This trainer’s unique glute exercise has gone viral—here’s why you should try sumo fairies and how to do it

If you’re serious about training your glutes—the muscles in your butt—you will have tried Bulgarian split squats. It’s a staple of any good glute routine, along with hip thrusts, but Cassidy Morgan, who specializes in glute training for women, says there’s another essential glute move and it’s been taking social media by storm.

She calls it the sumo fairy, a sumo squat with one foot elevated on a platform.

“Sumo fairies are my go-to exercise for lifting saggy glutes and building a round, sculpted shape, especially by targeting the lower glute max, an area many traditional workouts miss,” Morgan tells Fit&Well.

“It works by isolating each glute individually, creating a deeper stretch for more effective activation, improving hip mobility and control, and correcting glute imbalances through unilateral training.

“Sumo fairies primarily bias the glute of the elevated leg, but both sides are working," Morgan continues, adding that the standing leg is stabilising the body.

Morgan has a program called the Core-to-Glute Method, which focuses on precise positioning to get the most out of exercises, rather than just increasing the weight or volume.

How to do the sumo fairy

Reps: 12

• Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and one foot an elevated platform.
• Point your toes slightly out and keep your core engaged throughout.
• Hinge forward from your hips, pushing your butt back, and bending your knees naturally as you lower into a blend of a squat and hinge.
• Keep your weight centered and tension in your glutes. Avoid shifting into your quads.
• At the bottom, you should be in a deep sumo stance with your hips back, knees tracking outward and your glutes fully lengthened, especially through your lower glute max.
• Push through your heels and squeeze your glutes to return to standing.

Trainer tip: Once you’ve mastered the move, progress by holding a dumbbell on the same side as your elevated foot. This will help maximize the strengthening benefits of the move.

My experience trying sumo fairies

Bulgarian split squats are an essential part of my lower-body routine because they’re the best exercise I’ve tried for targeting the glutes and challenging lower-body stability.

However, despite doing them for years, I still dread split squats, as they never get any easier, so I was intrigued to see if sumo fairies were a worthwhile alternative.

I tried three sets of 12 reps on both legs and noticed that sumo fairies immediately activated the glute of the lifted leg.

They also challenged my hip mobility and my hip flexors felt more engaged than they do while doing Bulgarian split squats.

Although my standing leg did have some stabilising work to do, I definitely didn’t find sumo fairies as challenging when it comes to stability as Bulgarian split squats.

However, if your main focus is growing your glutes, sumo fairies seem like a pretty good to do so and without the discomfort that comes with split squats.