Better Butt Workout : How to Build Your Best Butt Ever

What girl on this planet doesn’t want glutes that salute?! 

Building killer glutes is a lot easier than you might think! No matter what your genetics are, it is possible for you to build yourself some feminine curves if you're consistent and intentional with your training. In this article, I’m going to take you through some of my FAVORITE movements and strategies for building a bangin’ booty! 

Vary your rep ranges

Your body adapts to rep ranges before it adapts to the exercise itself. Make sure to keep your body guessing by experimenting with different rep ranges.

Different ranges also come with different benefits to your physique:

1-8 reps is generally strength based training. When performing movements in this rep range, you should be lifting HEAVY. Heavy lifting helps you to build muscle size.

8-15 reps is your hypertrophy range. In this range, your focus is on building muscle and also a bit of muscular endurance (fat burn.) You're building muscle and creating definition. 

Both are important for building your muscles so make sure to switch up your rep ranges and, in turn, your weights used to keep your body guessing and prevent plateaus.

Don’t lift heavy for the sake of lifting heavy. 

Mind muscle connection is far more important than throwing around really heavy weights! In other words, you want to focus on working the CORRECT muscle.

When it comes to glutes, it’s better to lift lighter and really FEEL the movement in your glutes. Quad dominant women have a tendency to recruit their quads to complete glute focused exercises if their glutes are under developed or if the weight they’re lifting is too much for the glutes.

Don’t fall victim to this! Start lighter and really feel your glutes contracting. If you think you can perform the movement with good form with more weight then gradually increase your weight and be mindful that you’re still feeling the movement in the booty versus the quads. 

Slow down the eccentric portion of the movement.

Sometimes we find ourselves blowing through an exercise as quickly as we can. But we miss the full benefit of the movement when we don’t slow it down, increase that time under tension, and ensure proper form.

The eccentric portion of the movement is the part where your muscle lengthens. It’s the descent into a squat, the lowering of the dumbbells in a curl, and the return to the starting position in a lateral raise.

Slow this portion of the movement down and really feel the stretch. This will help you to be more mindful of the muscle you’re working and ensures you’re not just using momentum to swing the weight back upward. 

Burn them out!

Follow up your leg and glute exercises with bodyweight movements to completely burn out the legs and glutes. For example, I might superset leg press and bodyweight squats or dumbbell step ups with jump squats to ensure I’ve completely exhausted the muscle before my workout is complete. 

Try pausing during your contractions. 

This strategy has really helped me with mind muscle connection. Once you reach the peak of the exercise where your muscle is fully contracted, pause for a moment before returning to the starting position. The pause can be anywhere from 1-3 seconds. Really squeeze the muscle as you pause. This will increase your time under tension, which leads to better results while also ensuring that you feel the squeeze in the glutes and not an alternative muscle.

Make sure to hit the glutes from several different angles.

The glutes are made up of several muscles - you have your gluteus maximus (the largest of the three, this takes up most of your bum), the gluteus medius (the upper and outer glutes), and the gluteus minimus (outer glutes).

Hip abduction for example, will hit the outer portion while reverse hypers will hit the upper portion. This is why it's insufficient to perform the same movements over and over again. To develop balanced, full rounded glutes you really need to hit them from all angles. 

Hit your glutes multiple times per week.

When you have an underdeveloped muscle or a muscle that is simply slower to grow, the easiest way to speed up the process of muscle growth is to increase your training volume per week.

This means hitting the muscle group with greater frequency. In the case of the glute muscles, instead of once per week, try hitting them 2-3x per week to allow for more efficient growth. Incorporate different exercises for each and keep track of the weight you’re using to perform the movement so that you can progressively add more weight over time. 

Perform a mix of compound and isolation movements.

Compound movements involve using several different muscles to perform an exercise. Your isolation movements, on the other hand, recruit a single muscle to complete the lift. 

You should include both of these in your plan!

Here are some great exercises that were game changers for my glutes. 

Hip thrusts  (demonstrated by Girls Gone Strong)

Glute Bridges (demonstrated by PaleoHacks)

Glute Kickbacks (demonstrated by LucyLFitness)

Hip abduction (demonstrated by Instructional Fitness)

Romanian Deadlifts (demonstrated by Sarah Grace Fitness)

Reverse Hypers (demonstrated by FitnessRX for Women)

Hyperextensions with a rounded back (demonstrated by BodySportCom)

Clam Shells (demonstrated by GPS Human Performance)

Looking for more help?

I hope you found these tips helpful! Again, consistency and strategy are incredibly important when it comes to building your glutes!

Have you been working out and struggling to see the results you're looking for? Do you not know where to start or struggle to stick to your current workout routine?

After three years of consistent, strategic training and nutrition for the bikini competition stage, I have figured out what works, what doesn't, and how to make the process of changing your body as effective and painless as possible!

If you’re ready to take the leap, you can apply here for a customized training and nutrition program.

Once your application is received, I will get in touch with you to discuss packages, pricing, and plan details so you can stop feeling lost on your training and nutrition and start focusing on becoming your very best self!