5 Tips To Get A Bigger Butt Without Bulking Up Your Thighs

I totally understand the struggle: wanting that peachy booty while keeping your legs slender. Some of you worry about bulking up or getting too muscular from lifting heavy. If building muscle was that easy, I'd want in on your secret! Trust me, my heavy lifting journey hasn't been a quick one – I'm definitely not turning into the incredible hulk here. Let’s bust a myth right away:

Lifting the right way sculpts you into lean, toned, and curvy perfection. The real bulking culprit? It's more about your diet than your gym routine. And speaking of diet, don't miss my post on how a low carb high fat diet can revamp your fitness journey. So, with that myth out of the way, let's dive in.

The Worst Booty Building Mistake

Heads up: most lower body exercises will grow your thighs a bit. The glutes are the largest muscle in the body but also notoriously, the laziest. Meaning; if they can let any other muscle do the work for them, then by-golly, they will. The result: a pancake butt with quadzilla thighs. Ok, I exaggerate, but seriously, that’s how you feel, right?

Squats aren’t evil – they're actually a fantastic compound exercise for beginners. But to avoid overdeveloping your thighs, you need to be strategic. Here's how:

1. Avoid Quad-Stressing Exercises

I’m going to assume that by ‘bulking up your thighs’, you actually mean the quads/front of your legs and not the hamstrings/back of your legs, because honestly, no one has ever said to me, “Damn, Shelley, I just hate how big and shapely my hamstrings are. I wish I could shrink them.” Shapely hamstrings compliment a well-developed and perky bum IMO. Jus' sayin'. So, if your goal is to grow those glutes, you might want to limit or avoid these thigh-targeted exercises (or at the very least, don't go heavy on them!):

• Squats (all variations)

• Lunges

• Bulgarian Split Squats

• Leg Press

• Leg Extension Machine

• Conventional Deadlift

You might be thinking, "what’s left??". Admittedly, not a whole lot, but here's what you can do to grow those glutes without growing your thighs:

2. Start With Lightweight Glute Activation

It's crucial to start with lightweight when focusing on glute activation. Resist the temptation to add too much weight too soon. If you go heavy right away, your dominant quads will take over. Grab a booty band (check out my Strong Curves Booty Bands) and focus on that mind-muscle connection. This is key for developing those buns. Remember, glutes are lazy. You've got to coax them into action. There are tons of activation exercises like butt squeezes, lying leg abductions, seated abductions, butt planks, and clams. Check out my video 'Why Your Glutes Won't Grow' for the best booty activation exercises. Start with a 10-minute drill, and don’t forget to squeeze those buns like there's no tomorrow!

3. Learn How To Squeeze

Knowing how to squeeze your butt is crucial. This is the key to maximum glute contraction, and the more you can contract a muscle, the more it grows. You'd be surprised how many women I've worked with who don't know how to effectively squeeze their glutes. It's super easy, and you can practice it absolutely anywhere. The trick is to master the posterior pelvic tilt (PPT) and clench those butt cheeks as hard as you can. Imagine you have a belt around your waist and tilt or scoop your pelvis by pushing the hips forward, as if you're drawing the belt buckle up towards you. Then, imagine someone is poking your rear with a hot rod – that'll make sure you squeeze hard. Check out my quick glute squeeze tutorial video. Remember to use your glutes to push your hips forward and avoid crunching your lower spine. You can do the PPT butt squeeze anywhere and anytime – in line at the post office, at the supermarket, or even while brushing your teeth!

4. Choose The Right Glute-Focused Exercises

If your goal is to grow glutes without growing thighs, your training routine needs to be tailored accordingly. This means less squatting and more thrusting. Your lower body workouts should really challenge your glutes. However, remember we're all built differently, with unique bone structures and muscle development. What works well for some may not work for you. For instance, I prefer hip thrusts over glute bridges because, in the bridge position, I feel it more in my hamstrings than my glutes. Pick exercises that make your booty burn. If you don’t feel it, ditch it. It's better to work with a smaller selection of effective exercises than to try every move you see on Instagram. Try these top glute-focused exercises:

• Hip Thrust

• Glute Bridge

• Romanian Deadlift

• Cable Pull-Through

• Smith Machine Kick-Back

• Glute-Focused Hyperextension

Experiment with foot positioning, banded or weighted variations, feet elevation, stance width, and single-leg variations. Find the ones that give you the most glute activation and stick with them. Progress with more weight slowly, especially if your glutes are weak. The stronger you can get with these booty-focused moves, the more your butt will grow. But don’t rush into heavy weights, or your quads will take over again.

5. Target The Butt From All Angles

Now that you know how to activate the glutes and get maximum contraction, it's time to hit every square inch of those muscles for the best gains. The glutes are made up of three muscles: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. You need to target all three for a round, full butt. There are countless exercises to keep your workouts interesting. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Standing Cable Abduction

• Step Up

• Cable Kick-Back

• Barbell Side Lunge

• Dumbbell Frog Pump

• Single Leg Box Squat

• Single Leg Side Glute Press

And that's how you grow glutes without growing thighs! But before you dive into planning your booty workouts, remember: there's no point in doing these fancy isolation variations unless you've mastered the first three steps. Some of these moves require a certain level of mind-muscle connection and training maturity. If you feel these exercises in places other than your butt, stick to band or body weight only, or hold off entirely until your glutes are doing more of the work than your quads. Baby steps. Nail the basics, and your booty will thank you later.

How To Get A Bigger Butt In A Nutshell

1. Start your lower body workout with 10 minutes of lightweight glute activation exercises. This will wake up those lazy buns without stressing the quads.

2. Master the art of the butt squeeze! The posterior pelvic tilt (PPT) is your friend for maximum glute contraction, allowing your booty to take the lead instead of your thighs.

3. Focus on getting stronger with glute-focused exercises that work for YOU. Remember, a smaller selection of effective exercises is better than a vast array of ineffective ones.

4. Get creative with glute isolation variations that target the booty from all angles. But if you feel it in the quads, lighten the load or skip it altogether.