I get asked this all the time and I totally get it. Weâre all on a quest to build a peachy booty and maintain long slender legs. But then you say, âI donât want to lift heavy because I donât want to bulk up or get too manlyâ or, âI build muscle really fast so I can only do light weightsâ. Girl, if you build muscle that frickinâ easy, then pray-tell, what is your secret?? Because Iâve been doing this 'heavy lifting' thing for a long time âand let me tell you, this booty didnât morph over night. I mean, do I look like the incredible hulk to you?! face palm Letâs just get one thing clear:
Lifting âWonât Make You Manly, But Lifting Like A Man âWill
Lifting weights (the right way) will make you lean, toned and curvy in all the right places. That âbulkingâ business has more to do with what you put in your mouth, than what you lift in the gym. Speaking of which, check out my other blog post on how a âlow carb high fat diet is the missing link in your efforts to get lean and toned. âOk, so now that weâve got that cleared up. Letâs move along shall we?
The Worst Booty Building Mistake
First off, a little disclaimer: all lower body exercises will grow your thigh muscles to some extent. Some more than others. Your lower body is made up of four muscle groups: quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. Even the booty favourite hip thrust will activate your quads to some degree.The problem is, you may be quad dominant. If youâve been squatting, lunging and leg pressing like a beast, (and become strong through these movements), then youâre probably quad dominant. And that has an effect on your glutesâ ability to be activated and targeted in these exercises instead.
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, thatâs how you feel, right?
Iâm not saying squats are the devil. They are a great compound movement that work a whole heap of muscles and as a beginner lifter, itâs one of the most important basic moves that you should absolutely learn to master before moving onto the fancy stuff. So how do you grow glutes without growing your thighs? Avoid this common booty building mistake:
Avoid Exercises That Stress The Quads
Iâm going to assume that by âbulking up your thighsâ, 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, âDamn, Shelley, I just hate how big and shapely my hamstrings are. I wish I could shrink them.â Shapely hamstrings compliment a well-developed and perky bum IMO. Jus' sayin'. These exercises are the biggest thigh-stressors, so if your goal is to grow those glutes, you should limit or avoid:
- Squats (all variations)
- Lunges
- Bulgarian split squats
- Step ups
- Leg press
- Leg extension machine
- Conventional and Trap bar deadlift
You might be thinking, "whatâs left??". Admittedly, not a whole lot, but here is what you can do to grow glutes withoutâ growing your thighs:
Start With Lightweight Glute Activation
Keeping the weight light is crucial at first. Don't be tempted to add the resistance. Less really is more when you're trying to wake up your lazy butt muscles. If you go too heavy off the bat, you can bet your bottom dollar that those killer quads will take over. So grab a booty band (grab your set of Strong Curves Booty Bands here) and start focusing on your mind-muscle connection. This is key to start developing those buns!
Remember how I said the glutes are lazy sons-a-b*tches? Well, youâve got to coax them into firing up. There are a ton of activation exercises you can do like butt squeezes, lying leg abductions, seated abductions, butt planks and clams. Check out my video 'Why Your Glutes Won't Grow' for all the best booty activation exercises. Just start with a 10 minute drill and donât forget to squeeeeeeze the bejesus out of those buns!
Learn How To Squeeze!
If you donât know how to butt squeeze, you better learn! Because this little maneuver is the key to maximum glute contraction - and the more you can contract a muscle, the more it will grow. Youâd be amazed how many ladies Iâve worked with who donât know how to effectively squeeze their tushies. Itâs super easy and you can literally practice absolutely anywhere.
The key is to master the posterior pelvic tilt (PPT) and clench your butt cheeks as hard as you can. Imagine you have a belt around your waist. Next, 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 you up the bum with a hot rod, making sure you squeeze the glutes hard #visuals.
Check out this quick glute squeeze tutorial video. Just make sure you use the glutes to push your hips forward and avoid crunching into your lower spine. You can do the PPT butt squeeze anywhere and any time - in the queue at the post office, in line at the supermarket or even when youâre brushing your teeth and youâll have rock hard glutes in no time.
Choose The Right Glute-Focused Exercises
If your goal is to grow glutes without growing thighs, then your training routine needs to be tailored accordingly. That means less squatting and more thrusting. Your lower body workouts should be setting your peach on fire! But weâre all built differently. We have different bone structures and different muscle development. So what works really well for some girls, wonât necessarily work of you.
For example, I prefer the hip thrust to the glute bridge because in the bridge position I feel it more through my hamstrings rather than my tush. Remember, you want to pick exercises that make your booty burn like all heck. So if you donât feel it, ditch it. Itâs best to work with a smaller toolbox, rather than doing every trick in the book, just because you saw some fitness chick on Instagram doing it.
Try out some of these glute-focused exercises below and play around with foot positioning, banded or weighted, feet elevated, stance width and single leg variations. Find the ones that give you the most bang for your buck and stick with them:
- Hip thrust
- Glute bridge
- American deadlift
- Cable pull-through
- Smith machine kick-back
- Glute focused hyperextension
Progress with more weight slowly because going too heavy off the bat (especially if your glutes are particularly weak). âThe stronger you can get through these booty-focused moves, the more your butt will grow. But donât go too heavy too fast or your quads will âtake over again. You really want to find that balance between getting some awesome glute burn under a load but without the other muscles (quads, hamstrings, calves) taking over.
Target The Butt From All Angles
Now you know how to activate the glutes, how to get maximum contraction out of your lifts and exactly which exercises to get really strong at - next: you need to isolate and target every square inch of your booty muscle fibres for epic gains! The glutes are actually made up of three muscles⌠yes, three!
- Gluteus maximus (the largest of the three and makes up the bulk of your butt).
- Gluteus medius (gives you that upper booty shelf at the top of your butt).
- Gluteus minimus (sits underneath the medius and is responsible for hip stablisation).
You need to target all three of these gluteal muscles if you want a round and full peachy butt. There are a bazillion exercises to choose from so booty workouts never get boring! Here are just a few of my favourites:
- Standing cable abduction
- Cable kick-back
- Barbell side lunge
- Dumbbell frog pump
- Single leg box squat
- Single leg side glute press
Thatâs how you grow glutes without growing thighs! But before you get all giddy and start planning some crazy booty workouts, just remember: thereâs no point in doing these fancy isolation variations unless you master the first three steps first.
Some of these moves require a certain level of mind-muscle connection and training maturity. If you feel these exercises anywhere but the butt, stick to band or body weight only, or hold off entirely until you feel the glutes doing the work rather than the quads. Baby steps. Get the basics right and your tush will reap the rewards later down the track
How To Get A Bigger Butt In A Nutshell
- 10 minutes of light weight glute activation exercises prior to your lower body workout will wake up those lazy buns without stressing the quads.
- Learn to butt squeeze! Pâosterior pelvic tilt (PPT) will give you maximum glute contraction so that your booty can dominate instead of your thighs.
- Get stronger at glute-focused exercises that are right for YOU. A smaller toolbox is better. Donât follow the crowd!
- Get fancy with glute isolation variations that hit the booty from all angles. But if you feel it in the quads, go light or ditch it!
âIf you found this article helpful, please âtell me so! Iâd love to know what you struggle with most in your glute training. Let me know in the comments below. If you're ready to take your training to the next level and want to learn everything there is to know about glute training, check out my Strong Curves Ultimate Guide here.