What the gluteus medius does
The gluteus medius is a fan-shaped muscle on the side of your hip, partly under the gluteus maximus. It has two main jobs:
- Moving your leg out to the side, called abduction.
- Keeping your pelvis level when you stand on one leg, like every time you take a step.
A well-trained gluteus medius adds shape at the sides and top of your glutes, and helps keep your hips and knees steady in squats and lunges.
What the research says
A 2011 study measured how hard the gluteus medius worked during common exercises, as a percentage of its maximum effort (Boren et al., 2011):
| Exercise | Gluteus medius activity |
|---|---|
| Side plank with leg raise (working leg on the bottom) | 103% |
| Side plank with leg raise (working leg on top) | 89% |
| Single-leg squat | 82% |
| Clamshell (hardest version tested) | 77% |
| Front plank with leg lift | 75% |
High activation doesn't guarantee growth on its own, but it's a good sign an exercise is working the right muscle. To grow it, combine these moves with loaded exercises you can make heavier over time, like the abduction machine.
The 8 best gluteus medius exercises
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Equipment |
|---|---|---|
| Hip abduction machine | 3 × 12–20 | Gym |
| Side plank with leg raise | 2–3 × 8–15 each side | None |
| Side-lying hip abduction | 3 × 12–20 each side | Ankle weight or band (optional) |
| Clamshell | 3 × 15–20 each side | Mini band |
| Banded lateral walk | 3 × 15 steps each way | Mini band |
| Cable hip abduction (standing) | 3 × 12–15 each side | Cable machine |
| Single-leg squat to a box | 3 × 6–10 each leg | Box or bench |
| Banded glute bridge (knees pushed out) | 3 × 12–15 | Mini band |
How to grow your side glutes
Pick 1 or 2 of these and do them at the end of each glute session, 2 or 3 times a week. Use higher reps (12 to 20) and keep a slow, controlled pace. As they get easy, use a stronger band, add an ankle weight, or move up the stack on the machine.
Does the gluteus medius make your hips wider?
It adds some fullness at the side of your hips, which many people want. But how wide your hips are is mostly set by your bone structure. That's also why hip dips don't fully disappear with training, even though stronger side glutes can make them less noticeable.