Since the Kardashians have blown up, so has the desire to maximize booty gains. Physical activity is important if you want to live a long active lifestyle. However if you’re reading this, you might also be interested in the aesthetics of sculpting a booty.
Let’s Talk Booty Gains
I love working out because I know my brain needs it, but it doesn’t hurt to have goals to work toward! I am currently on my own journey to building better glutes. And let me tell you, they are not the easiest muscle group to grow. There is also plenty of information surrounding this ever growing popular subject. But I wanted to add to the conversation and share what has been working for me.
Lift Heavy & Lift Light
First of all, the glute muscles are made of both slow and fast twitch fibers. Slow twitch muscles react best with volume training, which is basically working until failure. And fast twitch muscle fibers adapt best with heavy compound movements like squats and deadlifts. I like to start my workouts with 1-3 compound exercises (heavy-ish weight for 8-12 reps) and finish up with some resistance band work (20-30 reps). An example of this:
Hip thrusts (50 lb) 3 sets of 10 reps
Walking lunges (15 lb) 3 sets of 15 reps (each leg)
Sumo Squats (40 lb) 3 sets of 12 reps
Lateral band walks 3 sets 25 reps
Side lying clams 3 sets 35 reps
You can also find tons of my leg workouts over on my channel or on my Instagram at foxyfitness.
Eat More, But Eat Right
Essentially, if you want to grow a booty, you’re looking to bulk. This just means you want to gain weight (in this case, muscle). And in order to bulk, you should be eating more calories than you are expending. This doesn’t mean you should eat whatever your heart desires. Eating a diet that consists of mostly nutrient dense foods will help fuel your energy to crush your workouts and build muscle. If you eat lots of processed foods high in sugar and sodium, you’ll end up gaining more fat than what you’d hope for. You can also read more about my bulking journey here.
Mind-Muscle Connection
Movement is initiated by the mind, so it makes sense that your brain has to send a signal to your muscles in order for them to contract. If there is poor communication between your brain and the muscle fibers, it’s going to make muscle contraction that much harder to accomplish. In other words, you’re not going to grow your glutes if you can’t feel them whether you are lifting heavy or light. The mind-muscle connection is key to building muscle and seeing results.
Too many people are concerned with how much they can lift, but aren’t targeting the proper muscles. Performing a few warm up sets is a helpful way to feel your glutes. Use a very light weight for 15-20 reps before your workout. And focus on squeezing the muscle at the point of maximum contraction. For example, squeeze your glutes at the top of a squat to make sure your using your glutes to lift the weight and not your back.
