1 to 3 reps "in the tank", not reaching absolute failure on every set). Above 20 weekly sets, for most trainees you enter a zone of accumulated fatigue with no proportional return.
Distribution per session. A typical session has 4 to 8 sets of main exercises (compounds: hip thrust, squat, RDL) plus 2 to 4 sets of accessory exercises (cable kickback, lateral band, glute bridge). Mains first, when you are fresh; accessories at the end.
Repetitions. For heavy compounds (hip thrust, squat, RDL): 5 to 8 reps with a heavy load. For isolation or accessory work (kickback, abduction): 12 to 20 reps with a medium load. Both registers grow muscle, as per Mitchell 2012; combining them provides a more complete stimulus.
Rest between sets. For heavy compounds: 2 to 3 minutes. Do not rush, the goal is to recover enough to close the next set with quality. For isolation: 60 to 90 seconds is enough.
Load progression. This is the real engine of growth, not variety or "burn". Add 2.5kg to the hip thrust and the RDL whenever you can close all the planned reps with correct technique in two consecutive sessions. On lighter exercises, you can add reps before load. Without recorded progression, the stimulus stalls at 3 or 4 months and the work stops producing hypertrophy.
What about the hormonal cycle?
Recent studies suggest that women may tolerate more volume in the follicular phase (first half of the cycle, from menstruation to ovulation) and benefit from deloading in the late luteal phase (the last days before the next period). The evidence is still young and the practical effects are modest for most. In terms of return per effort, keeping weekly consistency matters far more than fine-tuning phases to the millimetre. Anyone on hormonal contraception has no natural cycle and this planning does not apply at all.
Sample Plan: 2x Per Week, 8 Weeks
A concrete skeleton you can start straight away. It works for those with 6 to 18 months of regular gym practice. For absolute beginners, see our beginner gym workout plan first.
Session A: Hip-thrust-dominant focus
Barbell hip thrust: 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps, rest 2 to 3 minutes.
Bulgarian split squat (dumbbells): 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per leg, rest 90 seconds.
Cable kickback: 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps per leg, rest 60 seconds.
Lateral band walk: 2 sets of 20 steps per direction.
Session B: Squat and RDL focus
Barbell squat (deep): 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps, rest 2 to 3 minutes.
Romanian deadlift with dumbbells or barbell: 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps, rest 2 minutes.
Cable hip abduction (one leg at a time): 3 sets of 12 reps per leg.
Weekly total:17 sets of primary glute exercises plus 8 accessory sets. Volume in the optimal band identified by the literature.
Practical progression: add 2.5kg every time you close all the planned reps with technique in two consecutive sessions. In 8 weeks, expect gains of 10 to 20% in the load on the hip thrust and the RDL for those in the first 12 to 18 months of practice. For more advanced trainees, the progression is slower (1 to 2kg per month on main exercises) and more individualised.
Myths to Bust
Five widely repeated beliefs in Portugal that hold back most people's progress.
"Heavy loads will make me look masculine." False. Female testosterone production is 10 to 20 times lower than male. Even heavy workouts, week after week, produce gradual and modest hypertrophy in women who are not users of exogenous hormones. The female bodybuilder physiques you see in photos are the result of years of training combined with extreme dieting and, in the vast majority of cases, supplemented hormones. It does not happen by accident, and it will not happen to you by doing 4 sets of hip thrust with 60kg.
"It has to hurt the next day to have worked." No. DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) correlates poorly with hypertrophy. Well-designed workouts often leave moderate fatigue, not severe pain. Intense pain repeated session after session is a sign of poorly adjusted volume or insufficient recovery, not of effectiveness. Judge your training by load progression, not by the level of soreness.
"Only cardio burns fat on the glutes."Muscles do not lose fat in specific zones (there is no "spot reduction"). Cardio burns calories; fat loss is systemic and happens across the whole body in proportions set by genetics. What defines the shape of the glutes is the muscle mass built by strength training, combined with the overall body fat percentage. Excess cardio without strength training does not build glutes, it just keeps them small with less fat around them.
"100 squats a day." Volume without intensity does not grow muscle in most trained women. 100 reps with bodyweight stimulate muscular endurance, not hypertrophy, and may even compete with the main stimulus when done daily. Swap the "100-rep challenge" for sets of 6 to 15 reps with a load close to failure, 2 or 3 times a week.
"Training glutes at home, with no equipment, is the same as training at a gym." It is not. Bodyweight is enough for the first 2 or 3 months of an absolute beginner. To grow muscle beyond that point, you need progressive external load, which means a bar, dumbbells or a machine with adjustable resistance. Bands help, but they have a limit. The three viable options for continued hypertrophy are a gym, a private studio, or a home gym with decent equipment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Two to three sessions a week, separated by at least 48 hours of recovery. Total volume should sit between 10 and 16 weekly sets spread across the sessions. More than that rarely adds hypertrophy for most trainees.
Both. The hip thrust generates higher acute muscle activation (up to 113% MVIC), but longitudinal studies of 9 to 12 weeks show that the deep squat grows the gluteus maximus just as much or more. Combining the two is what works best for hypertrophy.
In 8 to 12 weeks with a structured plan and consistent load progression, there are visible gains in measurements and comparison photos. Significant changes in shape (not just size) take 6 to 12 months. Concurrent fat loss accelerates the visual perception.
No. Female hormonal biology (testosterone 10 to 20 times lower than male levels) rules out the fast, extreme hypertrophy typical of the male physique. Female bodybuilder physiques are the result of years of training, extreme dieting and frequently supplemented hormones, not a normal gym routine.
For the first 2 to 3 months of an absolute beginner, yes. Bodyweight (squats, glute bridge, banded abduction) generates enough stimulus at that stage. To keep growing muscle after that, you need progressive external load, which means a gym, studio or home gym with proper kit.
There is preliminary evidence that women tolerate more volume in the follicular phase (first half of the cycle) and benefit from deloading in the late luteal phase. The practical effects are modest for most; weekly consistency matters more than fine-tuning phases. Anyone on hormonal contraception has no natural cycle relevant to this planning.
Start with 20 to 30kg in the first session (including the 20kg Olympic bar), doing 8 comfortable reps. Add 2.5 to 5kg whenever you can close all the reps with correct technique. Intermediate trainees reach 50 to 80kg in 6 to 12 months; advanced lifters go beyond 100kg.
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TLDR: Key Points
The glutes have three muscles (maximus, medius and minimus), each worked at different angles.
The hip thrust generates 113% MVIC activation of the gluteus maximus, but the deep squat grows the muscle just as much or more over the long term.
The optimal volume for hypertrophy sits between 10 and 16 weekly sets, spread across 2 to 3 sessions.
Heavy loads (5 to 12 reps) will not turn women into bodybuilders; female hormonal biology rules that outcome out.
Visible results appear in 8 to 12 weeks with a structured plan and consistent load progression.
Tomás Jorge
