by Matt Weik
The glutes (or butt muscles) are probably the most under-trained muscles in the body. In fact, some people have never done a single set of glute exercises. You need to build a better butt — it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female.
Build a Better Butt! It’s an ASS-et… Not a Liability
Think about it… We sit for hours on end at our desk job, which means we spend most of our time flexing our quadriceps and neglecting our glutes. This can lead to a loss of muscle mass, weak glutes, and lower back pain. Plus, strong glutes are essential for style-fitting pants, a perk you can’t afford to miss out on!
It seems like women tend to put more emphasis on this area of their physique and utilize glute exercises more than men, but if you ask women if they like a man with a round butt or a pancake butt, they’d much rather prefer a round butt.
Once you get your glutes in shape, not only will your butt look rounder, perkier, and lifted, but most importantly, your lower body will be much more powerful and will make you stronger in all your other physical activities.
6 Glute Exercises to Make Your Butt GROW
A strong and powerful butt can improve your posture and help you move better. Here are some glute exercises you can include in your training to get the results you’re after and see some booty growth!
1. Free Weight Squats
• The squat is commonly referred to as one of the best glute exercises out there. You can build a fantastic butt by ensuring you go deep in the movement and really squeeze the glutes as you come back up.
• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding the dumbbells in front of you at shoulder level, palms facing in (you can also use a barbell across your upper back).
• Lower your body as far as you can by pushing your hips back and bending at your knees.
• You need to keep your knees in line with your toes and don’t let them bow outward or travel past your toes.
• Pause at the bottom of the movement, then push yourself to the initial standing position as fast as possible without losing control of the movement or letting your form get sloppy.
• Repeat until you’ve completed the full set.
2. Smith Machine Squats
• Set the bar of a Smith Machine at a little lower than shoulder height.
• Move under the bar so that it’s across your upper back.
• Grasp the bar with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and lift it off the supports.
• Step into the machine slightly with both feet so that they are a little bit out in front of you.
• Lower yourself until both knees are bent at 90-degrees, and then push back up to the start position where you’re standing straight up.
• Repeat the movement until you’ve completed your set.
3. Tuck Jumps
• This is a great exercise because it works all the lower body muscles (quads, hamstrings, and glutes). Plus, it’s an explosive movement that also helps to develop power, which can also help your muscles get bigger in size.
• To do the tuck jump, stand straight up on a box or step with your knees slightly bent and your feet about hip-width apart.
• Then, jump up as high as you can and land softly on the floor by bending your knees and absorbing the shock with your hips.
• To ensure that you’re jumping correctly and landing softly, try to make sure that you land on the ball of your foot (your toes should just barely touch) and that both knees remain straight during the movement.
• Get back up on the box or step and continue the exercise until you’ve completed the entire set.
4. The Glute Bridge
• The glute bridge is one of the most widely used glute exercises out there as it is quite a simple and effective exercise to build a stronger and better-looking butt.
• Lie your back on the floor, knees bent, and feet flat on the floor.
• Then, you’ll raise your hips so your body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders.
• Hold for 1 second, then lower back down to complete one rep.
• Continue the movement until you’ve completed the entire set.
5. Walking Lunges
• This is one of the great glute exercises to really squeeze the glutes.
• First, take a long step forward with one leg, then bend both knees until your front thigh is parallel with the ground, keeping your back straight and your trailing leg slightly bent.
• Push off with the front leg and step forward with the other leg until you’re back in starting position, standing straight up.
• Repeat the same motion, only with the other leg moving forward this time.
• Continue to switch back and forth between legs until you’ve completed the full set for both legs.
• Be sure to keep your chest up and core tight throughout this exercise to maintain good posture and balance.
• If you want to make this exercise more challenging, hold a pair of dumbbells straight down at your sides.
6. Hip Thrusts
• The hip thrust is a great exercise for glutes, and it’s very easy to do.
• To do the hip thrust, lie on your back with your knees bent at 90 degrees and feet flat on the floor.
• Place a barbell or EZ curl bar across your hips, making sure it is resting above your pelvis and close to your body.
• Lift your hips off the ground so that you are in a bridge position (your body should be straight at this point and parallel to the ground).
• Slowly lower down until your hips reach a 90-degree angle (your hips will not quite touch the ground).
• After reaching a 90-degree angle, push back up to the starting position using your glutes.
• Repeat the movement until you’ve completed the full set.