Best Dumbbell Exercises for Glutes — Top 10
Dumbbell training is fixing muscle imbalances with unilateral training. Here are the best dumbbell exercises for targeting your glutes, ranked by effectiveness. Dumbbells offer unilateral loading, greater range of motion, and more freedom of movement than barbells.
Ranked by glutes muscle activation percentage, range of motion quality with dumbbell, and progressive overload potential.
The dumbbell hip thrust is a more accessible version of the barbell hip thrust, perfect for home gyms or beginners who are not ready for barbell loading. Hold a dumbbell on your hips and drive upward for glute-focused hip extension.
Key Form Cue
Sit with your upper back against a bench and hold a dumbbell vertically on your lap.
The dumbbell frog pump places the soles of your feet together with knees flared out, isolating the glutes by taking the hamstrings almost completely out of the movement. Hold a dumbbell on your hips and pump your hips up for high-rep glute activation.
Key Form Cue
Lie on your back and press the soles of your feet together with knees flared wide.
Step-ups are a functional unilateral exercise that builds glute and quad strength while improving balance. The higher the box, the more glute-dominant the movement becomes.
Key Form Cue
Stand in front of a knee-height box or bench, holding dumbbells at your sides.
The dumbbell sumo squat uses a wide stance to emphasize the glutes and inner thighs over the quads. Hold a single dumbbell vertically between your legs, squat deep with toes pointed out, and drive up through your heels.
Key Form Cue
Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width and toes pointed out at 45 degrees.
The Romanian deadlift is the best hamstring exercise and a foundational hip-hinge movement. It loads the hamstrings through a deep stretch while building the entire posterior chain.
Key Form Cue
Stand with feet hip-width, holding the barbell with an overhand grip just outside your thighs.
The Bulgarian split squat is a unilateral leg exercise that crushes the quads and glutes while improving balance and fixing muscular imbalances. Elevate your rear foot on a bench and squat down on one leg.
Key Form Cue
Stand about 2 feet in front of a bench with your rear foot elevated on it.
The dumbbell Romanian deadlift uses dumbbells for a greater range of motion and more natural hand position than the barbell version. Hinge at the hips with a slight knee bend, feeling a deep stretch in the hamstrings before driving your hips forward to stand.
Key Form Cue
Hold dumbbells in front of your thighs with a neutral grip and pull your shoulders back.
The goblet squat is the best squat variation for beginners. Holding a weight at your chest counterbalances your body, making it easier to maintain an upright torso and achieve proper depth.
Key Form Cue
Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell at chest height with both hands cupping the top.
Walking lunges build functional single-leg strength, balance, and coordination. Each step challenges your quads, glutes, and stabilizer muscles in a way that bilateral exercises cannot.
Key Form Cue
Take a long step forward and lower your back knee toward the ground.
The thruster combines a front squat with an overhead press in one fluid movement. It is one of the highest calorie-burning exercises and is a staple in metabolic conditioning workouts.
Key Form Cue
Hold a barbell in the front rack position or dumbbells at shoulder height.
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