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Video8 minWith Nikkiey Stott

Dumbbell Only Glute Workout at Home or Gym: 5 Exercises

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This video is part ofStrength Training for Women266 lessons · where to start, common questions and more

In this video

All you need for this glute workout is a set of dumbbells, so you can do it at home or stay in one corner of the gym. Nikkiey Stott takes you through five moves: dumbbell glute bridges to wake the glutes up, then Bulgarian split squats, Romanian deadlifts, single-leg step-ups and goblet squats, with the sets and reps for each.

Along the way she shares form cues, like driving through your heels and squeezing at the top of the bridge. She also recommends lifting straps for split squats and RDLs so your grip doesn't give out before your legs do.

She also talks honestly about training on a low-recovery day. She slept badly and her HRV was well below normal, so she still challenged herself without pushing past the point where she'd be doing her body damage. Learning to read your body and know when to push and when to pull back is something that comes with time in your fitness journey.

Key takeaways

  • Start with 3 sets of 10 dumbbell glute bridges to warm up and wake up the glutes before the heavier work.
  • On glute bridges, drive through your heels as you lift and squeeze your glutes at the top to activate them.
  • Do 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per leg of dumbbell Bulgarian split squats, and challenge yourself to reach 10.
  • Use lifting straps for Bulgarian split squats and dumbbell RDLs so you can go heavier and keep good form.
  • Do 3 sets of 10 dumbbell Romanian deadlifts; without straps, your grip may give out before your legs do.
  • Do 3 sets of 10 dumbbell step-ups per leg, a unilateral move that helps you strengthen both sides equally.
  • Finish with 3 sets of 10 dumbbell goblet squats.
  • On a day with poor sleep or low HRV, still challenge yourself but don't push past your threshold into doing your body damage.

Questions answered

Can you do a glute workout with only dumbbells?

Yes. This workout uses nothing but a set of dumbbells: glute bridges, Bulgarian split squats, Romanian deadlifts, step-ups and goblet squats. You can do it at home or stay in one section of the gym.

How do you do a dumbbell glute bridge correctly?

Nikkiey explains it is similar to a barbell hip thrust. Drive through your heels as you come up, then squeeze your glutes at the top. That is where you feel the tension and activate the glute muscles.

Should I use lifting straps for Bulgarian split squats and RDLs?

Nikkiey highly encourages straps for both. They let you lift heavier while keeping good form. Without them, her grip gave out on the RDLs before her legs did.

How many sets and reps are in this dumbbell glute workout?

Glute bridges, Romanian deadlifts and goblet squats are 3 sets of 10. Bulgarian split squats are 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per leg, and step-ups are 3 sets of 10 per leg.

Should I push hard in a workout if I slept badly?

Nikkiey's approach on a day with poor sleep and a low HRV was to still challenge herself as best she could without going all-out. She didn't want to push past her threshold to the point of doing her body damage. She says you get more intuitive about when to push and when to pull back as your journey goes on.

Ask Nikkiey

Questions this video helps answer, with what Nikkiey says across everything WarriorBabe teaches.

  • Strength Training for Women

    Should women use lifting straps?

    Yes, Nikkiey is for lifting straps. She sees them as a help, not a crutch, because they let you lift heavier while keeping good form. The trade-off is that they don't build forearm strength, so she suggests doing your first set without them and strapping up once your grip fatigues.

    Read the answer →

Full transcript

Nikkiey: What's going on, you guys? Welcome back to another workout video. Today we are going to crush a dumbbell-only glute day. So my ladies that want to grow their booty, here we go. Dumbbells only. You can stay in one section of the gym using one piece of equipment. Let's go.

The first exercise that we are going to do today is a dumbbell glute bridge. Oh, there's a mat right there. It's like it was calling my name. I'm going to get myself a mat and lie on it.

We're doing some glute bridges. This is also just to get the glutes to wake up, to be like, hey, this is what we're working today. Warm them up, and then we're going to move into one of my least favorite exercises next. There's probably nobody in this gym doing glute bridges, to be honest. This is a dope powerlifting gym, and glute bridges are honestly not one of my favorites. The mat is nasty for these glute bridges. We're just going to do three sets of ten reps.

For anybody that's ever done a glute bridge with a dumbbell before, it's a very similar movement to a hip thrust with a barbell. But if you've never done either of those two exercises, what you really want to focus on is driving through your heels in the upward position and then squeezing your glutes. You're going to feel a lot of the tension when you do that, focusing solely on the glutes, and that's how you're activating the glute muscles.

Now that we've got the glutes warmed up a bit, we're going to dive into my least favorite but most effective exercise: dumbbell Bulgarian split squats. For this exercise, I would highly encourage you to use straps. I don't have my straps today. They're at home wishing they were being used right now. But if you have them, use them, because they give you the ability to lift heavier weights and still maintain really good form.

Those things are deadly, man. Those things wake you up. Forget coffee in the morning, just pick up some dumbbells and do some Bulgarian split squats. Hello.

I'm contemplating all my life decisions right now. If there's one exercise that's going to make you contemplate your life and why you work out, it's Bulgarian split squats. I don't think I mentioned it: three sets of eight to ten reps per leg. Your girl is only doing eight reps right now, but if you can, challenge yourself to get those ten reps.

So out of breath. I didn't sleep very well last night. I ate a little too late at night because I had my brother's football game last night. I was like, I've got to get my macros in, I've got to get my protein in. I never eat past about 7:30 or 8 o'clock at night. I ate at 9:15 last night.

I didn't sleep very well. My HRV, which is a factor of your recovery, was trash this morning. I'm usually around 160 on my HRV, and today it was 56. I think that's what this fatigue is right now. I also crushed myself with workouts yesterday, so I'm feeling that a little bit today. I'm not going to beat myself up, and this is why I'm not going ham. I'm still going to challenge myself as best as I can today, but I know in the back of my head not to push myself too far past my threshold, to where I'm just doing my body damage at that point.

As you go along in your fitness journey, you'll get more intuitive with this stuff. It's really cool to be at this part of my journey and understand my body, and know when I can push a little bit more and when I can pull back a little bit more.

Next exercise: dumbbell Romanian deadlifts, dumbbell RDLs. This is a hard exercise compared to the Bulgarian split squats. It's another exercise where I would highly encourage using straps. My weight won't be able to be as heavy as I normally like to go with these. Let's get into dumbbell RDLs. Three sets, 10 reps.

This would have been a great opportunity for me to have my straps. My grip gave out before my legs or body gave out there. I could've done way more reps with straps.

Let's move on to the fourth exercise for today, which is dumbbell step-ups. I like this exercise a lot because it's unilateral. You focus on one side of the body for the movement, so you can equally strengthen both sides. We're going to do three sets of 10 reps each, so 20 reps total between both legs.

All right, last exercise, you guys. You're going to do three sets of ten reps of dumbbell goblet squats.

That's a wrap, we are done. Dumbbell-only glutes. Like, comment, subscribe, save this, and try it on your next leg or glute day. Enjoy.

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