That’s the dream, right? To make that booty look as good and as big as possible! Before I started really getting into lifting I had a pretty okay behind. Genetics did well with my fat placement in that area, fortunately. When I decided to get serious with lifting and compete in my first NPC bikini body building show, I lost some fat. I even remember my best friend Kaitlin being so skeptical of my competing because she said I lost all of my booty!
However, working with my trainer and doing legs like three days a week, I was able to grow back my booty without that pesky fat. Now it looks bigger and perkier than ever and can only get better from here! I wanted to share some tips that I have learned over the years to help grow your glutes so that “junk in the trunk” is pure muscle.
1. Warm Up
It’s important to warm up any muscle before working it out and pushing/pulling heavy loads. To warm up my legs I usually use the bike for five minutes and do some glute activating exercises like glute brides and body weight squats with a resistant band around my knees. Warming up helps to “wake your muscle up” and make sure more of your muscle fibers are activated and firing during your workout. This can also help your ability to lift more weight.
2. SQUATS
Any squat really. Squats are great for all parts of your legs and they can be manipulated in many ways to hit different parts. Regular weighted squats should be a big part of your leg routine, while trying to increase weight every week or two. You can also do close stance squats for a more quad focus or sumo squats for a more hamstring/adductor focus. However you manipulate the squat, it will always hit your glutes.
3. Consistency
Like I mentioned earlier, I train legs two-three times a week. Training them consistently will ensure that you don’t lose any muscle you have gained, and instead, you will build on top of it. So stick with your workouts!
4. Mix it up
I know I said to do squats in every workout but you still need to mix it up outside of that. Squats shouldn’t be your only workout. You should include things after/before that such as weighted glute bridges, step ups, lunges, leg press, kick-backs and so on. Mixing up your routine will keep your muscles from adjusting and not growing.
When you do the same thing over and over again--especially if you’re not going up in weight in your exercises--your body is made to adjust to this to make it easier for you. Then you will hit a plateau and stop building muscle because your body has already created what you needed to get through that workout. That is why it is so important to keep your body guessing. Give it new challenges and push yourself every time.
5. Eat for the booty
Make sure you are taking in enough protein, carbs, and fats to allow muscle growth. You need the carbs and fats for energy and the protein for building muscle. If you’re too low in carbs and fats your body is forced to use protein as an energy source which means it isn’t getting to your muscles. You don’t want all of your hard work to be for nothing so make sure you are feeding the booty!
6. Rest
Rest is an important part in building the booty surprisingly enough. When you work out and lift, you are making little micro tears in your muscle. That is why you are sore for the next few days. Because your body is repairing those muscle tears and growing around those tears so it can be stronger the next time you do something to try and ensure the muscle won’t be harmed again. This is SUPER important because the healing is how your muscle grows. You need to give that muscle group a day or two to heal before you work it out again or you could really hurt yourself.
There you have it! That is just what I have learned over the past couple years. Knowledge that I have acquired from training and from school has now been passed down to you. Let me know if it works for you! Also leave a comment and share if you want me to post full workout examples in the future!
