How to target my big butt!!??

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SoCaLchick
SoCaLchick Posts: 28 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Baby definitely got back over here lol. Seriously.. People have called me "bootie" since I was a teenager.

Problem is, my butt is getting wider and wider as the years go on. It's to the point where I feel it just isn't even attractive anymore (at least not to me). I'd really like to target the width of my butt specifically... Not sure what exercises I can do to attain that. However, I hear that doing squats will only make my butt bigger. So I'm at a loss with what to do.

I know overall weight loss will help reduce the overall size, which I'm working on. But I was wondering if there were any specific exercises that might help??

Thank you, in advance
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Replies

  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    You cannot. You lose the weight all over.
  • lseed87
    lseed87 Posts: 1,105 Member
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    You can't really target areas but squats, lunges, glute exercises in general can make it firmer while reducing the rest of it..
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
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    Got to lose fat (through deficit) to lose excess booty. I speak from experience. Exercises that can build & shape the glute muscles are the ones mentioned above: squats, lunges, glute bridges, hip thrusters. Check out Strong Curves. I am pear shaped and I've lost some fat & lift weights and I've def lost inches in my hips/Glutes.
  • SoCaLchick
    SoCaLchick Posts: 28 Member
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    Sumiblue wrote: »
    Got to lose fat (through deficit) to lose excess booty. I speak from experience. Exercises that can build & shape the glute muscles are the ones mentioned above: squats, lunges, glute bridges, hip thrusters. Check out Strong Curves. I am pear shaped and I've lost some fat & lift weights and I've def lost inches in my hips/Glutes.

    Thanks for the advice! So do you think I should avoid doing those particular exercises? I'm just not wanting my butt to stay the same or get bigger. A friend told me to avoid those exercises and only do cardio and weights.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
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    You can not spot reduce.
    Genetics play a big role in some our *assets*
    All you can do is reduce your body fat and see how it goes !
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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    You probably shouldn't avoid them. You know what your bootie was like before you gained weight.
  • SoCaLchick
    SoCaLchick Posts: 28 Member
    edited January 2016
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    This is what my butt looks like. I'd really like to not lose the outward shape (if that makes any sense), just the width. I just don't think I can target it like that, as many of you have already mentioned

    7m3hpcya8eki.jpeg
    8yno772r6yh9.jpeg
  • SoCaLchick
    SoCaLchick Posts: 28 Member
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    I went to an amusement park with my sisters a couple months ago and I couldn't fit on 2 of the rides because my butt wouldn't fit into the seat. It was extremely embarrassing. :(
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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    You can't target, but you don't need to avoid the exercises sumiblue recommended. If you were trying to get something you didn't have before at a smaller weight, that is a different story. Based on your pic, I think you will be ok though and you will fit the rides in the future.
  • SoCaLchick
    SoCaLchick Posts: 28 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Yeah I've ALWAYS had a large butt. Always. But in the past 2 years it has gotten WIDER. So, that's where my frustration is. I even thought, am I sitting to much and squishing it flat?? Lol

    I do think that overall fat loss will reduce the size. It's funny though, the sides of my bottom don't feel soft like fat, it feels hard like muscle. Odd to me.
  • SoCaLchick
    SoCaLchick Posts: 28 Member
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    thorsmom01 wrote: »
    You can not spot reduce.
    Genetics play a big role in some our *assets*
    All you can do is reduce your body fat and see how it goes !

    Thank you for the advice. Yes, I would agree genetics play a part.. it definitely runs in the family, though mine seems to win the award for largest. Lol
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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    Some people store more fat in their stomach, some people store more fat in their thighs and hips. Looks like you gain in your thighs and hips since your stomach looks small from this view. Just focus on not losing focus :)
  • SoCaLchick
    SoCaLchick Posts: 28 Member
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    Thank you, I will definitely stay focused on overall weight loss.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited January 2016
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    You basically want to lose some fat. Whether or not you do any kind of exercise, including squats and whatnot, has no bearing on the width of your butt. When you are dieting you are very unlikely to gain significant muscle size because you aren't eating enough to fuel the process, and even if you did a bulk and focused on your butt muscles (tried to deliberately gain weight to help gain muscle) you are more likely to change the way your butt supports itself than increase its width so it may become higher/more pronounced in the back rather than wider at the hips. Basically, do whatever exercises you wish to do and eat fewer calories than needed to maintain your weight and you will lose some inches all over, including butt.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    Yep. You got it-overall fat loss. I had 44 inch hips (I'm 5'4" and had a 29 inch waist). My body looked like that of two different people. I got my hips down to 37 inches at their smallest. I did not skip on the squats and glute exercises. They helped me retain some muscle, but there was so much fat to lose that maintaining muscle just helped it look a bit better once it was smaller.

    The fun part--now I'm building it BACK, hopefully with muscle lol.
  • SoCaLchick
    SoCaLchick Posts: 28 Member
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    Thank you for the advice @amusedmonkey.

    I think that's the general idea of what I'm hearing in this post. I will have to simply continue to focus on weight loss. :)
  • SoCaLchick
    SoCaLchick Posts: 28 Member
    edited January 2016
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    @arditarose I feel the exact same way with my bottom now! I feel like my upper half and lower half could be two separate people lol. I even had a lady come up to me once and grab me by my waist and say "below this is negative energy". I was annoyed and kind of weirded out lol. But it's true, it looks like 2 totally different bodies.

    Thank you for the advice. I will not skip the squats :)
  • ksvrdh
    ksvrdh Posts: 2 Member
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    SoCaLchick wrote: »
    This is what my butt looks like. I'd really like to not lose the outward shape (if that makes any sense), just the width. I just don't think I can target it like that, as many of you have already mentioned

    7m3hpcya8eki.jpeg
    8yno772r6yh9.jpeg

  • ksvrdh
    ksvrdh Posts: 2 Member
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    The teens call that 'thick as hell' :) so you are actually in style! You will probably always have that shape no matter what size you are. Trim it up though. My SIL had surgery and even that couldn't change it very much. Just trim yourself up and build your confidence to embrace that booty. Running may also help
  • AngryGangrel
    AngryGangrel Posts: 37 Member
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    SoCaLchick wrote: »
    Sumiblue wrote: »
    Got to lose fat (through deficit) to lose excess booty. I speak from experience. Exercises that can build & shape the glute muscles are the ones mentioned above: squats, lunges, glute bridges, hip thrusters. Check out Strong Curves. I am pear shaped and I've lost some fat & lift weights and I've def lost inches in my hips/Glutes.

    Thanks for the advice! So do you think I should avoid doing those particular exercises? I'm just not wanting my butt to stay the same or get bigger. A friend told me to avoid those exercises and only do cardio and weights.

    Your friend may have absorbed the (sadly common) exercise myth that squats and lunges make a big butt look bigger. This is malarkey. Squats and lunges are some of your best friends. For one thing, by building and strengthening those large lower body muscles, you're going to make your body a better all-over fat burning machine. Stumptuous has a series on squats and how to do them right, starting here:

    https://www.stumptuous.com/learning-the-squat-1-debunking-the-myths

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