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Build a Bigger Butt: Beginners Guide

Leonardo Alves

Build a Bigger Butt: Beginners Guide

So, you're here because you want to build a bigger butt - and likely a more improved overall lower body too.

As someone who has confidently developed both and helped many other people do the same at Kairos Online, I'm about to educate you on how you can do it.

So, sit tight, read closely and find out how to build a bigger and stronger butt - especially if you're a beginner.

What Not To Do

First, let's get all the poorer exercises out of the way.

So, here are a few examples of exercises that do not help you in building a bigger butt, whether you're a beginner or not:

  1. Kickbacks on the stair master

  2. Jump squats

  3. Squatting with cables

  4. Vertical leg press

  5. Sitting sideways on a horizontal leg press

Are a few rubbish butt exercises that come to mind.

So, how can you tell which exercises are a much better idea instead? 

Well, here are a few things you wanna look out for:

  1. It can easily fit your structure.

  2. Has a high degree of stability.

Because with these two points in place, you can put forward more effort and progressively overload more efficiently.

3. Has a high potential for loading, e.g. barbell or dumbbell exercises.

For example:

  1. Kickbacks on the stair master don't allow you to progressively overload.

  2. Sitting sideways on a horizontal leg press (something it's not made for) isn't going to fit your structure as well as a Romanian deadlift or Bulgarian split squat.

  3. Jump squats have poor stability.

Now, onto 'glute activation'.

Glute' Activation'

This is a topic that seems to confuse many people - potentially you included.

Plus, as someone who used to firmly believe that 'glute activation' exercises at the start of sessions were crucial for growing a bigger butt - I can admit I was wrong.

As my experience with training has grown over the years, and learning a lot from Paul Carter (@liftrunbang1) on Instagram - I've now realised that 'glute activation' exercises are a myth.

How so? After noting studies from Krause et al. (2020) and Contreras et al. (2015), where they both looked into which exercises 'activate' your butt most - there's a clear distinction between exercises that provide the most amount of activation/stimulus Vs the ones that are commonly used for 'glute activation'.

You notice that the best' glute activation' exercises are just good glute exercises. Especially when compared to the ones you'd typically use to 'activate' the glutes, e.g. monster walks (crabwalks).

And yes, there are limitations with EMG, such as:

  1. It doesn't measure muscle growth potential, only activation - and remember, activation doesn't necessarily mean 'high potential for muscle growth'.

    How so? Think of body weight exercises with a high amount of 'activation', but due to its lack of ability to load, it may be a poorer choice for growing a bigger butt (or any muscle).

  2. Knowing how the movements were executed can also be tricky, significantly affecting how a muscle will be stimulated, e.g., a wider or closer stance when performing a Bulgarian split squat.

Although EMG can give some great insight, I'm only highlighting those two factors to ensure you always think critically about each study.

Now, you may very well do some of the 'lesser' glute exercises due to limitations with equipment, injury, etc. If that's the case, you'll have to make do with what you have or can do.

But if you can perform more of the highly ranked exercises within the images and they fit your structure well - then you'd be wise to put them in.

Anyway, here's a graph from the study by Krause et al. (2020) below.

I didn't post the images from the second study by Bret Contreras in 2015 because they are low quality, meaning you should check them out yourself if you'd like. Rather than me posting them here and reducing the quality of the images even further, which is what initially happened.

Volume

It's evident in the research that sets taken to failure - or one or two reps shy - will produce the same amounts of hypertrophy, a.k.a butt growth.

But (no pun intended) that's not to say that all rep ranges are created equally - you'd do well to prioritise rep ranges of 6-12 because it'll allow you to reach a more significant amount of tension much faster when performing your set as these rep ranges are performed with a heavier load.

More tension = more growth.

It's also essential to remember that if you can do 30+ reps for any exercise - not just butt ones - then it is not effective for muscle growth.

This is also why it's always essential you:

  1. Train to (or 1 or 2 reps shy) failure, rather than mindlessly picking up weight, doing a few reps, and then putting it back down.

  2. Progressively overload wherever you can.

Now, let's talk about frequency.

Frequency

The more you train a muscle, the more likely you will see growth - up until a certain point.

I suggest training your glutes between 3 to 4 times weekly to make the most progress, using various exercises and rep ranges.

You'd also do well to include about 3 to 4 exercises per session with that amount of frequency, and 2 to 3 sets per exercise being more than enough. However, it is easier to give specifics like these with additional context.

"Surely, if I train it 6-7 days a week, then that'd be even better, right Leo?"

Nope, and I'll tell you why.

Because your rest days are as necessary for your progress too.

Your muscles don't actually grow in the gym - you're breaking and tearing your muscles down in the gym. Outside the gym, they grow alongside adequate sleep, protein and calories.

If training every day yielded better results, I'd have done it.

You're not going to get results being the hardest worker; you're going to get results being the most intelligent worker.

Calories

You're reading this because you want to know how to build a bigger butt, correct? So understand that if you're not giving your body enough calories to grow muscle, you'll make the process more challenging for yourself.

I'd strongly recommend eating at maintenance or a slight surplus for optimal butt muscle-building results.

Although it's important to note that if your goal is also fat loss, you'll still have to ensure that you're in a calorie deficit - different from the most' optimal' condition to build muscle.

But note how I say 'optimal' because:

  1. If you're in your earlier days of working out, I guarantee you'll gain muscle at an enormous rate anyway.

  2. Suppose you've been lifting for a while but have a high body fat percentage. In that case, I'd recommend sticking with a calorie deficit regardless - it goes back to the word 'optimal'.

  3. You'll still build muscle for as long as the intensity is there and you apply a progressive overload.

Note 1: 
By 'earlier days of working out', I'd classify that as anything less than 12 months of training OR if you've been training for longer but without a high intensity applied and/or not progressively overloading.

Note 2:
For clarification on your calorie goal, click here to access my online calculator.

Protein

Another critical factor is that maximising muscle growth will only happen when you train with high intensity and consistently hit your daily protein numbers.

So, how much protein should you aim for?

You'll need to eat a certain amount of protein to ensure optimal progression.

A target of 0.7-1g per lb of body weight (BW) is excellent. However, if you're more overweight, you can aim for a lot less, e.g. 0.4/0.6g per lb of BW, as your protein goal will likely be unrealistically high.

Although I must admit - there's no science to back the 0.4/0.6g figure up. But I can tell you from experience working with busy people like yourself who haven't put much thought behind protein intake before – starting at the 0.7-1g per lb of BW can be a tough start.

For example, for someone 100kg in body weight, or 220.5lbs;

Situation A:
0.7-1g x 220.5 = a daily protein goal of anywhere between 154g to 221g

Situation B:
0.4-0.6 x 220.5 = a daily protein goal of anywhere between 88g and 132g

Situation B is much easier to achieve within your earlier days = a lot more motivating.

Plus, it's important to note that if your protein goal is 132g, then it should be a 'minimum 132g', meaning if you go over, that's fine too!

So Which Exercises For Building a Bigger Butt? 

Well, regardless of whether you're a beginner, intermediate or more advanced - the basics always work best - and luckily, there's a lot to choose from (as previously seen in the image a few paragraphs above).

Some of my favourites are:

To name a few.

Although more important than any of these is HOW you execute them. Do not underestimate the importance of this.

Note:
To download your very own free workout plan, then click here.

Bonus Section: Why Sumo Deadlifts Aren't an Excellent Glute Choice Contrary to Popular Belief.

Another eye-opener from Paul Carter's Instagram account, and this isn't to say that your butt does nothing at all when you're performing the Sumo Deadlift, and you're OK to keep doing it if you want - but you'd likely be better off doing the other glute exercises I've suggested throughout. Why?

  1. Because your butt isn't the main mover when you're doing a Sumo Deadlift, it's more your piriformis.

  2. This muscle sits under your butt - which is why you have that sensation around your glutes when performing the Sumo Deadlift - but it's also why it's NOT your glutes.

  3. The glutes are in a more shortened position during the Sumo Deadlift (less range of motion).

As you can see, the sumo deadlift on the right has less range of motion.

The image used is from the @liftrunbang1 Instagram account, which I suggest following if you are okay with a no-BS attitude to learning about hypertrophy exercises.

So, what is the Sumo Deadlift suitable for? Due to its reduced range of motion, it's a good exercise for lifting more total weight.

Realise, the more range of motion you have during a butt exercise, the more likely you are to benefit from it - because that's vital for hypertrophy, a.k.a; a bigger butt.

Note:

I’m not saying that the Sumo Deadlift is cheating, which gets pushed about on social media nowadays. I am saying that it’s an inferior exercise for hypertrophy compared to a Romanian Deadlift, for example.

Whether or not Sumo is cheating is a discussion I couldn’t care for.

Otherwise, That's the 'Build a Bigger Butt: Beginners Guide' Article Finished

I hope you liked it, and don't hesitate to send over any questions.

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Speak soon,

Leo

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