If there’s one thing we all have in common, it’s that we all want a toned, round booty! However, there’s a lot more to achieving bigger, rounder glutes than those 10-minute booty blast workout articles you see everywhere online.
That’s why we’ve put together our top tips below for making some serious booty gains!
- Glute Activation
Did you know it’s possible that you could be frequently working those muscles with the best glute exercises and not see much improvement?! The reason why? Glute activation.
It’s super important to “wake up” your glutes before you actually start your workout. They need to activate by doing some simple warm-up exercises such as squats, clamshells, bridges, single-leg bridges, kick-backs, and band walks. All of these moves are amazing for activating the glutes and establishing a mind-muscle connection. You could even try throwing in a resistance using a glute band if you really want to feel the booty burn during your workout!
- Movement Patterns
Your glutes are made up of three different muscles; gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. In order to target all three different muscles, it is important to train them with a variety of movements.
One of the most important things to think about when structuring your glute workout is ensuring that you are incorporating all the different movement patterns for a well-rounded workout. These movement patterns are:
- Bridge/thrust – these movement patterns include hip thrusts, glute bridges, and frog pumps which work the upper and lower glutes.
- Squat/lunge – these movements include squats, split squats, reverse lunges, and walking lunges, and they work the lower glutes.
- Hinge/pull – these movements include different variations of deadlifts (sumo, stiff leg, conventional etc.), 45-degree hyperextension, and back extensions. These movements work the lower glutes.
- Abduction – these movements include banded lateral walks, seated hip abduction machine, cable standing abduction, or side-lying hip abductions. They all work the upper glutes.
If you want to maximize your glute development, then it’s essential that you perform each of these movement patterns in every single glute workout. However, not everyone will like doing every single exercise, therefore you should experiment with different exercises within these 4 categories and figure out a combination that works best for you!
- Progressive Overload
Progressive overload involves setting a personal record in any rep range, and it’s better suited for big compound lifts such as squats, deadlift, and lunge variations.
However, it’s important to remember that progressive Progressive overload isn’t just about maxing out every single session by lifting the heaviest weight you possibly can. This could actually have an adverse effect on your glute growth, especially as your form may be suffering if you are just trying to beat a personal record by going heavy all the time.
In fact, it can involve doing more reps with the same weight, more weight for the same reps, or more sets with the same weight and reps. For example, it could be that you do one more rep, lift five more pounds, or perform one more set than the previous week. Remember: it’s a marathon, not a sprint!
- Nutrition
In order to grow your muscles, you need to be eating the right amount of calories and adequate protein regularly. If your goal is to grow your glutes, then you should be in a calorie surplus (eating more calories than you expend.) This may sound scary at first, but trust us, you’re not going to see the growth you want if you’re not supplying your body with the extra calories it needs to gain muscle!
Additionally, eating enough protein is essential if your goal is muscle growth. Protein is usually set at around 1g per pound of body weight per day, therefore you need to be consuming this amount in order to reach your goals. Check out our range of protein here to help you on your way!
- Train Glutes 2-3 Times Per Week
Let’s be realistic, you’re not going to achieve noticeable booty gains if you’re only training them once a week. In order to see real growth, you need to be training them at least 2-3 times per week. For example, if you train glutes 3 times per week, you could adopt a body part split approach by separating your workouts into 1 glute day, 1 quad/glute day, and 1 hamstring/glute day.
You should be aiming for at least 4 exercises per workout, enough to cover all the key movement patterns necessary for a well-rounded glute workout (bridge/thrust, squat/lunge, hinge/pull, and abduction.)
Take-Home Message
Progressive overload is the key to all muscle growth, however, you’re not going to set any personal records if you’re pushing yourself over the limit in all of your workouts, not getting enough sleep, or not fuelling your body with the right nutrition.
Too many people see going to the gym as a chore or something they have to tick off a list, rather than focusing on improving technique and performance week-by-week. Additionally, many people set the wrong objectives with their workouts such as burning calories as opposed to gaining strength.
Training hard and smart for 4 hours a week is a lot better in the long run than training for 10 hours a week. It’s a lot easier to sustain and consistency is key, after all! Focus on quality over quantity, ensuring that you get enough sleep, rest, and the right nutrition so that you’re getting the most out of each workout. That way, you’re 100 times more likely to beat your personal records the week prior and ultimately achieve the booty gains you’ve been reaching for!