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Do you want your buttocks to be more toned and firm?
Whatever it is, everyone often wants to increase the athletic performance of the gluteal muscles - to jump higher and be stronger and more resilient.
I think there's nothing sexier than a rock-hard butt that looks good in any pants (not just leggings).
If you add these 19 glute exercises to your workout routine, your lower body will become better shaped and physically stronger, which will improve your overall performance. I'll even give you some workout ideas with the sole purpose of achieving the latter... so just keep reading.
Before jumping into the actual exercises, I feel obligated to help you understand how the gluteal muscles actually work. This is important because your butt is not one big muscle.
What are the different shapes of buttocks in women?
There are 4 main types of female buttocks. Let's look at them and give advice on training.
Inverted "V"
The shape is characterized by a developed upper part of the butt and a noticeable lack of volume below. Experts say that this form is typical for thin women with low levels of sex hormones. Suitable exercises for a “V” butt would be squats and lunges with weights.
Square
The muscles of the upper and lower parts of the butt are developed evenly, but there are no “roundness” on the sides. This shape of the fifth point is absolutely normal. The most effective exercises for such buttocks will be lateral lunges, squats, and lateral leg abductions with weights.
Round
In women with this shape, the muscle fibers are evenly distributed, creating a beautiful, rounded appearance of the buttocks from any angle. A round butt is an indicator of a woman's good health. In this case, experts recommend light exercises to maintain a beautiful butt (for example, squats without weight).
Upside down heart
With this shape, the lower part of the buttocks is more voluminous than the upper. Quite often this is associated with low estrogen levels. In youth, a heart-shaped butt looks sexy, but as you approach 30, the muscles may weaken and “sagging” will appear. In this case, strength exercises for pumping up the buttocks + cardio are suitable .
Jen Selter
Instagram →
This is probably the most famous butt on Instagram. Each photo of this girl gets several hundred thousand likes, and the number of subscribers is only growing.
It is known that in 2010, Jen got a job at the reception of a fitness club, and in 2012 she started an Instagram page to post photos of her results, workouts, yoga asanas, and more. Today she has 7.4 million subscribers, including even Rihanna.
Jen is very proud of her butt and overall figure. Yes, in most of the photos the butt is not very well-shaped, but this is all, as the girl claims, only for motivation. Jen encourages people to exercise to get the same curvy figure.
Naturally, the girl receives a huge number of offers from sports brands, including such monsters as Nike, New Balance, Lululemon. Jen is about to launch a line of activewear herself. Sport is a real passion for her.
What else is this girl interested in? Her interests are quite normal for any twenty-year-old girl - shopping, parties, chatting with friends.
On the Internet you can read that Jen’s butt is silicone. The girl herself refutes this statement and says that she has one secret - sports. Long workouts and proper nutrition, and nothing more.
Is it possible to pump up your buttocks at home?
The famous athlete, fitness model and owner of perfect buttocks Ekaterina Usmanova believes that achieving good results at home is quite possible. Yes, you won’t be able to pump up a big, voluminous butt. To do this, you still need strength training in the gym. But any girl who has simple weights (dumbbells, weights, a light barbell, weighted cuffs, a rubber expander) can tighten, round, and tone her gluteal muscles.
Overcoming Difficulties in Gaining Muscle Mass
There are body types that are genetically not inclined to increase volume. In this case, it is important to understand that increasing calories in the diet will help activate the muscle growth process.
To improve your performance in the gym, consume protein-containing foods after workouts. Half a chicken, a turkey sandwich or a protein shake will do you good.
It is imperative to get enough sleep and drink enough water to have a healthy body and build muscle mass. During adolescence, the body requires 8-10 hours of sleep per day.
At a more mature age, the required number of hours of sleep decreases to 6-8.
The best exercises for wide hips
- Don't be lazy while training, because muscle growth occurs only when you load your muscles to the maximum. When under load, muscle fibers tear, then recover and become stronger and larger;
- If you do not increase the load, then this process will not occur. Your muscles only respond to exercise when you feel a burning sensation. If you approach training responsibly, the results will not be long in coming;
- Use adequate load. Beginners can train with their own weight. If it becomes easy, you can use dumbbells or a barbell. The weight should be such that it is enough for 10-15 repetitions;
- It is imperative to be able to distinguish between when you are on the verge of injury and when the body is already at the limit of endurance. If you are a beginner, you should consult a personal trainer before starting to exercise to learn more about your physical abilities;
- Always follow the correct exercise technique. If the technique is incorrect, you will not get the desired result and there is a risk of injury. If you are not sure about the technique of performing an exercise, watch training videos or consult a trainer;
- Remember that you should feel a burning sensation in the thigh area. If you feel it in another place, then most likely you are doing the exercise incorrectly and thereby harming your muscles or joints;
- Do not use too heavy weights. If the dumbbells are too heavy for you and you cannot fully perform the exercise, then you need to reduce the weight;
- Over time, increase the number of repetitions and working weights. Every week your muscles will become bigger and stronger. In order for your hips to increase in volume, you should increase the load every 2 weeks.
How quickly a girl can pump up her butt at home
You shouldn't expect quick results.
- First, you need to learn how to perform the exercises correctly. This means that you need to load the buttocks, not the quadriceps.
- Secondly, at home, as a rule, there is no Smith machine or leg press machine.
Performing exercises to enlarge the buttocks with low loads requires a longer period before the first results appear. Usually girls begin to notice changes after 2-3 months of hard training.
Nutrition rules
Nutrition is a very important element in every training program. After grueling workouts in the gym, an athlete must eat quality food. At the initial level of training, you must determine the goal of your training.
Drying
If you have problems with cellulite on the buttocks, as well as with excess fat deposits on the sides (the so-called “breeches”), in addition to doing exercises, you should lose excess weight. To do this, you must consume fewer calories per day than you burn. The amount of deficiency is no more than 15-20%; it is very important not to starve, because after intense training you need to provide the body with the necessary energy.
For effective results, provide the body with a sufficient amount of protein (2 g per kg of weight) and complex carbohydrates (at least 1-1.5 g). Don’t completely eliminate fats; they are definitely needed, especially unsaturated ones. 0.8-1 g per kg of weight will be enough.
Mass recruitment
Those with flat buttocks, on the contrary, should take care of gaining weight. You need to burn fewer calories than you consume. The surplus should also be within 15-20% of the daily caloric intake. Eat a lot and often. The lion's share of the daily diet should consist of complex carbohydrates (pasta from durum wheat, rice, buckwheat, pearl barley). You also need protein, about 2 g per kg of body.
During mass gain, athletes often use various sports nutrition products. Protein and gainer will help you gain the right amount of calories if you find it difficult to eat a lot or don’t have enough time.
There are also generally accepted rules for quality nutrition:
- Drink plenty of water, at least 33 ml per kg of weight.
- Do not eat 1.5-2 hours before class. Otherwise, you may experience dizziness and nausea. Your pre-workout meal should consist of complex carbohydrates and proteins.
- Eat well immediately after class. Under no circumstances should you go hungry.
- In the evening, it is best to eat low-fat cottage cheese, providing the body with “slow” protein.
- After 18:00 you can and should eat, even on a diet.
Eat only quality food. Normalize your eating process. This way you can achieve results much faster.
How to pump your butt correctly
Let's look at the recommendations of fitness trainers for home exercises:
- Before training your buttocks, warm up your entire body.
- Combine base and isolation loads.
- Training volume: 3-4 sets of 15-20 repetitions in each exercise.
- Train your gluteal muscles no more than 3 times a week.
- Add two or three simple butt exercises to your morning exercises.
- Learn to “squeeze” your buttocks, not your leg muscles.
- Every 2-3 months, completely change the training program.
- Between classes, do light cardio sessions (running, swimming).
- While doing the exercises, mentally focus on your buttocks.
Target muscle group: gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and minimus
The rhomboid major muscle in women is the most noticeable among the others, since it is located on the surface and “covers” the rest of the muscles. Its main functions are flexion and extension of the hips, fixation of the body, and correction of posture. The medial lateralis muscle may be visible when viewed from the side, but it is much smaller in size, although it has a number of equally important functions: it allows you to move your legs back, rotate your hip in and out. It is impossible to distinguish the gluteus minimus muscle, but its training is necessary, because it is responsible for the functioning of the hip joint. Weak small muscles lead to pelvic prolapse, which, in turn, visually reduces the buttocks.
Target muscle groups
Gluteal muscles
Gluteal muscles The muscles of the buttocks allow us to run, jump, and squat. They are able to bear heavy loads and distribute them in such a way as to protect the joints from overstrain. The gluteal muscles are involved in all kinds of movements of the body: turns, bends, rotations. Weakness in these muscles reduces the efficiency of the entire body. Therefore, it is necessary to train and load your buttocks, even if you do not have time for the gym. Most exercises are easy to learn on your own at home.
Example of a weekly training program for the buttocks
- Follow the presented training plan 2-3 times a week.
- Rest for at least a day between classes.
- After 6-8 weeks, change the exercises in the program.
- Warm-up part: running in place or jumping rope (4-5 minutes).
- Plie squats (4/20).
- Cross lunges (3-4/15).
- Romanian deadlift (3-4/15).
- Single leg glute bridge (3-4/15-20).
- Lateral walk with an expander (4 sets of 15 steps in each direction).
At the end of the session, perform simple stretching exercises for the gluteal muscles. For example, lie on your back and relax. Raise one knee towards you, wrap your arms around it and gently pull it towards your chest. Repeat with the other leg. This will relieve muscle tension and speed up recovery.
Top 7 exercises for the lower buttocks for girls
Well, are you ready to improve the shape of your butt? Then let's get started!
Half squats
The basis of the training, of course, is squats. This variation of the classic exercise allows you to pump up the lower buttocks without overstraining the quadriceps.
- Place your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Place your feet parallel to each other.
- Gently bend your legs and move your butt back.
- You don’t need to sit down deeply, just up to a right angle at the knees.
- Squeeze your glutes as you lift.
- Breathe correctly: squat while inhaling, lifting while exhaling.
- At the top of the lift, move your pelvis slightly forward. This will create additional tension on the lower butt.
- If you want to increase the load a little, pick up a dumbbell and hold it near your chest while doing squats.
And also read how to squat for the buttocks →
Gluteal bridge
We propose to slightly reconsider the classic bridge technique. This will help squeeze the bottom of the buttocks.
- Lie on your back on the floor and place your feet on a bench.
- After this, close the soles of your sneakers and spread your knees to the sides.
- Keeping your legs in this position, lift your pelvis and squeeze your buttocks.
- Then gently lower your butt, but do not place it on the floor.
- Breathe correctly: lift the pelvis as you exhale, lower it as you inhale.
When performing a bridge, try to pause at the top point of each repetition. It's difficult, but the results will please you.
Romanian deadlift
This version of traction has its own characteristics and is slightly different from the classic technique.
- Place your feet hip-width apart, parallel to each other.
- Take two small dumbbells and hold them near your groin.
- Bend your legs slightly and lower the weights below your knees.
- Rise up, squeezing your glutes.
- Breathing: when lowering the dumbbells, inhale, when lifting, exhale.
In the top position, do not straighten all the way. Your task is to prevent your buttocks from relaxing. The amplitude should be short. At the bottom point you stretch your butt, at the top point you squeeze it.
Read more about the Romanian deadlift →
Scissor lunges
The exercise can be done with weights. But first, master the bodyweight technique.
- Place your right foot forward slightly, take your left foot back and place your toe on the floor.
- Clasp your palms at chest level.
- Lower yourself to a right angle at your front knee.
- Rise up, squeezing your buttocks.
- Breathing: lowering the pelvis as you inhale, lifting it as you exhale.
Read more about the scissors exercise →
At the top of the lift, twist your pelvis slightly forward to increase the load on the bottom of your buttocks.
Leg raises on a bench
If the exercise seems easy, put weighted cuffs on your ankles.
- Lie on your stomach on a horizontal bench, while keeping your hips hanging.
- Spread your legs wide and place your toes on the floor.
- Firmly grasp the edges of the seat.
- Squeeze your buttocks and lift your heels (the movement should resemble pushing an imaginary platform upward).
- Then bend your legs and pull your knees towards the bench.
- Breathing: lifting the legs as you exhale, lowering them as you inhale.
When lifting, bend your lower back slightly and pause for a couple of seconds at the top. This will increase the load on the glutes.
Swing your legs
We will look at the technique with leg weights, but the exercise can be performed with an expander loop or on the lower crossover block.
- Stand with your right side to some simulator and grab its hand.
- Move your left hip to the side.
- Without bending your knee, lift your left leg as high as possible with a swinging motion.
- Then lower the limb, but do not place the heel on the floor.
- Breathing: lifting the leg as you exhale, lowering it as you inhale.
After doing 3-4 sets of 20-25 repetitions on each leg, turn around to face the support and perform another 3-4 sets of 20-25 abductions with leg weights, but back.
Easy jumps
Perform this exercise as a final exercise for the lower buttocks.
- Place your feet slightly wider than your shoulders and turn them at a 45° angle to the sides.
- Sit slightly on your feet and move your butt back a little.
- Maintaining this position of your body and legs, perform short jumps forward (15-20 cm).
- When jumping, the knees bend just a little, just to cushion the body.
- As you push off the floor, try to squeeze your gluteal muscles.
- This exercise can be made more difficult by adding small weights: a dumbbell in your hands or weighted cuffs on your ankles.
General recommendations
Training is an important component of a set of measures to create a seductive silhouette, but only when morning jogging and nutrition are not ignored. The diet requires mandatory revision. Otherwise, you will have to forget about the ideal figure forever.
To become the owner of truly chic forms, you must follow four golden rules:
Eat plenty of protein
Protein is a powerful natural fat burner and appetite suppressant. This means that consuming protein helps you lose excess fat and also significantly reduces your cravings for snacking, allowing you to cut down on portions. Excess incoming calories is an obstacle to muscle tightening. As recent studies have shown, a person who consumes one gram of protein for every kilogram of his body weight can easily tolerate a decrease in daily caloric intake by 441 kcal, and in a month loses from 3.5 to 4 kilograms of pure fat. To ensure you get enough protein in your diet, you should include nuts, soy, fish, poultry and beef in your daily menu. These foods are rich in protein.
Eat more whole grains
They are rich in antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, fiber and other important elements. Whole grains are the second most important foods that allow you to tighten and pump up various muscle groups, including the gluteal ones. They slow down digestive processes, reduce blood sugar levels and, when consumed regularly, help get rid of subcutaneous fat deposits. Health nutrition experts from the United States recommend eating 3 to 5 servings of whole grains daily.
Limit your intake of carbohydrates and fats
Excess carbohydrates entering the body are not excreted, but turn into fat, which is deposited in the subcutaneous depot. The exception is fibrous carbohydrates, which differ from regular carbohydrates by a long process of digestion with high energy costs, which fuel muscle tissue. They are found in whole grains, legumes and vegetables, but are recommended for consumption in the morning. Before and after training, you should eat complex (slow) carbohydrates, which can provide a surge of vital energy and quickly restore a depleted body. To maintain the normal functioning of all organs and systems per day, it is enough to consume 50 grams or less of poly- and monounsaturated fatty acids. Otherwise, you can sharply slow down your figure correction.
Focus on Cardio Exercises
Such exercises tone the gluteal muscles and help melt the subcutaneous fat that hides the muscles. The following cardio exercises are considered the most effective for improving mobility and tone of the pelvic area:
- jogging, and especially uphill and over hills;
- walking up stairs;
- training on an elliptical trainer;
- cycling with your torso bent forward to pump up your gluteal muscles.
Increasing cardio loads from moderate to high-intensity allows you to get rid of excess fat, does not require a lot of time, which allows even busy and business people to find time.
Laura Capel
Instagram →
23 years old, 240 thousand subscribers, luxurious ass. NPC league athlete and fitness model. She was born on May 30, 1991. At university, Laura seriously studied biology. She is also a semi-professional soccer player and soccer coach. The pharmaceutical company MusclePharm works with the girl; she advertises their products. We are sure that in the future we will learn more about Laura - but for now we just look at her photos with pleasure.