2 VARIANTS

Plans

Specialized 3–4 days/week ~34–57 min

Glute Focus

A gym-based glute specialization plan. The barbell hip thrust anchors two weekly sessions: a heavy 4 × 6–8 day and a volume-focused 3 × 10–12 day. Squats, hip hinges, unilateral work, cables, and abduction work support the focus. The 3-day version is intermediate; the 4-day version adds a short pump day and is intended for advanced trainees.

Who is this plan for?

Intermediate and advanced trainees who want to prioritize glute development for a training block
Technically confident with the barbell hip thrust, squat, and Romanian deadlift
Access to a barbell, dumbbells, cable station, sled 45° leg press, hip abduction machine, and pull-up station
Willing to keep upper-body volume deliberately lower during the specialization block

How it works

Two separate hip thrust tracks: The heavy session uses 4 × 6–8 and the volume session 3 × 10–12. Each progresses independently.
Distributed lower-body work: Squatting, hinging, unilateral work, and abduction support the two hip thrust sessions.
Additional pump day: In the 4-day version, the barbell Romanian deadlift drops from four sets to three. A short session is added: machine seated hip abduction, cable standing hip extension and rope pull-through, and 45° leg press.
Double progression: Add reps within the target range first. Once every set reaches the top of the range, increase the load and restart at the lower end.
Handling plateaus: Loaded exercises reduce the weight by 10% after two consecutive failures. Pull-ups and core exercises add reps; after three failures, the target drops by two reps.

Pros & Limitations

+ Clear glute emphasis through hip extension, squatting, unilateral work, and abduction

+ Heavy and volume-focused hip thrust sessions progress separately

+ Choice of three training days or a four-day version with a short pump session

− The high lower-body and glute volume requires solid recovery and is not suitable for beginners

− Requires a well-equipped gym with cable, leg press, hip abduction, and pull-up stations

− Upper-body work is mainly for maintenance; another plan is better for balanced full-body development

Muscles trained

Avg. hits per week · Primary 1.0 · Secondary 0.5

Front

Back

Glutes

20.5

Quads

Upper Back

7.5

Front Delts

7.5

Hamstrings

Lats

Core

Rear Delts

4.5

Biceps

4.5

Triceps

4.5

Adductors

Side Delts

Upper Traps

Forearms

Chest

Abductors

Lower Back

Variant

Plan Structure

Heavy: barbell hip thrust

6 exercises · 18 sets · ~57 min

barbell hip thrust

Double Progression (Reps → Weight) · 6–8 repsRest 3 min

4 × 7

sets × reps

dumbbell incline row

Double Progression (Reps → Weight) · 8–10 repsRest 90 sec

3 × 9

sets × reps

barbell squat

Double Progression (Reps → Weight) · 6–8 repsRest 3 min

3 × 7

sets × reps

barbell overhead press

Double Progression (Reps → Weight) · 6–8 repsRest 2 min

3 × 7

sets × reps

cable standing hip extension

Double Progression (Reps → Weight) · 12–15 repsRest 90 sec

3 × 13

sets × reps

weighted crunch

Double Progression (Reps → Weight) · 10–12 repsRest 60 sec

2 × 11

sets × reps