Hey guys,

This week’s blog post is going to be about 10 expert tips for building bigger glutes. These tips can also be used for building our entire physiques. The experts in this blog post are glutes expert and strength and conditioning coaches Bret Contreras and Dan Trink, IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Mark Dudgdale and other fitness industry trainers and experts. 

Keep reading for more tips on how to stay consistent, train for a bigger butt and eat with the intention to develop our physiques. This blog post will also cover training frequency, exercises for building bigger glutes according to experts and the role of genetics.

Finally, you can expect to learn more about the importance of mastering strength training basics and technique for overall physique development. 

Why should women aim to get strong and fit through strength training?

 Quite simply, it is the best way for us to prevent injury, to develop more aesthetic looking physiques (compared to milder forms of exercise like Pilates and yoga alone) and to reverse ageing at a cellular level.  

Why should we want to develop our glutes?

Glutes are highly feminine and aesthetic when they are fully developed. They signify strength, fertility and are sexy! We should develop them for functional reasons as well as they help us run faster, jump higher and lift more weights. These benefits transfer to other sports, increase mobility and flexibility and can increase our sense of confidence and self-concept.

 Check out the benefits of lower body strength training for more reasons to start lifting weights. Without further ado, here are 10 expert approved tips on how to build bigger glutes and an overall strong and beautiful physique. 

Expert Tip #1: Eat enough protein and get strong at the hip thrust with perfect form 

The first tip is by glutes expert Bret Contreras. Bret Contreras comes from a strength and conditioning background, has invented the famous glutes exercise the hip thrust, and has written numerous books and blog posts on his hypertrophy research and work as a personal trainer.

His advice for building mass in the booty is to begin consuming enough protein and getting strong at the hip thrust while using perfect form.

“Many women could never build the booty they desire from going on a crash diet, doing excessive cardio, or focusing on yoga, Pilates, or aerobics. The only chance they have is with heavy strength training. My best tip would be to take two years to build up one’s hip thrust to three sets of ten reps with 225 pounds. When this occurs, good things tend to happen to the glutes (Contreras, 2022).” 

It is imperative for our glutes and physique development that we stop fearing lifting heavy weights as they only aid our pursuit of our curvier bodies. Of course, that means we should start tailoring our exercise programs to include expert approved glutes exercises like the ones below. 

Expert Tip #2: Follow this template during your glutes workouts to target the glutes from all angles 

Glutes building workout: 

Choose one exercise from each category to construct your workout. 

1) Thrust/bridge exercise:

These exercises are effective at building the upper and lower glutes. They provide the most amount of tension on the glutes when they’re in the fully contracted position. Make sure to squeeze at the top of the contraction! 

2) Exercises:

Hip thrust, Single Leg Hip Thrust, Bridge, Single Leg Bridge.

Techniques:

Pause (1-10 second pause or hold), pulses, quarter reps, isoholds. 

Optimal rep ranges:

6-12 repetitions for 3-4 sets.

2) Squat/lunge exercise:

These exercises are effective at emphasizing the lower glutes and quads. They are equally effective at providing the most amount of tension on the glutes when they’re in a fully stretched position. Make sure to really emphasize the stretch as you do this! 

Exercises:

Walking lunges, split squat, side lunge, reverse lunge.

Equipment:

Dumbbells, band, barbell, bench.

Techniques:

 Pause (1-10 second pause or hold), pulses, quarter reps, isoholds.  

Optimal rep ranges:

6-12 repetitions for 3-4 sets.

3) Hinge/pull exercise:

These exercises are great emphasizing the lower glutes and the hamstrings. 

Exercises:

Reverse hyperextension, single leg hyperextension, cable pull through.

Equipment:

Cable machine, dumbbell, roman chair or hyperextension bench. 

Techniques:  

Pause (1-10 second pause or hold), pulses, quarter reps, isoholds.  

Optimal rep ranges:

6-20 repetitions for 3-4 sets.

4) Abduction movement:

These mostly emphasize the upper glutes by targeting the gluteus medius. 

Equipment:

Hip abduction machine, band.

Exercises:

Seated hip abduction, lying hip abduction.

Techniques:

Pause (1-10 second pause or hold), pulses, quarter reps, isoholds.  

Optimal rep ranges:

20-30 repetitions for 3-4 sets.

 The next tip that Bret Contreras recommends is focussing on form and learning how to utilize our glutes during certain exercises. Furthermore, we need to be eating and training in accordance to our goals and choosing exercises that bring us towards those goals. 

Execution of exercises is also understated and we need to perform quality over quantity repetitions. Safety should always be at the forefront of our minds!  “The guy who can stay healthiest can train the most, and, in the long run, make the most progress.”

Expert Tip #3: Learn the basics of strength training and progressive overload 

The third expert approved gym tip is to make sure to understand the basics of strength training as opposed to just going through the motions. What this means is that we are not mindlessly hanging out in the weights room a few times a week.

Instead, we are going to the gym with a plan that incorporates progressive overload and room for growth and improvement.

 “When you work out, employ the principle of progressive workload. The best way to make sure you’re doing that is by tracking and logging each session and work on increasing your reps, sets or the time you took for each exercise.” 

 We focus on getting better week in and out with our main goal in mind. If our goal is to build legs for instance, we choose a lower-body focussed program and make sure to stick to it. Check out this post on the types of fitness programs that we, as women, should choose to focus on. 

Expert Tip #4: Stay committed to your fitness program and focus on consistency 

A small caveat of choosing a fitness program is that you should not constantly switch in and out of them mid-way, you have to stay committed to them! In order words, while you are at the gym, stay focussed! 

Expert Tip #5: Track your fitness goals! 

Make sure to also track your progress so that you can hold yourself accountable. “If you stay determined, your goals can be accomplished (NGRHealth&Fitness,2022).” This includes writing down your weekly lifts, PR’s and any improvements in training.

Looking at the numbers will give you a framework to utilize progressive overload and really maximize physique improvements.  

Expert Tip #6: Use the mind-muscle connection and glutes for a bigger butt! 

Our next expert-approved tip is for glutes growth. Make sure to engage the glutes by utilizing the mind-muscle connection and by having a conscious repetition. This is quite different from going heavy for its own sake and instead demands actual focus and mental effort. This yields more positive results. 

According to strength and sports-performance coach Lee Boyce, “So if you want to zero-in on glute development and aesthetics, then decrease the weight, do more reps, and concentrate on a peak contraction in the glutes so that they dominate during each rep.” 

Check out this post on the mind-muscle connection to find out why it’s an important part of training. The best strategy that you can have is to include a light training day where you can focus on utilizing the mind-muscle connection, a day for heavy lifting and a more moderate day where you make sure to engage your glutes during your training. 

“As for the glute max, focus mainly on hip extension. The hip thrust is great for this, however most people go way too heavy on these, which often keeps the glutes from really getting into a maximally contracted position. It’s better to go light and bust out sets of 20 reps with a 3-second hold at the top of every rep to build a stronger mind-muscle connection and time under tension than it is to slap on some world record poundage (Carter,2017).” 

During every movement, focus on the muscle and not the weights. This will intensify the amount of hypertrophy during every repetition and reduce the risk of injury.

“If you’re hip thrusting with more weight than you use squatting, you’re doing something wrong. While the glutes should absolutely be trained directly under intensity and loading, make sure they’re the muscles doing the work (Carter,2017).” 

Expert Tip #7: Aim to use a full range of motion and increase it to increase lower body hypertrophy 

Another expert approved tip for hypertrophy is to utilize a full range of motion as opposed to half-repping or simply going through the motions. “Aim for the largest range of motion you can achieve in your exercises,” says Lee Boyce, C.P.T. “Your muscles will do more work per rep, and it will result in your breaking down more tissue by the end of the workout.”

You can also increase the range of motion during your exercise by adding a step or platform. You can increase the depth of your squat by aiming to go below parallel. You can also perform your lunges, squats and deadlifts on plates or a short bench to increase the lengthening portion of the lift.

“For full glute development, it also pays to make sure to really squeeze at the top of glute bridges and lunges. In addition, deep squats and deficit deadlifts (especially sumo) seem to hit the glutes very well, so full ROM is always a good idea (Israetel, 2020).”  

Expert Tip #8: Eat with intention and for your physique goals 

The next expert approved tip is to focus on eating with intention. According to Dan Trink, a strength and conditioning coach, we should eat to optimize either recovery or training. “Everything you eat should serve some sort of nutritional purpose in your body, fuel your workouts, and (be) geared toward optimizing your body (Trink, 2022).” 

This quite simply means that if your goal is to gain muscle, then you should consume high amounts of protein and eat at a mild calorie surplus. If your goal, however, was to lose weight, then you would have to eat less calories than you consume.

Every meal would inadvertently reflect your goal and this will in turn lead to your dream physique! 

 Expert Tip #9: Pre-exhaust the glutes before training and use glutes activation exercises 

The idea behind pre-exhausting your glutes before your workout is that you want to activate the neural connection to that muscle instead of any other one. For your glutes workout to be effective, for instance, you want to have a strong glutes activation as opposed to quadriceps or hamstrings. 

The exercises that you want to include as part of your glutes activation routine are hip thrusts, hip abduction, squats/lunges or glutes hyperextensions right before your workout. 

You can find some glutes activation exercises by the glutes expert Bret Contreras here. Additionally, here are a few glutes activation exercises recommendations by IFBB pro bodybuilder and Mr. Olympia competitor Mark Dugdale.  

Start your leg day workout by performing any of the following exercises:

1.Hip Thrust or Glute Bridge:

Hold the contracted position for a 2-second count on each rep.

 2. Bulgarian Split Squat:

Do a drop set with iso-holds.

 3. Prowler Push:

Take long, slow, deliberate strides with a moderate amount of weight loaded on the sled.

“Try beginning each leg workout with one of those exercises. Rotate between each because they all activate glutes differently.” – Mark Dugdale

Aim for 2-3 sets of 12-20 repetitions. 

Expert Tip #10: Eat at a calorie surplus to grow your glutes 

The final expert approved tip is to eat at a calorie surplus in order to grow your glutes. “In order to maximize glute growth you need to maintain a mild calorie surplus (Matthews, 2022).” 

 Simply put, glutes, just like any muscle, need fuel and calories in order to grow in size. You cannot do this without calories. 

“The reason for this is a calorie surplus optimizes your body’s “muscle-building machinery,” greatly enhancing your body’s ability to recover from and positively adapt to your training (Matthews,2022).” 

If this is uncomfortable for you, check out my inspiring client transformation where my client forced herself out of her comfort zone with calories and gained a booty! 

That’s not all, though—you need to eat enough protein to allow your muscles to recover, repair, and grow effectively, too.

 In conclusion, this post went over 10 expert tips for building bigger glutes and maximizing lower body hypertrophy. From nutrition tips to mindset and technique, these expert-approved tips will improve your fitness game and take your gains to the next level. 

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post on the 10 expert tips for building bigger glutes. Please let me know what you thought about it in the comments section below! 

Sources:

https://legionathletics.com/how-to-get-a-bigger-rounder-butt/

Top 25 Fitness Tips and Strategies from the Experts

https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-fine-tune-your-glute-training/