Butt Exercises. Are they necessary?

From a function POV, weak glutes can contribute to knee problems, so at least some bridging would be helpful.

Check out Strong Curves, that is *the* program for that

tomatoey wrote: »

From a function POV, weak glutes can contribute to knee problems, so at least some bridging would be helpful.

Check out Strong Curves, that is *the* program for that

I second strong curves. That program has a heavy emphasis on glutes/butt.

LolaKarwowski wrote: »

DopeItUp wrote: »

Depends on your diet, genetics, technique variations and desired goals.

So...maybe?

Long story short, is your butt growing at a satisfactory rate? If no, more glute volume and more calories. If yes, then proceed as normal.

Since starting my lifting journey, I really haven't thought about it. My main focus has been my arms + abs. I think it's too early to see any difference in my body other than maybe a smaller belly. Too much fat to see gains. However, now that it is on my mind I'd like to starting adding exercises now rather than later.

Why more calories?

More calories were suggested since you said you want to grow your bum. So, that's building muscle and it requires calories.

If you're losing fat, then the exercises will help retain what you have. Once I hit maintenance and started recomp, I added weighted and one-leg hip thrusts.

So in working a particular muscle group we are actually creating tears in the fiber. We repair when we rest so be diligent with getting a good amount of sleep. Also, make sure to eat enough. The first calories we eat are used to fuel our daily needs like keeping your heart beating and brain thinking. If we go into deficit it starts to go to our fuel centers like fat and muscle. So to "grow" a butt you need to add calories like good proteins and carbs. Unlike decreasing fat storage, increasing muscle can be spot focused. You may never have J Lo's butt but you can have the best butt for you with the right plan.

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I've been following this series. You might find it interesting:

Squats Versus Hip Thrusts

• Part 1: EMG Activity
• Part 2: The Twin Experiment

Stiff leg deadlifts first

Kettle bell swings next and do them squeezing glutes on the upward swing.

They work the bum for sure. My trainer had me add those for that reason.

You will feel it. It does add hamstring and bubble bum shape.

I used to have no booty. It works.

tomatoey wrote: »

From a function POV, weak glutes can contribute to knee problems, so at least some bridging would be helpful.

Check out Strong Curves, that is *the* program for that

LOVE me some Strong Curves.
My husband has been especially pleased with the results thus far.

Azdak wrote: »

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

Azdak wrote: »

Not completely. Squats and deadlifts don't hit the flutes as thoroughly as many people think. Take your butt to bretcontreras.com

The Glutes are the primary mover during the concentric portion of the Squat and have the highest peak activation. Now it would be very true to say that they don't hit the hamstrings as much as some think.

http://dannyomokhablog.com/2014/04/27/squats-vs-hip-thrusts-which-is-better-for-the-glutes/

Squats target lower glutes, not upper ones as much. So, while an excellent exercise, not enough by themselves to achieve max glute development. That's my only point.

Azdak wrote: »

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

Azdak wrote: »

Not completely. Squats and deadlifts don't hit the flutes as thoroughly as many people think. Take your butt to bretcontreras.com

The Glutes are the primary mover during the concentric portion of the Squat and have the highest peak activation. Now it would be very true to say that they don't hit the hamstrings as much as some think.

http://dannyomokhablog.com/2014/04/27/squats-vs-hip-thrusts-which-is-better-for-the-glutes/

Squats target lower glutes, not upper ones as much. So, while an excellent exercise, not enough by themselves to achieve max glute development. That's my only point.

Yes, to limit ones-self to just squats alone for any strength development is not good and can lead to poor overall development. It's interesting that the author tries to average the exertion between the eccentric and the concentric, didn't entirely make sense to me. There are definitely many good ways to work your posterior.

edit: Another thing to think about this is that not everybody can squat well right out of the gate, especially those that are previously untrained and have poor glute development. In cases like that it would be wise to take 4 weeks and work on your lower body a little differently in order to progress into squats.

Katzedernacht wrote: »

None grew for me till I started with sumo squats and heavier bar squats. Press leg wasn't really good,well for quads...

The leg press is not a good exercise for anything but the quads really. Muscle activation depends a lot on the design of the machine itself, but many leg press machines start with a flexed hip position and the hips are never really allowed to extends which minimizes, if not eliminates, gluteal activation depending on the machine.

squats and deadlifts are by far my favorite but I throw in a lot of extra moves for my booty and its bubblier and firmer than its been in 8 years! once every other week I devote a day to bodyweight lower body moves (I call it my cardio hehe) and do tons of squat variations (plie, sumo, pulsing, jump.squats, etc) walking lunges and walking squats around my extra large yard, box jumps, burpees, ect. also on leg day I do dumbell split squats, calf raises (if you want to work on grip strength, add your calf raises to your last rep of deadlift each set!) kettelbell swings, hip thrusts, and farmers walk. I do other random moves but those are.the main ones I use for leg day 2x week :-)

LolaKarwowski wrote: »

terar21 wrote: »

Squats and deadlifts will indeed help your butt grow if you're just looking for general improvement (provided your eating at a calorie surplus; if in a deficit, it will help you maintain what you have).

If you're trying to REALLY target them and feel like you're lacking, then yes, I'd do work that targets the glutes with a higher activation. As another poster mentioned, squats and deadlifts do activate the glutes, but there are other exercises that hit the glutes harder. Do both.

And this is what I will do. Thanks y'all!!

I started doing these for a different reason, but doing DB step-ups with a box that has your thigh parallel to the ground actually gets a considerable amount of glute activation through hip extension, not to mention most people will find that if you vary them in the different planes of motion you'll improve your general movement as well.

squats and deadlifts should make about 80% of your booty work. they are so so important because they are compound exercises. going very heavy during your squats and deadlifts are ideal. i also recommend doing some accessory work for your lower body to help with your heavier lifts. some example are glute ham raises, db split squat, walking lunges, leg press, bb hip thrusts etc.,