booty advice pls halp

brockhampton

so I'm still on the way to shed my last 7-8lbs but i've been doing glute and thigh exercises 2-3 times a week for the past month. i started out doing 15-20 minutes and feeling hella sore. i've been adjusting exercises and increasing reps - just timed my last session and it was 53min and i still didn't feel the same type of burn i felt the first few times ):

i've already lost almost 1/2 inch off my booty and while i know that building it is unlikely while i'm still at a calorie deficit, i'd like to maintain it and tone it the best i can. at the same time, i'd like to slim down my thighs a wee bit.

anybody has any advice regarding what i should be slashing/adding/shuffling in my exercises? am i maybe doing the exercises incorrectly? not activating/engaging my glutes enough? if so, how should i ensure more activation? should i start going beyond bodyweight? if so, what should i use - resistance band or ankle weights? should i add in more types of exercises? increase reps or sets? pls hallpppp ):

20 feet together squats
20 plie squats

20 level glute bridges

20 clams (left)
50 outer thigh lifts (left)
100 outer thigh pulses (left)
20 clams (right)
50 outer thigh lifts (right)
100 outer thigh pulses (right)

20 clams (left)
20 donkey kicks (left)
40 donkey pulses (left)
20 fire hydrants (left)
20 fire hydrant circles (left)
20 clams (right)
20 donkey kicks (right)
20 donkey pulses (right)
20 fire hydrants (right)
20 fire hydrant circles (right)

20 level rotating glue bridges

20 clams (left)
50 inner thigh lifts (left)
100 inner thigh pulses (left)
20 clams (right)
50 inner thigh lifts (right)
100 inner thigh pulses (right)

20 clams (left)
20 donkey kicks (left)
40 donkey pulses (left)
20 fire hydrants (left)
20 fire hydrant circles (left)
20 clams (right)
20 donkey kicks (right)
20 donkey pulses (right)
20 fire hydrants (right)
20 fire hydrant circles (right)

20 thingies where your elbows are on the mat and one leg is perpendicular and the other is doing circular toe taps i have no idea what it's called (left)
20 repeat (right)

EDIT: just in case it's relevant, i maintain a similar amount of calorie deficit on cardio and glute/thigh days (max 100-150 difference) but i always eat 2-3 soft boiled eggs after my glute/thigh workouts

Wrongleverkronk

Im really no expert here but I noticed a difference when I added weights. I squat and lingewith barbells, use resistance bands for leg lifts, and I dont know what its called but when I stopped feeling my squats, I started squatting much lower, coming halfway up so my thighs were parallel to the ground, going all the way back down and then returning to standing. That pulse definitely made a difference for me.
Play around with some weights and bands and see what works for you.
I also follow Katy Hearn on IG, she adds tons of great lower body exercises you can try

singingflutelady

You should check put strong curves

sardelsa

While the exercises themselves are OK, it is a lot of volume with no weight so it looks more like cardio/circuit training. I would definitely follow a program.

Not sure if I mentioned this to you before, but definitely look into Strong Curves. He even has a bodyweight program if you don't have access to weights.

DancingMoosie

Your routine needs to be progressive, meaning you are increasing the weight or reps/sets over time. Strong Curves is a great glute program.

brockhampton

@sardelsa yeah the volume has been increasing a lot. i started out with 8-10 each and felt so sore afterwards.
@singingflutelady
yep i'm looking up strong curves right now. i've been reluctant to do so despite repeated recommendations as i'm trying to stay away from exercises that build quads as i have pretty muscular thighs already (which is why i capped my squats at 40 in total). i'm gonna take some time in the coming weeks to research each exercise mentioned in the strong curves program and pick the ones i feel like serve my goals. thanks for the rec!

brockhampton

@DancingMoosie yepyep it has been progressive in terms of increasing reps/sets but i've stuck to bodyweight since the start. just to give you an idea, a month ago i was doing:

10 feet together squats
10 plie squats
10 fire hydrants x 2
10 donkey kicks x 2
10 level glute bridges

i added inner/outer thigh lifts/pulses and clams only 2 weeks ago

sardelsa

I wouldn't worry about building your quads/thighs, especially being in a deficit. Most likely there is fat covering them to make them look larger than they are, and when you lose the fat the muscle remaining there is going to be not as much as you think! (uch believe me.. I thought I gained so much leg size after my bulk.. but once I started to lose the fat it kind of disappeared, which was sad for me! ). Also while SC has some quad/hammy stuff, it is more secondary to the glute exercises.

You can always leave the quad stuff out if you are really concerned.. but I wouldn't worry about it at this point.