Do squats really work the butt?

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  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
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    yes.

    i have an amazing *kitten* from squats/deadlifts.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    yes.

    i have an amazing *kitten* from squats/deadlifts.

    Yes you do.





    Wait wut?
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,452 Member
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    Bumping for myself, as I can't do back squats at the moment.

    Also - here's my experience. When I started out (very obese) I tried doing unweighted squats and they really didn't feel like they were doing anything except hurting my knees. I could never get anywhere near failure.

    Weighted back squats felt much better, and didn't actually hurt my knees - not sure why that was. But that's no help if you can't do them!

    Front squats do hurt my knees a little.

    Single leg box squats DID feel like they were working something, but .... also hurt my knees :sad: .

    I've tried that exercise where you lie with your knees bent and a barbell over your hips and make a suggestive movement upwards. I couldn't get enough weight (I only have about 40kg on my home barbell) to feel I was really working, and the bar hurt where it was resting. It might be a good exercise if you had more weight to do it with, and some proper padding between you and the barbell. Avoid having friends and family around because they seem to think it's funny, for some reason. I don't think they bothered my knees.

    One-legged and stiff-legged deadlifts feel like I'm working even with a much lighter weight than I would use for deadlifts. They don't seem to bother my knees.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    Hip thrusts. Really freaking heavy ones. I also love good mornings.

    Sounds to me like you probably have poor glute activation, i.e. you are using your low back and your quads more than your glutes to push weight. You need to do a lot of reading on Bret Contreras's website. He can help you fix this.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    A few deep heavy squats will be better for knees than a lot of body weight ones. Once you get past parallel on a squat the pressure comes off your knees and is know held by your hamstrings and put.

    I suggest looking into New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women or Strong Lifts 5x5.
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,713 Member
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    try consciously using your butt muscle instead of relying on your thighs. concentrate on the feeling of tightening those muscles and feeling the movement that results.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    I do lots of squats, and my wife has an amazing *kitten*...therefore squatting got me a nice *kitten*...

    But I digress, Sara's advice was spot on.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    30DS is more of a weight loss program than anything else. The results you want you kind of need heavier weights for. Ideally you will need access to a barbell, a squat rack, and 100+ lbs of weight. You need to hit failure in a single digit rep amount ideally. Also don't use shoes that lift the heel higher than the toe (like running shoes do) as they prevent you from working the glute as hard as you realistically could.
  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
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    Yes you do.


    Wait wut?

    (no homo?)
  • Danny_Boy13
    Danny_Boy13 Posts: 2,094 Member
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    Be sure to go down below the hip level or where the thighs are at least parallel with the floor. This will engage the glutes more. Only going half way means you are just mostly hitting the quads. Get deep in that squat. Be sure that you can safely handle the weight though.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    Pick a couple:

    http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/HipsWt.html#anchor169231

    ETA: a step up with weights could work very well for you given your issues.
  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
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    Technically squats work the quad but does also work the bum bum too.

    To directly hit the butt, do the following;
    Lunges
    Stiff leg deadlifts
    Glute lifts
    Donkey kicks

    ^all with weights.
  • barbaratrollman
    barbaratrollman Posts: 317 Member
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    I find that if I don't do squats correctly, with my knees kept over my feet and my bum/hips pushing back, it doesn't work my butt as much. It really gives a good burn in my rear if I am in the correct squatting position.
  • Trilby16
    Trilby16 Posts: 707 Member
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    google bret contreras. Squats are not enough.


    So basically I'm SOL having bad knees....

    Everyone will respond differently to the exercises, but I can't imagine the hip exercises being any harder on the knees than doing heavier weight squats.

    Yeah, thanks. Heavy weight squats would finish off my knees! Only exercise I can find that's supposed to work the butt but not hurt knees is straight leg dead lifts which I do with a kettlebell. I can feel it a little in the glutes.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    Another vote for squats and deadlifts. With weights - and more weight than you'd carry bringing groceries in from the car.

    Heavy weights have given me a new butt. It's still a work in progress, but I've gone from literally not having a butt to having a small and tight one.
  • mmm_drop
    mmm_drop Posts: 1,126 Member
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    I should have also thrown in the that I have rheumatoid arthritis in my knees. So I can only go so low, and I can only do so heavy, but I do them to the point it burns.

    Basically wanna know what are other things I can do that aren't so hard on the knees.

    Great replies so far!

    Take it from someone who suffers with RA, the more you work these muscles the less pain you'll feel in your knees. You can go farther and lift heavier; you just have to work up to it and always be very aware of your form.
  • DirtyTrickster
    DirtyTrickster Posts: 202 Member
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    What about those silly things I always see the women doing at the cable machine, where they hook up the ankle strap and extend their leg backwards.
    GluteKick.png
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    Without weights:

    Hip thrusts/single leg hip thrusts

    Reverse hypers

    Hill sprints

    Russian leg curls/natural leg curls/ghetto GHR's (whatever you want to call them), using hand assist (doubt a woman could ever get strong enough to do one unassisted).

    Squats really don't work the butt all that well. The glutes are worked best in hip hyperextension, not extension.

    The best squat for the glutes is the single leg/pistol squat, the glute medius plays a significant role in balancing (not getting much work with a standard squat), and they are by nature ultradeep squats, which is where most of the glute maximus activation when squatting comes from.
  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
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    snatch grip deadlifts are probably the best upper hamstring/ glute exercise I've done.
    They absolutely destroy the back of my legs to the point where I don't want to walk the next day.

    I like them in the 15-20 rep range.
  • oX_Vanessa_Xo
    oX_Vanessa_Xo Posts: 478
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    I should have also thrown in the that I have rheumatoid arthritis in my knees. So I can only go so low, and I can only do so heavy, but I do them to the point it burns.

    Basically wanna know what are other things I can do that aren't so hard on the knees.

    Great replies so far!

    Take it from someone who suffers with RA, the more you work these muscles the less pain you'll feel in your knees. You can go farther and lift heavier; you just have to work up to it and always be very aware of your form.


    Very true. Last month I went from hardly being able to lift myself from the toilet... to my knees only causing pain during a workout. If I'm gonna be doing something to work my butt muscles, I wanna put my all into it. Maybe I'm just doing them wrong.

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