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Tonal Coach Tim performing a suitcase deadlift to exercise his butt

Butt Workouts at Home: Tone and Strengthen Glutes

A butt workout at home designed for beginners on, with easy 10-minute rounds of glute exercises. Build confidence with simple, equipment-optional moves.

A butt workout at home doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective.

With the right sequence, you can challenge your glutes using bodyweight alone, diving into a routine that fits into tight schedules (hello parents or caregivers) and small spaces (hello apartment living rooms).

This specific butt workout is built for engaged beginners on who want a reliable and easy to manage entry point into glute training.

You’ll work through several glute-targeting movement patterns while learning important mechanics like hinging your hips and aligning a "neutral" spine. Think cues around clear foot placement, smooth hip motions, and controlled squat patterns that emphasizes glute engagement through deliberate tempo and smart bodyweight resistance, drawing from formats similar to those used in Tonal programs like Strong Core, Glutes Galore and Strength with Tanysha.

This routine blends beginner-friendly structure with optional progressions for anyone wanting a little more challenge. Whether you’re after a quick 10-minute reset or a consistent weekly strength-developing habit, these patterns support your goals without relying on heavy equipment.

Contents
  1. Example Butt Workouts At Home Routine
  2. Who this workout is most effective for
  3. Warm-Up & Cool-Down Exercises
  4. Workout Frequency
  5. Muscle Groups Targeted
  6. Equipment used for Butt Workouts At Home
  7. What Tonal Members Are Saying
  8. Answers to FAQs about Butt Workouts At Home
  9. Concluding words on Butt Workouts At Home

Example Butt Workouts At Home Routine
  • Exercises: 5 total (3 sets per exercise)
  • Duration: ~10 minutes per exercise, ~50 minutes total
  • Equipment: None required, dumbbells optional


1. Bodyweight Squats (3 sets of 10-15 reps)

Important cues: Sit your hips back and your chest "tall" as if lowering yourself into a chair. Keep knees aligned with toes and your chest lifted. Press through your heels to stand tall, engaging your glutes at the top.

2. Bulgarian Split Squat (3 sets of 8-10 reps per side)

Important cues: Place your back foot on a low step or sturdy stabilizing surface. Lower into a controlled single-leg squat, keeping your front knee stacked over your toes across the motion. Drive back up through the heel of your front foot.

3. Hip Hinge to Glute Squeeze (3 sets of 10-12 reps)

Important cues: Stand tall with a soft bend in your knees, feet hip-width apart. Begin pushing your hips back while keeping your spine neutral and your neck squeezed slightly down, as if holding a rubber ball. Push back until you feel a deep stretch activating in your hamstrings. At that point, squeeze your glutes, then return to standing.

Note: A hip hinge with a glute squeeze is an easier, beginner-friendly option mirroring the mechanics of a Romanian deadlift but without any extra load.

4. Glute Bridge (3 sets of 12-15 reps)

Important cues: Lie on your back with feet planted flat on the ground, hip-width or slightly more than hip-width apart. Lift your hips, keeping your pelvis tucked slightly "up" and in line with your hips and legs while maintaining a neutral ribcage. Pause at the top for a 1-2s glute squeeze before lowering slowly.

5. Quadruped Donkey Kick (3 sets of 10 reps per side)

Important cues: From your hands and knees, begin pressing one heel back and up while keeping your hips level (parallel to the ground). Focus on keeping your leg bent at a 90-degree angle across the motion. Move with control, worrying less about the height of your kickback and instead on driving it with your glutes. Don't over-arching or sag your spine.


Optional finisher: 30 seconds per side of Single-Leg Glute Bridge Hold for an advanced challenge.

Who this workout is most effective for

"Feeling the glutes comes down to positioning, alignment, and tempo," explains Tonal Guest Coach and mindful movement expert Kristin McGee.

Many different individuals can benefit from a workout mindful of these elements, including:

  • Beginners wanting a structured, easy routine that develops a consistent lower-body strength routine they can build on later.
  • Individuals looking to understand glute engagement, hip hinging, and other lower-body mechanics before adding load.
  • Busy adults who need 10-minute glute workout increments or sessions that requires no equipment.
  • Runners working to improve hip stability and stride control.
  • Parents, caregivers, or busy professionals seeking time-efficient at-home training that fits into small, natural breaks.
  • Anyone returning to strength work and prioritizing their bodyweight basics.

WARM-UP & COOL DOWN EXERCISES

A solid glute-focused workout nearly always benefits from warm-up patterns that prep areas like the hips, ankles, and core for producing controlled force. Warming up helps you establish better positioning, and is important even if you're using bodyweight only.

Likewise, cooling down after your butt workout at home encourages more gradual relaxing in your hips and surrounding stabilizers, helping your body resettle.

Warm-Up (5 minutes):

  • Marching in place with high knees (45s)
  • Hip circles, standing or quadruped (30s per side)
  • Glute activation taps, with or without a resistance band (30s per side)
  • Bodyweight good morning (30-60s)

Cool Down (5 minutes):

  • Seated figure-four stretch (30-60s per side)
  • Kneeling hip flexor stretch (30-60s per side)
  • Supine spinal twist (30-60s per side)
  • Light forward fold for hamstrings (30-60s)

WORKOUT FREQUENCY

Most people can perform a butt workout at home 2x per week, depending on how their body feels between sessions.

"I typically recommend two-to-three focused glute sessions per week, spaced with recovery days in between," Coach McGee explains. "Glute work pairs well with full body programs or lower-body focused days, and lighter activation can be layered into other sessions."

McGee also notes her own personal favorite way to split up glute workouts. "I often pair two heavier strength glute days with my favorite lower body Pilates or yoga workouts." Rotating in these lighter, low-intensity session (e.g. a Pilates-inspired or yoga-focused mobility workout) can help support recovery while still staying active.

Do take note if your glutes feel tender or fatigued after these beginner workouts. Make sure to give yourself adequate rest days, which can help maintain workout consistency long term. The goal is building a routine you can return to, one that doesn't feel overwhelming but still inspires you to show up for yourself.

Muscle groups targeted

Here’s a closer look at the major muscles supporting your movement throughout this bodyweight glute routine:

  • Gluteus Maximus: A primary driver of hip extension and a target muscle with most of these exercises, including squats, bridges, and hinges.
  • Gluteus Medius: Stabilizes your pelvis and keeps your hips level during single-leg work like the Bulgarian split squats.
  • Gluteus Minimus: Supports hip stability and alignment in hinge and donkey-kick patterns.
  • Hamstrings: Assists with hip extension, balance, and movement stabilization.
  • Hip Flexors: Help position your pelvis and control the lower portion of squat patterns especially.
  • Core muscles: Provides the bracing needed to stabilize your spine through every rep.

Equipment used for Butt Workouts At Home

Optional equipment includes:

  • Dumbbells (for added load during hinges, regular squats, and Bulgarian split squats)
  • Resistance bands (for added load during glute bridge progressions and kickbacks)


This butt workout at home is designed to be completed without any equipment. Bodyweight alone can provide many fitness types plenty of challenge, especially when you focus on proper form, tempo, and volume.

Coach McGee agrees. "Minimal equipment can be incredibly effective if you manipulate load, tempo, and time under tension."

She also recommends some of her own favorite bodyweight-utilizing strategies, including:

  • Unilateral work, like single-leg squats or split squats.
  • Slow eccentrics and pauses. 
  • Extended holds at the bottom of movements.
  • Progressively increasing load without changing setup.

Optional additions like a dumbbells or resistance bands can increase resistance for intermediate exercisers looking to begin adding load to their glute routines. And for anyone training on Tonal, Smart Accessories and adaptive weight features can offer an elevated version of these same patterns.

Coaching Tips & Best Practices

Coach McGee's go-to cues to help people truly target their glues working out at home are equally approachable and sensible.

"Build a strong mind-muscle connection without rushing through the movement. I always like to say put your mind in your muscle. I even actually touch my butt to just make sure I'm engaging it sometimes since it can be hard to 'turn' the muscle on."
Tonal Coach Kristin McGee

Answers to FAQs about Butt Workouts At Home

"Results" depends on what you're aiming to get out of your workouts.

But overall, yes, consistent glute work can help you develop stability and some strength, learn proper activation and engagement, and feel more stable across exercises. Emphasis on consistency, though.

Even these "easy" and beginner-friendly routines can build body awareness and control over time. Results look different for everyone, but practicing these patterns can support improved physical makeup and changes outside of just body weight, and make similar workouts feel easier as you progress. A steady approach matters more than intensity.

Coach McGee provides even more tips on how to ensure you get the most from your at-home butt workouts:

  • Initiate movement from the hips rather than the lower back.
  • Maintain a neutral pelvis, avoiding excessive arching or tucking.
  • Allow a slight forward torso angle in squats and lunges. 
  • Slow the tempo, especially on the eccentric phase.

Always confirm with your healthcare provider before starting or continuing new exercise routines. But for many, gentle glute exercises can remain comfortable during pregnancy, especially movements like bridges, squats, or supported hinges.

The key is avoiding anything that causes strain, pressure, or discomfort. Many find these kinds of 10-minute intervals or similarly structured routines easier to manage as energy fluctuates and you get used to the ways your body is changing.

Weak or under-active glute causes will be individual, but often result from long periods of sitting (like during desk jobs), limited lower-body movement, or relying heavily on other muscle groups to compensate during daily activities.

Incorporating easy low-load hip hinges, bridges, and squat patterns helps gently re-engage and start training these muscles. Over time, improved recruitment can support better balance and movement coordination.

We're sorry to say it, but there's no single best butt or glute workout!

Instead, our Tonal coaches recommend routines that are structured around balanced glute engagement. A "balanced" beginner routine keeps things generally as follows:

  • One squat or hinge movement pattern
  • One bridge movement pattern
  • One single-leg (unilateral) movement pattern
  • One lateral or abduction movement

This structure generally offers enough coverage to target all glute muscles without overwhelming new movers. Short beginner sessions — around 10-20 minutes — tend to be the most sustainable starting point.

Targeted glute work may help support hip stability and movement capacity, especially when paired with mobility exercises and proper warm-ups and cool-downs. Strength and range of motion often complement each other. But both also have individualized variables that vary person to person, anatomy to anatomy. Combining glute activation with light stretching can make your at-home routine overall feel better balanced.

Concluding words on Butt Workouts At Home

Strengthening your glutes with a butt workout at home doesn’t require complex equipment. Just intentionality, attention to form, and a decent chunk of time where you can commit to pushing yourself.

These bodyweight movements help you build everyday strength and stability at a pace that respects your body.

If you enjoyed following this guide, Tonal offers more than 60 workout and exercise breakdowns designed to keep your training interesting. With steady practice, you’ll develop patterns that support how you move in real life and still find new, fresh ways to meet your fitness goals.

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