December 17, 2025
A strong squat is largely a hips-and-glutes problem: if your glutes can’t extend and stabilize, your knees, low back, and form usually pay the price. This guide ranks the most effective exercises to build hip strength, glute power, and squat-control with clear cues and use cases.
Glutes aren’t just for “power”; they stabilize the pelvis and control knee tracking in the squat.
Hip extension (glute max) plus hip abduction and external rotation (glute med/min) is the combination that keeps squats strong and clean.
Prioritize a few high-return movements (squat pattern + hinge + single-leg + abduction/rotation) over doing many similar exercises.
Technique matters: range of motion, pelvis position, and load placement can shift work from glutes to low back or quads.
Exercises are ranked by overall carryover to squat strength and form using five criteria: (1) transfer to the squat pattern (depth, posture, knee tracking), (2) ability to progressively overload safely, (3) glute and hip-muscle recruitment (glute max + glute med/min), (4) scalability and accessibility (options for home/gym, regressions/progressions), and (5) technique cost (how easy it is to do well without compensations).
If hips and glutes can’t produce force and stabilize, you’ll often see common squat limiters: knees collapsing in, shifting onto toes, butt wink, losing bracing, or feeling squats more in the low back than the legs. The right accessory exercises fix these bottlenecks directly.
High transfer to squat mechanics with strong glute and hip demand, especially at deeper hip flexion. Easy to load progressively (dumbbells, barbell) while revealing left-right imbalances that often cause knee cave and shifting.
Great for
One of the easiest ways to load the glutes heavily with low technique cost and minimal spinal shear. While it’s less squat-specific than split squats, it is unmatched for building hip extension strength that supports lockout and posture under load.
The best squat accessories aren’t all “glute max” exercises. The highest carryover comes from combining hip extension strength (glute max) with hip stability work (glute med/min) so your knees track consistently under load.
If your squat breaks down at depth, prioritize movements that load the hips in deep flexion (front-foot elevated split squats, paused goblet squats). If you lose posture or feel it in your back, prioritize hinges (RDLs, pull-throughs) and bracing-focused tempo squats.
Progressive overload matters, but so does technique cost. A heavy hip thrust can build glute capacity fast, while single-leg work often “fixes the leak” that prevents you from expressing that strength in the squat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common signs include knees caving in, hips shooting up faster than the chest, shifting to one side, losing tension at the bottom, or feeling squats mostly in the low back. A quick check is single-leg work: if split squats or step-ups feel unstable or disproportionately hard, hip stabilizers and glutes likely need focused work.
If you struggle to feel stable in the hips or you consistently get knee cave, a short primer can help. Keep it simple: 1–2 sets of lateral band walks plus a lighter warm-up set of paused goblet squats. The goal is better mechanics, not fatigue.
Both help, but in different ways. Hip thrusts are great for building pure hip extension strength with low back stress. RDLs build hip strength while teaching you to control your torso and hinge, which often improves squat descent and bracing. If you can only pick one, choose hip thrusts when you need more glute drive, and RDLs when you lose posture or feel squats in your back.
Most people do best with 2–4 total accessories per week: one heavy glute/hinge (hip thrust or RDL), one unilateral squat pattern (split squat or step-up), and one stability drill (band walks or clamshells). Add more only if recovery and squat quality stay strong.
Keep a stacked trunk (ribs over pelvis), maintain stable foot pressure (heel and big toe down), and control the knee line (knees track over toes without collapsing inward). Use pauses and slow eccentrics when you’re learning; add load only when those positions stay consistent.
To squat stronger with better form, train hips and glutes for both power and control: build hip extension strength (hip thrusts, RDLs) and lock in stability with unilateral and abduction-focused work (split squats, band walks). Pick 2–4 movements, progress them steadily, and use pauses/tempo when form is the priority.
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Great for
Builds glute and hamstring strength in the hip hinge, improving your ability to control the descent and maintain torso position during squats. Requires more technique than hip thrusts but has excellent long-term carryover for bracing and hip strength.
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The most specific way to improve squat form is still squatting, and a tempo emphasizes position and hip control. It ranks slightly below the top picks because it can be fatiguing and may not isolate hip stabilizers as directly as single-leg work.
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A high-value teaching tool for depth, bracing, and knee tracking with low injury risk. Limited by loading potential compared to barbell variations, but outstanding for reinforcing hip position and eliminating compensations.
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Directly trains the glute med/min to resist knee cave and pelvic drop. It’s not a strength mover for heavy loads, but it delivers reliable improvements in squat tracking and stability when used consistently.
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Excellent for hip stability, balance, and controlling rotation—issues that show up as twisting or shifting in the squat. Ranks below bilateral RDL because loading is usually lower and balance can limit progressive overload.
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Builds unilateral leg strength with practical transfer to driving out of the hole and controlling knee tracking. Ranks slightly lower because people often cheat by pushing off the trailing leg or turning it into a calf-dominant movement.
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Great hinge patterning and glute loading with a simple setup and lower spinal demand. Less total overload than barbell hinges, but useful for learning hip drive and reinforcing glute engagement without turning it into a back exercise.
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Very accessible and effective for isolating hip external rotators/abductors when someone struggles to “find” side-glutes. It ranks lower because overload is limited and it should support, not replace, bigger strength movements.
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