Women's Focus
Glute & Lower-Body Builder
4-day Upper/Lower hypertrophy with glute + lower-body bias. ~14 glute / 12 hamstring / 8 quad sets weekly. Pairs glute-led Lower A (hip thrust + RDL + BSS) with hamstring-led Lower B (sumo DL + leg curl + cable kickback). 8 weeks: 4 accumulation, 3 intensification, 1 deload.
- Category
- Women's Focus
- Length
- 8 weeks
- Frequency
- 4 days/week
- Est. session
- 50–70 min
Last updated: June 2026
About this program
Glute and lower-body emphasis hypertrophy program. Two glute-biased lower days alternated with the standard upper-body days from Upper / Lower Workhorse. Lower A leads with heavy hip thrust + RDL + Bulgarian split squat; Lower B leads with sumo deadlift + machine hip thrust + leg curl + glute kickback variation.
Designed for intermediate trainees prioritizing glute and lower-body development. Skip this if your top priority is upper-body or general strength — Upper / Lower Workhorse balances upper / lower volume more evenly. Equipment: home or commercial gym.
Per the Hypertrophy framework + Contreras 2015 EMG data, hip thrust is the highest-EMG glute exercise; pairing it with RDL (hip-extension hamstring work) and leg curl (knee-flexion hamstring work) covers both functional roles of the hamstrings. Per the Volume Management framework, this program targets glutes at MAV (~20 sets / wk) and hamstrings at MAV (~12 sets / wk), upper body at MEV-MAV (~10-12 sets per major muscle / wk via the shared Upper A/B templates). Stretch-bias picks per Pedrosa et al. (2023): RDL deep, Bulgarian split squat with forward lean for glute stretch, leg curl with controlled eccentric.
Note for cycle-aware programming: per the Women's Training framework, the evidence on cycle-phased volume modulation is "trivial to small" effect sizes — treat as awareness, not prescription. If you train through luteal phase fatigue, drop one working set from each movement and continue.
Across 8 weeks expect 5-10 lb on hip thrust / squat / RDL and visible glute development.
Women's Focus · 8 weeks · 4 days/week
Start to finish
- Frequency
- 4 days/week
- Per session
- 50–70 min
Who it's for
Four ways to tell at a glance whether this block belongs in your week.
- 01The goal
- 4-day Upper/Lower hypertrophy with glute + lower-body bias.
- 02The commitment
- A steady four-plus days a week
- 03The arc
- 8 weeks, 3 phases that build and reset
- 04The coaching
- Your coach drives the plan forward — it reads each session and moves you up the moment the work gets easier, so you keep progressing
How it progresses
8 weeks across 3 phases — your coach watches the effort in your logged sets and moves the weight up the moment a load starts getting easier, so you keep climbing instead of waiting on the calendar.
- Weeks 1–462Intensity
Phase 1 · Accumulation
Accumulation
Build the volume base. Working sets escalate from RPE 7.5 to 8. Weekly glute volume ramps from 14 to 18 sets.
- Weeks 5–782Intensity
Phase 2 · Intensification
Intensification
Heavier loads, slightly fewer reps on compounds. Weekly glute volume peaks at MAV (~20 sets).
- Weeks 8–830Intensity
Phase 3 · Deload
Deload
Volume cut to 60%. Recovery week before next cycle.
Sessions in this program
The individual workouts this program schedules through the week — open any session for its full exercise list, sets, and coaching notes.
Why your coach builds it this way
Glute and lower-body emphasis hypertrophy program. Two glute-biased lower days alternated with the standard upper-body days from Upper / Lower Workhorse. Lower A leads with heavy hip thrust + RDL + Bulgarian split squat; Lower B leads with sumo deadlift + machine hip thrust + leg curl + glute kickback variation.
Designed for intermediate trainees prioritizing glute and lower-body development. Skip this if your top priority is upper-body or general strength — Upper / Lower Workhorse balances upper / lower volume more evenly. Equipment: home or commercial gym.
Per the Hypertrophy framework + Contreras 2015 EMG data, hip thrust is the highest-EMG glute exercise; pairing it with RDL (hip-extension hamstring work) and leg curl (knee-flexion hamstring work) covers both functional roles of the hamstrings. Per the Volume Management framework, this program targets glutes at MAV (~20 sets / wk) and hamstrings at MAV (~12 sets / wk), upper body at MEV-MAV (~10-12 sets per major muscle / wk via the shared Upper A/B templates). Stretch-bias picks per Pedrosa et al. (2023): RDL deep, Bulgarian split squat with forward lean for glute stretch, leg curl with controlled eccentric.
Note for cycle-aware programming: per the Women's Training framework, the evidence on cycle-phased volume modulation is "trivial to small" effect sizes — treat as awareness, not prescription. If you train through luteal phase fatigue, drop one working set from each movement and continue.
Across 8 weeks expect 5-10 lb on hip thrust / squat / RDL and visible glute development.
Common questions
The facts most people check before they commit a block to it.
01How long is the Glute & Lower-Body Builder program?
Glute & Lower-Body Builder runs 8 weeks at 4 days a week, structured into 3 phases so the load builds and resets on schedule. In Squatly, the coach tunes it to you, so the plan keeps moving with your training.
02Who is Glute & Lower-Body Builder for?
4-day Upper/Lower hypertrophy with glute + lower-body bias. It sits in the Women's Focus category, and the coach reads your training to tell you whether it's the right fit before you commit a block to it.
03How does Glute & Lower-Body Builder progress over the weeks?
It opens with accumulation and finishes with deload. Each phase has a job — accumulate work, push intensity, or back off to absorb it — and the coach moves your load when your logged sets earn it, not on a fixed schedule.
04Does the coach adjust Glute & Lower-Body Builder to me?
Yes. The program is the starting structure; the coach reads your e1RM trend, your weekly volume, and your effort on each lift, then tells you when to push — when a load is getting easier, it's time to add weight. It shows you the trend lines behind every call, and you accept, edit, or reject it. With every workout, the plan gets more yours.
Keep moving forward.
The program sets the structure. Your coach drives it forward — reading your numbers and pushing the weight up as you get stronger, so the plan stays yours and you keep progressing.
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Aleks · Coach
Proposal — add weight