To get the most out of the WH+ 6-Week Glute Gains Workout Plan, it’s all about approaching each workout and training phase intentionally.
The program is built around progressive overload, meaning you should be gradually increasing weight or reps week over week. Each set should feel what Sandy Brockman, CPT, who created the program, describes as “difficult but doable,” with the last few reps pushing you close to your limit without sacrificing form. (If you breeze through a workout, you’re probably not lifting heavy enough, and possibly leaving muscle growth on the table!)
Form, though, always comes first, and especially in the early weeks. Strong glute engagement during squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts ensures you’re actually targeting the muscles you’re trying to grow, rather than letting your quads or hamstrings take over. The plan intentionally starts with higher reps and lighter loads so you can dial in form and nail the movement patterns before you go heavier.
Another important reminder: The built-in “corrective” exercises and warm-ups shouldn’t be considered optional—they’re key to improving mobility (especially in the hip flexors) and helping you access your glutes more effectively during your bigger lifts.
Workout Breakdown
Here’s how each of the three weekly workouts fits into the holistic training plan.
- Squat-Focused Lower-Body Burn: This workout is your strength foundation. It combines classic glute moves such as the back squat and Bulgarian split squat and helps correct and strengthen lower-body muscle imbalances, in turn creating stronger glutes efficiently, Brockman told WH.
- Glute Medius Burnout: This day zeroes in on smaller stabilizing muscles—especially the glute medius—through moves like lateral lunges and single-leg work. The gluteus medius is key to sculpting the glutes and keeping them functioning properly. This workout also focuses on “incorporating lateral movement,” per Brockman, which, in “a glute program is very important to create well-rounded, athletic, strong glutes.”
- Best-Ever Hip Thrust Workout: Your butt will get fired up with one of the most effective glute-building moves out there: the hip thrust. In fact, many trainers consider hip thrusters the king glute exercise. “Pushing your hips into extension at the top while squeezing your glutes at the same time lights up sleeping or inactive glute muscle fibers,” Brockman told WH.
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Women's Health Challenges | Workout Plans
Jacqueline Andriakos, CPT, is the executive health and fitness director at Women’s Health, where she oversees all health and fitness content across WomensHealthMag.com and the print magazine. She has more than a decade of experience covering the wellness space and has edited ASME-nominated health features, spearheaded brand packages such as Fitness Awards, and represented the brand on the TODAY show, podcasts, and more. Before Women's Health, Jacqueline was the deputy health features editor at Self.com, and previously worked as the senior editor at Health magazine. As a writer-reporter, she has contributed to print and online publications including TIME, Real Simple, and People, among others. A dancer throughout her youth, Jacqueline went on to study journalism at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and stoked her passion for health and fitness during her college years, ultimately inspiring her to make women’s health content the focus of her media career. She is constantly researching the latest health and wellness trends, trying a buzzy new workout class, hiking and snowboarding, or browsing athleisure. Her friends would describe her as the confidant to turn to for fitness and wellness advice, not to mention answers to any weird body questions. Jacqueline is also a former group exercise instructor and is a certified personal trainer via the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).
