How to build a bigger butt?

Deadlifts, lunges, step ups, hip thrusts, glute bridge, and kettlebell swings all work the glutes. Especially hip thrusts; they activate your glutes more than any other exercise. When doing squats and the other listed exercises, at the top of the movement, lock out your hips and squeeze your glutes to make sure you get full contraction.

Start doing hip abduction prior to your squats, it may help with activating your glutes.

jaysiekemso wrote: »

jaysiekemso wrote: »

sardelsa wrote: »

Hi OP, I primarily focus on hip thrusts, all other leg/glute exercises (for me) are secondary since I am also very quad dominant. You may find these articles by Bret Contreras helpful:

bretcontreras.com/growing-glutes-without-growing-the-legs/

bretcontreras.com/women-squat-dont-want-big-legs/

Thank you glad to know there's someone out there like me. I find glute bridges the most effective. Will check out the links soon thanks

Just had a read. Love the idea of doing glute bridges. I feel like that's the only exercise that activates my glutes the most without working my quads. I usually do it with 3 10kg plates though. I'll try it with a barbell next time.

I recommend padding the barbell. I use a Squat Sponge to prevent bruising. You can add weight to these pretty quickly too.

sardelsa wrote: »

Hi OP, I primarily focus on hip thrusts, all other leg/glute exercises (for me) are secondary since I am also very quad dominant. You may find these articles by Bret Contreras helpful:

bretcontreras.com/growing-glutes-without-growing-the-legs/

bretcontreras.com/women-squat-dont-want-big-legs/

+1 for the glute guy!!!

Agree with pretty much everyone's responses but the one thing that has not been mentioned is time under tension. To get a bigger butt through exercise you need to create hypertrophy in the target muscles. Compared to a sedentary base line like many of us have experienced almost any type of exercise will result in more muscle mass. But beyond a point it requires specific actions to gain more size, as size and strength are not related at a 1-1 ratio simple strength cardio or athletic training will not result in significant gains in size. Whatever movement works the chosen area to your satisfaction you may want to alter your weight/reps to reflect your goals for that area. With time under tension as rule number one you want a moderately heavy weight or resistance that you can just complete 10-12 reps with, take very short breaks between sets and continue well past the point where you feel a strong burn in your target area. Take your time with your lifts, you don't need to drag things out to much but you don't want to waste your efforts banging out the first five reps of every set much faster than the last few. I would try for a 1-2-3 tempo throughout the set. This might not be necessary once you find a way to get your flutes working but if you want more size somewhere to satisfy a sense of proportion hypertrophy is the way to go.

Gio, good tip. I also have trouble consistently activating my glutes even when I'm making gains. I have found that very slow squats or holding even a light squat halfway down will cause them to come in almost by them selves. I will actually feel the load transfer from legs and back to the glutes. I still have to actively engage them but it's easier when you can feel the from a previous workout.

Bret Conteras and walk/run whatever steep hills. A big butt needs strong thighs so walk/run in 2 foot water when you can. I know some of my suggestions are different but I've got the butt

I'm a few weeks into a Strong Curves program (Bret Contreras) and have already noticed results. I'm doing the glutes only program. The Strong Curves PDFs are free and can be found with a quick google.

I hate having a big butt, you can have mine.