Get ready to Tighten, Round, and Firm Your Backside with the Best Butt Workouts for Women!
No Nonsense Magazine Vol. 24 #2
By: Julie Lohre
Note from Sandy: It's just a personal thing… a glute thing. I can remember even back in high school, wanting to have a good butt. I weighed about 117 (5'7") and was very skinny. Track season would begin in the spring, and when training started, my butt would jiggle a bit on our mile warm-up runs. After about two weeks, it got firmer and shapelier. As I got a bit older, the power of the squat and lunge became a strong staple in my routine. Over time, my glutes began to take on a different look. Not so much just a firm behind, but also a more rounded shape. It was a strong accent, and as I saw the changes, I wanted to keep developing that area of my body. Even now, at 58, I look at my glutes and hope that I can keep what I have as I continue to
age. Heavy squats and lunges are out of the question for me now due to injuries and overuse, but I've continued to find good/safe ways to keep what I have tight and firm. We all have our own BUTT stories to share, so take a look at what Julie writes here, and maybe you can grab a few takeaways for yourself. Improvements can happen every day!!!
Great legs and a tight, round butt is something that we are all after. Not only can a firm, round butt fill out your clothes and make you look amazing, but it will also make your whole body work better. Weak glutes can impact your efficiency and strength, affecting how you run, squat, jump and do other everyday activities. It's important to build those muscles with the right kind of exercises to keep your hips aligned and rotating correctly.
So, I went on a mission... find the best butt exercises for women. We want to focus on the best exercises out there and follow the correct principles to build lean, shapely muscle; this means focusing on the basics because there is no magic shortcut. We will be doing Squats, Bulgarian split squats, Romanian deadlifts, Thrusters, and Plie Squats.
I've put them together for a butt workout that will seriously activate your glutes and help your butt grow tight, round, and firm. As a bonus, this workout will also serve as a great leg workout that targets, builds, and defines your quads and hamstrings too!
I am going to recommend two "butt dominant" leg workouts per week. Your goal should be to improve weekly on each of the exercises in these routines. If you are a beginner, start with just 1 set per exercise and add another set every two weeks until you are performing the full workout
that follows.
Day 1
SQUAT
4 sets of 6-8 reps
If you are looking for a tremendous butt-building exercise, you would be hard-pressed to do much better than the traditional back squat. Back squats place a significant load on your posterior, namely the glutes and hamstrings. To execute a back squat with proper form, I recommend practicing first with an unweighted bar as these types of butt exercises require practice to perfect.
Begin with a barbell resting behind your head at your shoulders. Keeping your weight on your heels, begin descending slowly into the back squat keeping your chest lifted. Drop your hips until they are parallel with the floor. As you start to come back up from your back squat, be sure that you are utilizing your glutes and hamstrings by squeezing your glutes to help you rise back to the top. It is critical to keep the core tight during this challenging exercise. Go relatively heavy using a full range of motion.
BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUAT
4 sets of 8-10 reps
With the Bulgarian split squat, the glutes are very active in the eccentric phase for control and hip stability while also at deeper hip flexion ranges. I love exercises that challenge both your glutes and your balance while engaging stabilizing muscles to allow you to get the most out of the movement. This exercise targets the front of your leg with your back leg there to offer some balance support.
Stand lunge-length in front of a stable bench or stability ball. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and rest the top of your left foot on the bench or ball behind you. Lower your body until your front knee is bent at a 90-degree angle. Press through your front heel and squeeze your glutes as you rise from the single-leg lunge position.
One thing to remember about the Bulgarian split squat is that it takes some trial-and-error to find proper foot placement to perform the exercise comfortably. Feel free to use a stable bench as you learn the Bulgarian split squat, but for advanced athletes, few things are better than a stability ball to make this one of the most challenging butt workouts out there!
BARBELL THRUSTERS
4 sets of 12-15 reps
Ready to take things to the next level and make one of the great butt exercises work for your whole body? Meet the barbell thruster. Cross fitters have known for some time that combining a powerful front squat with a push press is a full-body slam dunk that will help you get stronger and increase your functional fitness.
Those looking to build the best butt possible will appreciate the barbell thruster even more. Begin holding a weighted barbell at your shoulders, hands in an overhand grip, and elbows squeezed together and lifted. Sit back, pressing through your heels and keeping your core strong as you descend into the front squat portion of the barbell thruster. Sit until your butt is parallel with the floor. With power, press upward, pushing with your legs and arms at the same time. You end this exercise in a full overhead press keeping tight alignment all the way through from the barbell, shoulders, hips, and heels.
This exercise will be challenging when you first incorporate it into this routine following squats and split squats, so use a very light poundage.
DAY 2
SQUAT
5 sets of 5 reps
We are starting with squats again because your goal is to become an expert on this essential exercise while getting stronger over time. Start with a light to moderate weight and add a little weight to each set.
ROMANIAN DEADLIFT
4 sets of 10-15 reps
Romanian deadlifts might be old school, but there is nothing dated about how they help build your glutes and legs. But take it easy on this exercise at first, because you can get very, very sore from it.
Start by standing in front of the bar with your feet slightly under it. Feet should be hip-width apart with toes slightly turned out. As you squat down, keep your arms straight and shoulder-width apart, just outside of your legs. Bend your knees slightly while keeping your chest lifted to place the bar right at shin level or a little above and your hips slightly elevated. Take a big breath and begin to stand up while maintaining a flat back. Keep the bar close to your shins allowing it to follow your legs upward. As you lower back down slowly, keep your weight pressing through your heels and hamstrings engaged.
There is a good reason that this exercise has been around forever! Romanian deadlifts are a glute and hamstring dominant movement that develops the entire posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, and back). One of the unique things about this deadlift is that it focuses on the eccentric lowering motion, allowing for deeper engagement. Essentially, you are fighting gravity as you slowly lower the bar down toward the ground. You are engaging the hamstrings and glutes in a totally different way than when you focus on the concentric lifting portion.
PLIE SQUAT
4 sets of 8-10 reps
For one of my favorite targeted butt exercises, check out Plie Squats. Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes turned out. I like to hold a plate in front of me for the plie squat, but you can also hold a dumbbell straight down. Push your hips back and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
Be sure to keep your chest lifted and the core engaged. While pressing firmly through your glutes, a plie squat will take you back up to the starting position with your legs straight. As an upper-body bonus, squeeze tightly with your arms by keeping your elbows close to your body.
This is another exercise that can make your thighs, hamstrings, and butt very sore the first couple of times you do it, so use a light weight at first and focus on your form.
Best Supplements for Building Amazing Glutes
Of course, you need a solid nutrition and workout plan to see growth in your glutes, but beyond that, the right supplements can make a big difference. Here is what I recommend when you are on a mission to achieve a lean, shapely booty.
Beverly International Ultimate Muscle Protein
Start at the beginning with the highest quality, best-tasting protein on the market. This delicious 5-star protein powder will simplify your diet by helping you build and preserve lean, strong muscle and lose fat. In my experience, UMP will help you gain powerful muscle naturally while boosting your metabolism to help you lose fat. I recommend including 1-2 shakes per day.
Beverly International Mass Aminos
This one-of-a-kind formula is a valuable aid for building and preserving muscle. Bodybuilders, powerlifters, weekend warriors, collegiate athletes, and everyday fitness enthusiasts of all ages report gaining strength and getting leaner when using Mass Amino Acids tablets. Mass is the most effective form of protein supplementation available for increasing nitrogen retention and lean mass.
Beverly International Ultra 40
Ultra 40 is an all-natural performance enhancer obtained from cattle that graze on the grassy, fertile hillsides of Argentina. Each tablet contains 100% Argentine beef liver loaded with a powerful array of vitamins and other growth factors that support optimal blood and muscle health and much more. Many women consider Ultra 40 to be one of the best supplement investments they've ever made.
Beverly International FitTabs
Restore your energy and performance, diminish stress, and rebalance your entire body with this multivitamin custom-made for the fitness lifestyle. It's used by nearly all of my figure and bikini competitors, and the impact it makes on your hair, skin, and nails is incredible!
Beverly International Glutamine Select
Glutamine Select is all about recovery, and it supports the fastest possible improvements in the appearance and performance of your physique by tackling a little-known but pervasive condition known as "anabolic fatigue." Use before, during, and or after training. You can also take Glutamine Select between meals to sustain blood sugar levels while dieting. It is best mixed in a water bottle or shaker cup and sipped.
