Can squats or lunges make your butt bigger?

 If you look for the best exercises to make your butt bigger you will get many suggestions, and sure there are a great number of good butt exercises. But which ones are the best? Squats and Lunges are often mentioned to be among the most effective butt exercises around but Can squats or lunges make your butt bigger or should you quit doing them altogether and  find other butt building exercises instead? Well, we'll take a look at the squat and lunges and what these exercises do for your lower body.

 

 

Lets start with the squat. The squat is a classic strength and muscle building exercise. The squats is performed by a great number of athletes such as body builders, power lifters, sprinters, fitness people and all kind of sport people who work out in the gym. 

The Squat is a basic exercise which train all of lower body at the same time. Thus working the hamstrings, thighs, calves and Buttocks at the same time. It is said that the Squat makes your whole body grow and give you both volume and strength and therefore it is a very popular exercise.

However, does it really make your glutes bigger? It certainly puts some strain on your booty and it makes it firmer but if your aim is to make your booty look bigger is it a good exercise for this purpose? Yes and No and here comes the explanation. The squat does train your booty and propably makes it a little bigger as well, but the main purpose of the squat is to train your thighs. 

Your thighs are doing most of the work and they will grow the most. Now the glutes will also grow a little but this will not be noticed as much since your thighs and hamstrings also will grow. So if your aim is make your butt look noticably bigger without makeing your thighs bigger then the classic squat is not the best exercise. There are others which will give you better results. 

 

However, There are other variations of the classic squats which will target the buttocks a lot more. One example of this is the Sumo Squat. As you can see on the photo the difference between a a classic squat and a Sumo Squat is the stance. When performing a Sumo Squat you stand with your legs further apart and your toes pointing outward. You will see how to perform it on the video below and below you will find detailed instructions on how to do the Sumo Squat.

 

 

1. Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointed out at a 45-degree angle, and your back straight.

2. Engage your core by pulling your belly button in towards your spine.

3. Bend your knees and hips, lowering your body down towards the ground. Keep your weight on your heels and your chest up.

4. Lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Make sure your knees don't extend beyond your toes.

5. Push through your heels and return to a standing position, squeezing your glutes at the top.

6. Repeat until you feel the strain in your buttocks and legs

   You can add of course add a weight to increase resistance but if you are new to this exercise then I propose you start out without weights and concentrate on doing the exercise slowly and with correct form. As you get stronger you can increase the number of repetitions and eventually add some weights.
   

 For  increased resistance you can add a weight. Put a barbell on your shoulders or hold dumbells in your hands. Anything that weighs a little will add to the resistance of the exercise.

Lunges

Lunges is another "classic" lower body exercise. Like Squats, Lunges work your entire lower body such your thighs, hamstrings, glutes and core. Lunges is an excellent exercise which easy to perform and can be done everywhere. However is the Lunges a good exercise for building a great booty? Not quite. Lunges do work the buttocks (a sore butt the day after doing them is pretty common) but like the classic squat the main muscles targeted by lunges is the thighs (they are great for the inner thighs)

But there are (just like with squats) variations of Lunges that will put more emphasis on your butt. On such variation is reverse lunges. Below you will find a description on how to do reverse lunges and also a video showing you how. 

 Stand with your feet hip-width apart, take a big step back with your right foot and lower your body until your left thigh is parallel to the ground and your right knee is almost touching the floor. Push through your left heel and step back up to the starting position, repeating the movement. This exercise places more emphasis on your glutes and hamstrings and can help improve your posture.

Here is the video on how to do reverse lunges. This exercise can be done with or without weights but when starting out it is better to do it without weights.

 

 

 So, there you go. Lunges and squats can be good for building a bigger booty but you have to tweek them a little to put more strain on your glutes instead of your legs. There are also other variations of Lunges and Squats which are good for building a really juicy and well shaped behind but I will leave that for my next article.

I wish you the best of luck

Jojo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 Best Exercises for a Bigger, Firmer Butt

 Here is a list of 8 great exercises to make your butt bigger, firmer and rounder along with instructions and images on how to do them. The exercises are the following:

1. Glute Bridges

2. Clam Shells

3. Hip Thrusts  

4. Donkey Kicks 

5. Side Kicks

6. Step-Ups 

7. Single-Leg Deadlifts  

8. Side-Lying Leg Lifts    

  

1. Glute Bridges

 1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. 

 2. Push your hips up so that your body forms a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. 

 3. Squeeze your glutes and hold the bridge position for a few seconds.  

4. Slowly lower your hips back down to the floor and repeat.  

5. For an extra challenge, try lifting one leg off the ground while you hold the bridge position.

 

  2. Clam Shells

Clam shells are a great exercise to help strengthen the glutes and core. To perform a clam shell, start by lying on your side with your knees bent and feet together. Place your hands under your head or on your hip. 

Engage your core, then slowly lift your top knee as high as possible while keeping your feet together. Hold for one to two seconds, then slowly lower your leg back to the starting position. Repeat 10-15 times before switching sides.

 For more resistance you can add a rubber band between your legs like on this illustration

 

  

 

 

3. Hip Thrusts

 1. Set up a flat bench or box in front of a weight rack.  

2. Place a barbell across your hips, just below your belly button.  

3. Place your feet firmly on the ground, slightly wider than hip width apart.  

4. Keep your core and glutes engaged.  

5. Push your hips forward and up as you drive your feet                                                                                into the ground.  

                                                                          6. Squeeze your glutes and pause at the top before                                                                                          lowering your hips back to the starting position.  

                                                                          7. Repeat for desired number of repetitions. This exercise                                                                                can also be performed without weights

 

4. Donkey Kicks 

 1. Start on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.  

2. Engage your core by pulling your belly button into your spine and maintaining a neutral spine.  

3. Lift your right knee off the floor, keeping your knee bent and your foot flexed.  

4. Push your right foot up and back, squeezing your glutes                                                                             as you extend your leg behind you.  

5. Pause for a second at the top, then slowly lower your knee back to the starting position.  

6. Repeat the same movement on the left side.  

7. Complete 8-10 repetitions on each side for 1 set.

 

5. Side Kicks

Stand on all fours. Extend your leg (like on the picture) and then kick sideways. Repeat until you feel strain in your buttock/hip and then change legs and do the other side. For more resistance you can add ankle weights or use a rubberband

 

 

 

   6. Step-Ups

 1. Stand in front of a step or box that is roughly the same height as your knee when bent. 

 2. Place one foot on the step.  

3. Bend your knee and hip to lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the ground. 

 4. Push through the heel of your foot on the step to straighten your leg and stand up. 

 5. Lower your back foot to the ground and repeat the movement with your other leg. 

 6. Continue alternating legs in a controlled manner for the desired number of repetitions.

 

7. Single leg deadlift

 

Single-leg deadlifts are a great exercise for strengthening your glutes, core, and hamstrings. They are a unilateral exercise, meaning you are working one side of your body at a time. To do a single-leg deadlift, stand on one foot with a slight bend in your knee. 

Keeping your back flat, hinge forward at the hips and reach your opposite leg behind you. Keep your chest up and your arms out in front of you as you lower your torso until it’s parallel to the floor. Engage your glutes and hamstrings to stand back up to the starting position. Repeat on the opposite leg.

 

8. Side-lying leg lifts    

Side-lying leg lifts are a great exercise for strengthening your core, lower body and especiallly your glutes. To perform a side-lying leg lift, start by lying on your side with your head facing up. Bend your knees and place your bottom leg in front of your body and your top leg behind your body. 

Make sure your feet are together and your back is straight. Next, lift your top leg up towards the ceiling and hold it there for a few seconds. Slowly lower it back down and repeat. You can increase the intensity of this exercise by adding a resistance band or ankle weights. Be sure to keep your core engaged throughout the movement

So, there you go, the 8 best Exercises for a Bigger, Firmer Butt. For the best possible results you should do these exercises 3 times a week. You can do all of them or just a few, its up to you but doing them regularly  will give you the results you are longing for. Just be patient and don't try to do to much to fast as this will only lead to overtraining and exhaustion. Just increase the number of repetitions and/or the resistance slowly as you get stronger and you will soon notice your butt getting bigger, firmer, rounder and SEXIER. If you want more butt exercises I can recommend this butt building exercise program. It is called Unlock Your Glutes and it contains every possible exercise you need in order to build a great butt.

You get Unlock Your Glutes HERE

Finally, make sure to eat well after each workout. This is important in order to let your body recover between workouts. Good natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, cereals and milk are great and contains the carbohydrates, proteins and other nutriens needed in order to recover betweeen workouts. Nuts,  and fatty fish such as salmon contains good protein and fatty acids which are not only good for your heart and general health but also known to making your butt bigger by adding som fat to it as well as muscles.

So all that is left is to get started. Do the exercises regularly and make sure to eat well and you will soon notice how your butt gets bigger, firmer and sexier. 

Wishing you the best of luck.

Jojo