- Exercises that work the whole leg are a great way to build shapely
glutes . - The best exercises include hip thrusts and Bulgarian split squats, personal trainer Lucie Cowan said.
Working the glute muscles helps create the perky, round butt many people desire. However, it's important not to neglect the rest of the legs, and specifically the hamstrings, when sculpting your derrière.
Lucie Cowan, personal trainer at London gym Third Space, told Insider that her favorite exercises for building strong legs and shapely glutes are hip thrusts, banded walks, bulgarian split squats, and cable pull-throughs.
The best leg exercises for shapely glutes
Hip thrusts
Hip thrusts are a glute-dominant exercise but require tension in the whole leg, which works the quads and hamstrings.
"Sit on the ground with a bench behind you, knees bent, feet planted and a barbell resting below your hips (with a padded bar for comfort). Lean back so your shoulders are on the bench and drive the hips up lifting the bar," Cowan said.
In the top position your knees should be bent at 90°, with your body forming a straight line between shoulders and knees. Pause at the top and squeeze the glutes before lowering.
"Ensure that you're feeling the exercise mainly in the glutes, and not just the thighs or lower back — brace the core on every rep to protect the lower back," Cowan said.
Bulgarian split squats
Bulgarian split squats are an iso-lateral squatting exercise which "sculpt and define the sides of your butt in a way that regular squats simply cannot," Cowan said.
To do it, stand with all your weight in one leg and the other leg behind you, with your foot resting on a bench or box with a bend in the leg.
Bend down so your back knee almost touches the ground and drive back up through the heel of the front foot, engaging the glutes. You can hold dumbbells by your side to make the movement more challenging.
Cable pull-throughs
These are similar to kettlebell swings, but use a cable machine to provide resistance throughout.
With the cable set just above knee height, hold it between your legs with your feet just further than hip width apart.
"Stand far enough from the machine that there's tension on the cable throughout the full range of motion, even when you're bent all the way over and your hands are behind your butt," Cowan said.
Hinge from the hip and thrust forward using the glutes to pull the cable between your legs.
"Contract the glutes with each rep and keep a loose grip, making sure not to turn this into an arm exercise, with arms moving forward because your hips push them forward, not because you use them to pull," Cowan said.
Banded walks
Lateral movements target the sides of the glutes.
You can perform banded walks with a short-loop band around the legs just above the knees, but Cowan prefers a long band to work the core and back more.
Step both feet onto the band with about 1ft between them. Pull it tight so it's hard to move your feet in either direction. Then twist the band around each hand so you're holding the end of the band that's under the opposite foot.
Squat down, press the legs outwards, and walk sideways like a crab, keeping your core tensed, back straight, shoulders down, and your butt down, Cowan said.
Progressive overload is key
You'll see results as long as you're pushing yourself hard enough and employing progressive overload — gradually increasing the weight or reps.
You won't see much difference in your glutes if you're using the same set of dumbbells every week, Cowan said.
"Remember that aesthetically, 'definition' will come mostly from being lean," Cowan said. "Shape is from building more muscle mass."