Squats testimonies?

Okay, so here's the deal. My *kitten* is pretty flat. And it's a shame, because I'm black and typically what's expected of me is a big, round butt. I'm a disappointment to my peers. I've disgraced my family.

I hear squats can do a good job at "perking up" your bum? I'm not expecting it to grow LARGER per-say, but rounder, more shapely I guess? So it at least looks like theres something there.

Who here has had squats as a faithful part of their workout regime, and seen excellent results in the butt department? What effect did the squats actually have - did it become firmer/perkier/larger looking like people claim? How long did it take to see results? How many reps/sets did you do? Did you use weights? etc etc.
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Replies

  • McBully4
    McBully4 Posts: 1,270 Member
    they work
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
    Squats and deadlifts are good not only for butt but as overall exercises. To target it more specifically you might also add this http://www.myomytv.com/the-glute-journey-glute-bridge-to-hip-thrust/

    Also having the kind of butt you are talking about has more to do with being genetically predisposed to storing fat in your *kitten*.
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    Hell, I'm a dude, and it worked for me like magic.
  • McBully4
    McBully4 Posts: 1,270 Member
    Hell, I'm a dude, and it worked for me like magic.

    Yep I use to have a flat butt too now I have a 34 inch waist with a 43 inch butt, i'm bootylicious
  • PinkHurricane88
    PinkHurricane88 Posts: 156 Member
    I am quite the opposite and have a larger bum. But yes, squats have made it more round and lifted it too! So I'm a huge advocate of squats, no matter how big/round/flat/small your butt is!
  • JasonDetwiler
    JasonDetwiler Posts: 364 Member

    I hear squats can do a good job at "perking up" your bum? I'm not expecting it to grow LARGER per-say, but rounder, more shapely I guess? So it at least looks like theres something there.

    Lemme brekiddoooownfuhya,
    You ain't gettin that booty without that booty growing LARGER. Flat booty doesn't get to be round booty without booty growin. There is no such thing as "perking up" the booty without booty growin. Do some goblet squats, barbell squats, bulgarian split squats, and some conventional dead lifts and EAT. You being a girl, you are going to need to train these lifts HARD and EAT A LOT because you don't have the testosterone (unless you're a genetic freak, which, you are probably not) necessary to get huge accidentally.

    Holler back in six months to tell us how BABY GOT BACK!
  • Squats definitely work, but you're going to want to do a few more exercises to hit all of your glute muscles from different angles. Some of these exercises are skaters, lunges, side lunges, reverse lunges, pelvic raises...

    I did a quick search on google and found a customized workout from Shape for your butt type. Here is the link if you want to check it out:

    http://www.self.com/fitness/workouts/2010/02/get-your-best-butt-ever

    Good luck :)
  • You can never do too many squats!
  • MidwestAngel
    MidwestAngel Posts: 1,897 Member
    Squats and dead lifts seem to be working for me, enough so that I have gotten comments about it, lol. I was starting to get flat and these helped for sure :)
  • I have the most tiny butt.. not flat so to say, just never had enough "fat" on my tush to be able to devolope a larger butt... I have been doing squats, dead lifts, lunges, and EVERY other type of ecercise to get a rear end for YEARS... I can say that I have the tighest little butt, just not a large one... I will take it though, never heard ONE complaint from my boyfriend.. :blushing:

    will keep exercising for the health of it anyway!!
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    I am known for my rather large/perky *kitten*. Doing squats has made it look obscene.

    I thought my butt was my butt. How wrong I was.

    I have great faith you will get a butt from doing squats and/or lunges.
  • _stephanie0
    _stephanie0 Posts: 708 Member
    they work

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    but not just squats. yeah squats may be best, but also do weighted lunges and heavy deadlifts.
  • I did the program on twohundredsquats.com

    And I get endless complements on my butt. It does work :)
  • This is an exellent question as I am in the same department. I've been working on the arch trainer, I though this was going to help. It hasn't yet. My hubby actually said my butt has gotten smaller. I'm not very consistant with squats. I doing JM ripped in 30, along with DA Pilates. I have a JM dvd that is suppose to give u a nice butt. We will see. I do a lot of cardio, strenght training on the weekends heavy... Thinking about switching up my routine as I've hit a wall again. I lose a nice amount one week and don't lose for a few... It's about toning up now.... and eating healthy. Can wait to see the responses you get.
  • breezedaze
    breezedaze Posts: 357 Member
    They are working for me! I am very pleased with my new roundness...I don't know if I'll ever get that bubble look that is so desirable but that's fine..I am getting lifted, toned and it is very noticeable! Lots of squat exercises in Insanity and that's what I've been doing.

    I LOVE it!
  • Flixie00
    Flixie00 Posts: 1,195 Member
    Yep, they work. I was previously the owner of a flat and very sad bottom. Its much perkier now :bigsmile:
  • MLgarcia3
    MLgarcia3 Posts: 503
    They definitely worked for me.. Without them (and lunges & deadlifts), I'd have no booty ;-)
  • VanessaGS
    VanessaGS Posts: 514 Member
    I hate squats but I'm proud to say I've been doing the 30 Day Shred and now Insanity which involves alot of squatting. My butt has proudly lifted. So atleast that's a plus. It does work.
  • jackfewx
    jackfewx Posts: 4 Member
    You're getting a lot of "yes" answers, to which I agree, but as a veteran of the squat rack let me give you some tips to get the most out of them.
    1. Do them right
    2. Do them right
    3. Do them right

    Okay, I think you get the point so let me explain. A proper squat is not as easy as some make it out to be. Best source for how to do this is the book Starting Strength by Rippetoe, it goes into almost ridiculous detail about squats, dead lift, and all the other compound barbell lifts. Let me give you the cliff notes version to get you started:
    0. DO NOT USE A SMITH MACHINE, i.e. the one that has the rail that goes up and down, it lets you cheat on form. Use a free weight rack, with catch bars in case you have to drop it.
    1. Start with feet around shoulder-width apart
    2. Point your toes out a little, like 11 o-clock and 1 o-clock
    3. Take the bar from the rack (unloaded at first until you get the hang of it), DO NOT USE A PAD, this is important, because a pad lets you place the bar in the wrong spot, you should be able to find a comfortable spot for the bar at the top of your Traps (upper back and neck muscle) and across your deltoids (shoulders), it should not rest on your spine or neck. Grab the bar as close as you can to the middle while still being able to drive your elbows back (like you're imitating chicken wings), this rounds the shoulders more and should "trap" the bar so it can't move. You should never feel like you are holding the bar up with your arms, all the weight should be on your shoulders, the arms just keep it from rolling.
    4. From this position, your shoulders back, your chest should be out forward (for women this is may feel embarrassing, sorry, but poor form will injure you, and that embarrassment will fade quickly as the strong guys gawk at a woman moving significant weight). The additional benefit of this position is it keeps you from arching your back the wrong way (hunching over). Your back should be straight, or have a slight arc up, never hunched down.
    5. Squat down at a controlled speed until your hip joint is BELOW your knee, not all the way down, just below Parallel, this is crucial for a good squat, as it forces the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back to get into the action. Rippetoe explains this in detail, so I won't duplicate that treatise here. And NO this will not harm your knees, quite the opposite as explained in the book, it strengthens all the muscles around your knee, PREVENTING injury.
    6. From this bottom point, getting up is not as simple as it seems. Your glutes are the main driver until you get above parallel where your quads then take over, so think about your hips driving the weight upwards, not your legs. If you tip forward or back, you're driving with too much leg, and not enough hip.
    7. When you can do the motion correctly 10 times with the bar alone, add a little weight at a time until it is difficult to do it 5 times. This is your starting weight. Write this down and keep track. The next time you go to do squats, start with just the bar again, do 10 reps, this is your warmup, ALWAYS warm up with the exercise at least, more movements (stretching, stepping, etc) if you need to, NEVER do your current weight cold (even as much weight as I move I still do bar-only warm ups). Do at least one more warmup set of 3-5 reps at a weight half-way between your working weight and the bar (e.g. if your working weight is say 75 pounds, the bar is 45, so do a set of 10 with the bar, then as set of 5 at 60 lbs, then do your working sets). As you get up to say 100 pounds add another warmup set spread evenly, so 45, 60, 80, then 95 working weight.
    8. The Starting Strength program is to do 3 sets of 5 reps at your working weight, and increase that weight by a slight amount each time you workout. As a beginner you'll see progress very fast on your weight, because you're training your support muscles way more than your main drivers at first. Once all the muscles catch up to each other, gains will slow, but you should be able to get to squatting your body weight within a year of solid training.
    9. Since it is muscle size you're after, and not pure strength, I would suggest 3 sets of 6-12 reps, with about 1-2 minutes rest between sets. This is the pattern body-builders use to inflate their muscles, which is essentially what you're after. It is an odd thing, that your muscles can either be large or strong, but not necessarily both. And no you will not look like some muscle-bound freak from doing this lift, you'll just have the great definition you're looking for.
  • gpoliver
    gpoliver Posts: 87 Member
    they work (although not posting pics like the sexy woman up there did!!!!!) i started out with squats alone and now use a medicine ball or wights to make it more effective..... and FINALLY i am starting to see more than a flat butt!!!! but may need to stop because hubby can no longer keep his hands to himself....
  • thebigcb
    thebigcb Posts: 2,210 Member
    Okay, so here's the deal. My *kitten* is pretty flat. And it's a shame, because I'm black and typically what's expected of me is a big, round butt. I'm a disappointment to my peers. I've disgraced my family.

    I hear squats can do a good job at "perking up" your bum? I'm not expecting it to grow LARGER per-say, but rounder, more shapely I guess? So it at least looks like theres something there.

    Who here has had squats as a faithful part of their workout regime, and seen excellent results in the butt department? What effect did the squats actually have - did it become firmer/perkier/larger looking like people claim? How long did it take to see results? How many reps/sets did you do? Did you use weights? etc etc.

    Love the opening paragraph lol
  • vyanadevi
    vyanadevi Posts: 134 Member
    bump
  • kentmac
    kentmac Posts: 101 Member
    Heavy squats!

    Don't be afraid of the barbell. Deadlifts and squats are your butt's best friend. Train for strength and aesthetics will follow!
  • happycauseIride
    happycauseIride Posts: 536 Member
    Bumping because there is some great info in here. Thank you.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
    Stiff leg/romanian deadlifts are a much more direct butt exercise than squats.
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
    Squats are definitely where it's at!!!! Wish I would have started squatting a loooooong time ago....

    I remember the first couple weeks I started squatting. I hobbled around like a crippled person, and sitting down on the toilet was torture. LOL! If you can get through that initial 'WTF' phase you're golden. Now the only time it hurts is when I decided to increase my weight on the bar. Then it's 1-2 days of ouchie....

    Edited to add that I started out with just body weight. Then I held dumbells, then a barbell, then added weights to the barbell. I actually transitioned to Stronglifts 5x5 where squats are the main lift. After 12 weeks, my butt was noticeably firmer and shapelier!
  • Nice job _stephanie0
    and they do work! It is not easy to learn but once you do, and you stick with it you will see results.
  • jackfewx
    jackfewx Posts: 4 Member
    Stiff leg/romanian deadlifts are a much more direct butt exercise than squats.

    That is true, especially compared to the half-squats most people do. Every time I see someone in the gym stop even before parallel I want to scream, they are only getting 1/3 the benefit from the lift. In comparison to a properly done full squat, a straight-leg probably is 25% better at hitting the gluteus maximus. It is a good choice for a supporting lift, or rest day.

    The downside though is the same as all isolated joint exercises, you lose a ton in time and effort. A compound lift like a full squat hits no less than dozen muscle groups in some capacity, so you get a ton of bang for your time and effort. A full squat's main drivers are the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteus maximus. It also works indirectly the calves, low back, spinal erectors, abdominals, minor gluteals, hip adductors and abductors, deltoids, and trapezius. When you go from being a hinge-joint to a z-shape, all the support muscles come into play.

    The best workouts are short and stupid-simple. You don't build muscle in the gym, you break it down, and it is your rest day(s) that rebuild it. No 7-day a week cardio, no body-part alternating stuff, you should need no more than 3 days a week, 1 hour each session. Lift heavy, hit all the body in 3-4 exercises, then take at least one full day off, with a solid high-protein diet.

    When you're trying to build muscle you need a balanced diet, and at least 40% of your calories should be protein in some form. Whether your a Veggie or not, make sure you get lots of dairy and eggs, they are hands-down your best protein sources for muscle building. If your a Vegan, make sure you are getting enough of the critical amino acids, Glutamine, Creatine, Arginine, Leucine, to name a few.
  • 1RareJewel
    1RareJewel Posts: 440 Member
    squats and deadlifts? got it