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TRAINING TIPS FOR

WOMEN

5 Exercises to Grow Your

Butt, Not Your Thighs
If you practice a few of these exercises
together, you can round your glutes from
every angle while keeping your legs lean!

AUGUST 18, 2020

ANA SNYDER, MSCI

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It may seem like every “perfect butt” on social media

comes with the tag line “the squat booty.” But, in
reality, this is not actually the case. 

No matter how many squat reps you do, you’re only

working your glutes from one angle. Plus, the main
muscles at work when you squat are your quads, so if
making your thighs thicker isn’t your goal, this
exercise is probably not where you should be placing
all your energy and focus.

There are three different gluteal muscles to consider:

gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus
minimus. “Growing and strengthening these muscles
are great for giving women an ‘on-trend’ shape, but
it’s more important to build these muscles for a
pain-free lifestyle,” explains Flo Master, aka Jerry
Randolph, USA Boxing Certified coach and founder
of FightCamp, who turned to martial arts after a
career as a dancer for Usher, Jennifer Lopez and
Will Smith. 

He says strong gluteal muscles help to:

1. Prevent back injuries. When you’ve got to pick

up something heavy, like a case of water or a
small child, if you bend over from the hip and
pick up the heavy object, you risk straining your
back muscles. If you bend the knees and pick up
the heavy object using your leg and gluteal
muscles, you take that risk of injury away.

2. Strengthen and stabilize the pelvis. A stable

pelvis helps to decrease injury, too. 

3. Improve workouts and sports

performance. People who participate in sports
like running, football, boxing, kickboxing, and
rock climbing all benefit from having a strong
butt or gluteal muscles.

“Each of the three gluteal muscles must be targeted

from multiple angles because they are activated by
more than just forward motion,” he says. “For
example, the gluteus medius is located more on the
side of the butt and is strengthened by exercises that
include lateral (to the side) movement. If you don’t
work the gluteals from different angles, they will be
unbalanced, and you can risk injury.”

As such, there are several glute-isolation exercises

you can do to get the booty of your dreams. If you
practice a few of the following exercises together —
and each of these uses not only the gluteal muscles,
but also muscle of the core, back and legs — you can
round your glutes from every angle while keeping
your legs lean. 

And remember: In order to effectively grow your

glutes while simultaneously trimming your legs, it’s
important to use a variety of exercises that tackle
these regions. If you use the same exercise every
time, your body will get used to it and hit a plateau.

Hip Thrusts
Hip thrusts are one of the best exercises to isolate
your gluteus maximus, as this muscle is activated by
the up and down motion of the hips. They can be
slightly awkward to perform in public at first, but
just remember that they are leading you to a firm
and toned backside.

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Sit on the floor and rest your upper back against a

bench with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Rest a weight (either a barbell or dumbbell) across
your pelvis and brace your abs. Lower your hips
down and then thrust them upward toward the
ceiling, pushing your feet into the floor and your
upper back into the bench. At the top of the
movement, squeeze your glutes as hard as you can
and repeat.

To grow your glutes the fastest, lift the heaviest

weight that you can for the following sequence: Start
with two sets of 10 reps, increase the weight and do
two sets of eight reps, and then increase the weight
one last time and do one set of six reps. You can use
a dumbbell or barbell for weight.

Randolph’s pro tip: Dig your heels into the

ground to feel deeper work. 

Single-Leg Hip Bridge

Bridges are wonderful for building your glute
muscles while toning your hamstrings. Similar to the
hip thrust, this exercise also works the gluteus
maximus. “Since you are balancing on one leg, you
are also activating the gluteus minimus, which is one
of the stabilizer muscles,” says Randolph. “This
muscle helps to keep your leg extended straight
versus falling off to the side.”  

Lie down with your knees bent and both feet resting
on the floor. Straighten your left leg and flex your
foot toward the ceiling. Raise your hips up off the
ground as high as you can and squeeze your glutes at
the top of the movement. Lower your hips down for
a second and then push them back up to repeat.

Perform 15 reps on each side. For best results, do

four sets of 15.

Randolph’s pro tip: Pull your belly button into

your spine to engage your core.

Romanian Deadlift
“Many people consider the Romanian Deadlift to be
the king of butt-building exercises,” says
Randolph. “It’s that good. This exercise primarily
works the gluteus maximus, but also works many
other muscles that help to strengthen the whole
lower body and back.”

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Stand with a medium-weight dumbbell in each hand.

Your feet should be hip-width apart and your knees
should be slightly bent. Bend forward at your hip
joint, keeping your arms straight and your hands
close to your legs. Lower the weights as far down
your leg as you can without rounding your back or
bending your knees any more than they were at your
starting position. To return to the starting position,
push your hips forward and squeeze your glutes to
pull yourself up.

Randolph’s pro tip: Keep your core engaged, your

heels heavy on the ground, and perform the
movement slowly and with control. 

Banded Fire Hydrant

Fire hydrants have one of the most obnoxious
names, considering they’re named after the position
a male dog assumes when going to the bathroom —
but they’re so great for your glutes! “This is one of
my favorite exercises,” admits Randolph. “Why?
Because you are opening your leg out to the side, and
you are activating the gluteus medius. The gluteus
medius adds an excellent, round shape to the butt.”
They also help tighten that little trouble spot on the
outer thigh.

Begin on all fours. Place a loop band above your

knees. Using your outer thigh and glute, lift one knee
out to the side. Keep your knee bent at a 90-degree
angle. Lower your leg and repeat for a total of 20
reps. Then repeat on the other side.

For best results, do four sets of 20 reps on each leg.

Randolph’s pro tip: Perform this exercise slowly

to feel the burn deeply.

Rainbow
Rainbows are another glute exercise that tone the
outside of your glutes and thighs. They are known
for lifting up the bottom of your butt and toning your
inner thighs, as well. Rainbows are super efficient
because they tackle the hardest areas all at once.

“This is a popular Instagram model exercise right

now, and it does work,” confirms Randolph. “It
works because the leg is extended, making you rely
on all gluteal muscles to perform the exercise. The
lateral move to make the rainbow targets all three of
the gluteals.” 

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Begin on all fours. Point your toes and extend your

right leg behind you. Raise your right leg toward the
ceiling and then lower it to the floor. Raise the same
leg toward the ceiling again, squeezing your glutes,
and then lower it about 1 foot to the left of your
kneeling leg. Bring your right leg back up to the
ceiling to complete one rep.

Repeat 20 times. For best results, do four sets of 20

on each leg. To make this exercise more challenging,
you can add ankle weights.

Randolph’s pro tip: Straighten the leg by pointing

the toe on the leg performing the exercise. By doing
this, it helps to protect the low back. Also, don’t
forget to engage your core by pulling your belly
button into the back of the spine.

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