Your butt contains three large gluteal muscles layered on top of each other, plus six smaller deep muscles that sit underneath them. Together, these nine muscles control hip movement, stabilize your pelvis when you walk or stand, and connect your upper body to your lower body. Here’s what each one does and why it matters.
The Three Gluteal Muscles
Gluteus Maximus
The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the human body and forms the bulk of your butt’s shape. It attaches along the back of your pelvis, sacrum, and tailbone at the top, then connects to your thighbone and a thick band of tissue that runs down the outside of your leg. Its main job is hip extension, the motion of driving your leg backward or pushing your body upward from a bent position. Every time you climb stairs, stand up from a chair, or sprint, your gluteus maximus is the primary power source. It also helps rotate your thigh outward and, in its upper fibers, assists with spreading your legs apart.
Gluteus Medius
The gluteus medius sits on the outer surface of the pelvis, partially hidden beneath the gluteus maximus. It’s the muscle most responsible for lifting your leg out to the side (abduction) and for keeping your pelvis level when you stand on one foot. That second function is the one most people underestimate. Every step you take involves a brief moment of single-leg stance, and your gluteus medius on the standing leg prevents your opposite hip from dropping. When this muscle is weak, you’ll often see a noticeable hip dip during walking, which can cascade into knee and ankle problems over time.
Gluteus Minimus
The smallest of the three, the gluteus minimus lies directly beneath the medius and performs many of the same functions: hip abduction and internal rotation of the thigh. Think of it as a backup system for the medius, adding force to side-stepping movements and reinforcing pelvic stability. It also helps rotate your leg inward, a motion you use when pivoting or changing direction.
The Deep Six Rotators
Beneath the gluteal muscles sits a group of six smaller muscles collectively called the deep lateral rotators, or “deep six.” These are the piriformis, gemellus superior, obturator internus, gemellus inferior, obturator externus, and quadratus femoris. All six work together to rotate your thigh outward and stabilize your hip joint in its socket.
The piriformis is the most well-known of the group because of its relationship to the sciatic nerve, which typically runs directly beneath it. When the piriformis becomes tight or inflamed, it can press on the sciatic nerve and cause pain, tingling, or numbness that radiates down the back of the leg. This is called piriformis syndrome, and it’s one reason deep buttock pain sometimes gets mistaken for a spinal disc problem.
The quadratus femoris, which connects your sit bone to your thighbone, is notable for being frequently tight and tender, particularly in people who sit for long periods. The remaining four muscles (the two gemelli and two obturators) fill in the gaps, fine-tuning hip rotation and keeping the ball of your femur centered in the hip socket during movement.
How These Muscles Work Together
Your glutes don’t fire in isolation. During a simple activity like walking, the gluteus maximus extends your hip to push you forward, while the medius and minimus stabilize your pelvis with every step. The deep rotators keep your hip joint aligned and control rotational forces. When you jump, research shows the gluteus medius can fire at over 100% of its maximum voluntary capacity during lateral and crossover movements, while the gluteus maximus peaks during hurdle-style and split jumps. That level of activation explains why athletes with weak glutes tend to struggle with agility and change-of-direction speed.
There’s also a surprising connection between your glutes and your pelvic floor. Research from Loma Linda University found that when subjects contracted their gluteus maximus, their pelvic floor muscles activated automatically in over 97% of participants. The pelvic floor actually fired about 128 milliseconds before the gluteus maximus, suggesting the brain treats them as a linked unit. Contracting the glutes and pelvic floor together produces significantly more pelvic floor force than contracting the pelvic floor alone, which is why some physical therapists incorporate glute exercises into pelvic floor rehabilitation programs.
What Happens When Your Glutes Stop Working
Sitting for hours each day can gradually change how your glute muscles function. Your hip flexors (the muscles at the front of your hip) shorten and tighten, while the glutes on the opposite side lengthen and become less efficient at activating. Michigan Medicine calls this “gluteal amnesia” or “dead butt syndrome,” where the muscles essentially forget how to fire properly because they’re so rarely asked to.
The symptoms often show up far from the butt itself. Tight hip flexors from prolonged sitting can trigger lower back pain. Weak glutes force your hamstrings, lower back, and knee stabilizers to pick up the slack, which can lead to overuse injuries in those areas. Balance problems, knee pain, and even foot pain have all been linked to underperforming glute muscles. The good news is that this is reversible: targeted exercises that challenge hip extension, abduction, and rotation can retrain the glutes to activate when they’re supposed to.
Exercises That Target Each Layer
Different movements emphasize different butt muscles. Squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts primarily load the gluteus maximus through hip extension. Side-lying leg raises, lateral band walks, and single-leg balance exercises target the gluteus medius and minimus. For the deep rotators, clamshell exercises and seated external rotation work well, and they’re commonly prescribed for piriformis-related pain.
If you’re looking for a single movement that activates the most glute muscle at once, jumping exercises rank surprisingly high. Research measuring electrical activity in the muscles found that hurdle jumps were the only movement to push both the gluteus maximus and medius above 70% of their maximum capacity simultaneously. That said, these are advanced movements. For building foundational glute strength, hip bridges and lunges are effective starting points that challenge all three gluteal layers without high impact forces.