Me at my first show November 2014, next weekend is my second show and let’s just say the booty has improved 😛

Lately there has been a huge obsession with booty! Boys and Girls, everyone is liking big butts and they cannot lie LOL Sorry! I had to! Anyway, the problem is, is that there are so many myths and misconceptions on how to make your butt look better. There are also so many products out there on the market that claim to “tone” and “shape” your glutes, or make them look higher, rounder, and so on. Now this is coming from a girl who is quite proud of the junk in her trunk! LOL I would say my booty is one of my selling features hahaha or at least it’s remarkable enough for people to remember me by 😉 So I am here to let you in on a few things that you may not have thought about when trying to achieve fuller, rounder, tighter, glutes.

1. First of all, if glutes and legs are your main focus you should consider training them at least twice a week. You don’t need to train them everyday, and if you trained them properly you shouldn’t be able to train them everyday when you’re trying to grow them. You should give at least a day in between leg sessions for your legs to rest. recover, and grow. If you’re training legs please stop doing the “30 Day Squat Challenge,” or Donkey Kicks with 3 lb weights doing like a million reps. You may feel the burn doing that, but how many reps in did it take for that to happen? Your butt is a very strong and powerful muscle. Actually, your legs (this includes your glutes) are your strongest and most powerful muscle group! They can take a beating! I mean they hold up your weight all day don’t they? Every time you sit and stand up, or climb stairs your legs are pushing your own body weight. So don’t be afraid to lift heavy with proper form (obviously), and a spotter if needed. Superset your leg workouts, give yourself a good pump. An example of a killer superset would be a reverse hack squat, and then 20 seconds of jump lunges. Basically what I’m trying to tell you is, is that putting a 20 lb barbell on your back and doing squats isn’t really doing much… Don’t waste your time doing extremely low weight exercises. Give your legs a challenge!
2. However, that being said, there are so many people who cannot squat for the life of them OMFG it kills me inside! You need to get depth in your squat to properly engage your glutes and the rest of your legs. Please, please, please, ask for help first before attempting to squat any weight LOL including body weight. If you know any good trainers, coaches,  or athletes, like a bodybuilder, a powerlifter, or Olympic weight lifters, someone who knows what they’re doing, have them look at your squat. Let them show you how to do it properly, maybe film their squat? Then film yours so you can see the difference? Maybe work with them on several occasions until you’ve gotten the mobility and depth in your squat so that you can start achieving the results you want!
3. If you want better glutes, you should do more than just squats. If anything, you should really focus on your posterior chain. A lot of people are quad dominant, and their hamstrings and glutes are flat. There are a variety of exercises that are great for focusing on the hamstrings and glutes. Like single leg hamstring curls, lying hamstring curls, stiff leg deadlifts (lift your toes up on plates to really put an emphasis on your hamstrings), glute bridges, cable kickbacks, and more. Like I said before, if you want your glutes to grow then you should have at least two legs days. In the past I’ve done a more quad focused leg day, and on the second day a more posterior chain focused day. You really want to create balance in your legs. Not only because it looks better, but it will help you perform better inside and outside of the gym.
4. Now that we’ve discussed common training mistakes, there are other factors that need to be considered when trying to grow your glutes that you may never thought of. For example, many people suffer from what is commonly known as Lower Cross Syndrome. This is where the person has weak abdominals, tight hips flexors, tight lower back, and weak glutes. Lower cross syndrome affects a person’s ability to engage their glutes properly. Many times, the person thinks they’re squeezing their glutes and flexing, but really their cheeks are barely coming together, and if they are, it’s not for long. Lower cross syndrome affects the person’s mobility, this is because their tight hips, and back do not allow them to sit properly in a squat, or achieve the depth they need to properly engage their glutes. If you are not able to perform any exercises properly, then how are you able to achieve the results you want to see? In addition, most people who suffer with lower cross syndrome have really tight hamstrings as well. This will only make mobility that much more difficult, as well as glute activation more difficult. If you think you suffer from lower cross syndrome, there are corrective stretches and exercises that need to be performed before you try to build your legs and glutes!
5. Last but not least, if you want to have a better looking butt you need to consider your body composition as well. If you’re a naturally lanky and lean individual you need to look at your nutrition. If you want your muscles to grow you need to feed them, and if it is difficult for you to put on weight then you really need to increase your caloric intake and make sure that you’re lifting weights accordingly. Ladies, this means you need to disregard the scale a bit here. I’m not saying jump off the deep end and eat all the cake you want. LOL What I’m saying is increase your protein intake, and your carbs as well. Eat clean nutritious sources of carbs like oats, rice, sweet potatoes, and on a really tough leg day feel free to eat a treat. However, you need to earn your calories in the gym, lift heavy, and eat accordingly. Don’t be afraid of getting “fat” if you’re working hard in the gym, and lifting properly then you should feed your body accordingly. If you are over weight for example, you need to bring down your weight and body fat percentage first. This is because you need to be able to see more of the muscle under your fat to know what you’re working with. Dropping your body fat will automatically improve the shape of your glutes. The leaner you are the easier it is to increase your lean mass aka muscle mass. Your butt is a muscle in case you didn’t know, so if you want to improve their shape and size,you either need to increase your caloric intake or clean up your diet so that you can lean out for your butt to shine. Be honest with yourself, and tailor your diet accordingly.