Beyond that, which deadlift and squat variation you choose can impact how much your glutes fire up.
For example, conventional deadlifts (those where you start by picking up a weight from the floor) engage your glutes slightly more than Romanian deadlifts (also known as stiff-legged deadlifts, where you start standing up with weights in your hands and only lower down as far as your hamstring flexibility allows), Ranellone explains. That’s because conventional deadlifts work through a larger range of motion. Plus, your glutes have to generate more force to overcome the initial challenge of picking something off the ground, Ranellone adds.
Indeed, the 2020 Journal of Sports Science Medicine review found the traditional deadlift and hex bar deadlift—which also has you pulling from the floor—to be the most effective deadlift variations for glute engagement. These beat out other iterations, including the Romanian and sumo deadlifts (the latter requires less range of motion than conventional).
When it comes to squatting, medium to wide stance squats are better than narrow stance ones for firing up your glute max. That’s because placing your feet further apart puts more of the onus on your glutes and other lower-body muscles to complete the motion, Dr. Betiku explains, whereas a narrow squat drums up more quad engagement. Moreover, the lower you sink into a squat, the more glute engagement you’ll get too, since your butt has to work for longer (a concept known as more “time under tension”) to propel you back up to standing, Dr. Betiku says. “Basically, it’s a matter of distance,” he adds.
FWIW, the same 2020 review found the belt squat, split squat, and modified single-leg squat to be the best variations for glute engagement, outranking the back squat, overhead squat, and overhead squat.
But wait: There’s a third exercise that’s even better for your butt.
Yes, deadlifts and squats are great for building a stronger booty. But if you want to really max out your glute max, consider the hip thrust. (Not familiar? It involves placing your upper back on a bench with your torso angled downward, setting a dumbbell or barbell on your hips, and pushing your hips up.) Though traditionally less popular than squats and deadlifts—but growing rapidly in popularity thanks to GymTok—this move is actually superior for igniting your behind. “If you want tushies as big and as powerful as possible, the hip thrust is the way to go,” Dr. Betiku says.
Research confirms this: A 2021 study in the Journal of Sports and Conditioning Research found the hip thrust fired up the glute max more than the back squat and split squat. And a 2018 study, also in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, found the hip thrust engaged the glute max more than the barbell and hex bar deadlifts.
The reason? The hip thrust, Ranellone explains, is “pure hip extension.” Hip extension is driven by the glutes, so it makes sense this move is stellar for firing up this mighty muscle group. Plus, so long as you’re not limited by joint aches or injuries, you can really load up the weight. “It requires a very particular setup, which is kind of like the hardest part, but it’s very easy to get strong with it very, very quickly,” Ranellone says.
