Allow me to let you in on a little secret.
The best butt transformations happen slowly… quietly, like a thief in the night… and most of them involved “GASP!” squats or heavy, heavy hip thrusts.
If you have ever squatted over and over trying to get a big butt but have zero results to show for it, then you need to read this post all the way to the end.
Despite the misguided advice to “STOP SQUATTING” if you want a big butt, squats are back, and in a BIG way.
Before I tell you about the squat heavy program I used to transform my butt over 8 weeks, you need to know one very important fact.
There is a WRONG way and a RIGHT way to do squats to grow your glutes.
For years (including my entire college career), I did squats the wrong way for glute growth.
I ended up with massive quads instead.
Thankfully, I stumbled on a few the youtube videos of a few experts and reviewed research from the strength community that helped me make the right adjustments.
The truth about building a big butt
There is a science behind squatting for a big booty, and you only have to get a handful of things right to make an incredible transformation.
Here’s proof:
That’s me on the left in July of 2017. Definitely no squats. I was an extra small and had plenty of room in the butt area of my shorts.
That’s where the whole “Becky with no ass” title came about.
The pictures don’t do it justice.
My butt was FLATTTTT.
To make matters worse, I’d cut out most of my lifting while playing professional beach volleyball.
I was light, but also wasn’t as fit as I’d been in previous years.
My lack of butt inspired me to start lifting again, ultimately signing up for an NPC Bikini Fitness Contest in Ft Lauderdale, Florida.
You can read the full story here
The middle is me October of 2017, days before the show. I was feeling pretty good. I’d lost fat and replaced muscle. My butt is dramatically perkier. I’m still wearing an XS in the butt region though and I am missing a roundness to the sides of my derriere.
The picture on the right is October of 2019. I’d started squatting heavy again after resting from an IT Band flare up. I started in February of that year and progressed from 5 sets of 5 at 185 lbs to 5 sets of 6 at 265 lbs.
My glutes grew so much during that six month period, my swimsuit bottoms jumped to a Medium.
After shedding weight for my second NPC bikini contest in October of 2019 (pictured above) my glutes moved back into a size small.
Yet, my derrierre had a completely different shape.
I looked round and powerful from the backside.
What floored me was the judges told me my butt was so big compared to the other competitors it affected my placing!
Most people might feel bad about that.
I was ecstatic, and posted about it on Instagram @adventurewiz
So how did I grow my butt so much?
And how did I do it despite being 37, don’t experts tell you at this age your muscle is breaking down?
First, let’s start with the facts and fiction.
#1 You don’t have to squat to get a big butt
A: True
You don’t need squats to grow a big butt. For those that can’t squat, there are tons of great alternatives like hip thrusts. But if you can squat, it’s a powerful way to get a strong backside.
So why is it so popular nowadays to say squats aren’t going to grow your glutes? First, marketing. It’s always cool to say something controversial like DONT DO SQUATS.
Second, and a fact almost everyone overlooks, some people’s glutes are completely shut off. Meaning they compensate by using other parts of their legs to lift the weight. For me, I used my quads to lift most of my weight.
The simple test to know if your glutes are shut off
There’s a simple way to know if your glutes are shut off.
Is your butt big or small?
If it’s small, you absolutely need to do proper glute activation exercises before and during squatting. This is the right way to do grow your butt with squats. If it’s big, you can probably feel your butt working all the time, especially when you squat and are already activating your glutes.
More on activation in a moment.
#2 The only way to grow a big booty is heavy with low reps
A: False
Any sort of lifting that challenges you will lead to growth. According to kinesiology professor Stuart Phillips of Canada’s McMaster University you can see very similar gains in muscle growth whether training is done with light weights and high reps or heavier weights and lower reps.
Keep in mind though…
Lifting with low weight and high reps of 25 to 40 can take twice as long and be twice as painful as lifting heavier for 10 – 12 reps.
Which would you rather do?
#3 You’ve got a DEAD BOOTY
A: IDK do you?
Dead booty is a cute name for a really common problem. Your glute muscles have shut off (see first T/F answer above). That means you’ve stopped using your glute muscles to help you lift and move about in your daily life.
I sat at a desk for years for my research writing job. And it showed. My butt kept getting flatter and flatter. Once I figured out what happened and worked on waking my butt up, I started seeing results.
The moral of the story is, if you want glutes, you have to first wake them up, then you have to challenge them.
Here is an 8-week program for doing just that taking just 30 to 45 minutes a day.
Mon –
Warm-up: 5 min on the bike at a moderate pace
Push press with light medicine ball – throw the medicine ball into the air and catch. Repeat 3 x 10 for warm-up
Activation exercises: Bodyweight 5 to 6 reps only – feel the squeeze in the glutes. This should not be tiring. Repeat these exercises in between each set of squats including warm-up sets
- Glute Bridge
- Frog Pump
- Split Squat
Squat –
| WK 1 | 5 x 4 | 80% effort | 75 sec rest |
| WK 2 | 5 x 5 | 80% effort | 90 sec rest |
| WK 3 | 5 x 6 | 80% effort | 2 min rest |
| WK 4 | 3 x 3 | 90% effort | 2 min rest |
| WK 5 | 5 x 3 | 90% effort | 2 min rest |
| WK 6 | 6 x 3 | 90% effort | 90 sec rest |
| WK 7 | 3 x 3 | 95% effort | 90 sec rest |
| WK 8 | 3 x 3 | 100% | 2 min rest |
Super slow back squat (squat down slowly over 6 seconds, stand back up fast)
| WK 1 | 5 x 4 | 60% effort | 75 sec rest |
| WK 2 | 5 x 5 | 60% effort | 90 sec rest |
| WK 3 | 5 x 6 | 60% effort | 2 min rest |
| WK 4 | 3 x 3 | 70% effort | 2 min rest |
| WK 5 | 5 x 3 | 70% effort | 2 min rest |
| WK 6 | 6 x 3 | 70% effort | 90 sec rest |
| WK 7 | 3 x 3 | 75% effort | 90 sec rest |
| WK 8 | 3 x 3 | 80% | 2 min rest |
Medicine Ball Jump Squat (do immediately after rest from slow squats above
| WK 1 | 5 x 4 | 90-sec rest | |
| WK 2 | 5 x 5 | 90-sec rest | |
| WK 3 | 5 x 6 | 90-sec rest | |
| WK 4 | 3 x 3 | 90-sec rest | |
| WK 5 | 5 x 3 | 90-sec rest | |
| WK 6 | 6 x 3 | 90-sec rest | |
| WK 7 | 3 x 3 | 90-sec rest | |
| WK 8 | 3 x 3 | 90-sec rest |
Barbell hip thrust – Hold 3 – 5 seconds at top of the movement. If you can do more than 8 reps, increase weight by 5lb increments.
| WK 1 | 4 x 6 – 8 | 75-sec rest | |
| WK 2 | 4 x 6 -8 | 75-sec rest | |
| WK 3 | 4 x 6 -8 | 75-sec rest | |
| WK 4 | 2 x 6 -8 | 60-sec rest | |
| WK 5 | 4 x 6 – 8 | 60-sec rest | |
| WK 6 | 5 x 6 – 8 | 60-sec rest | |
| WK 7 | 6 x 6- 8 | 45-sec rest | |
| WK 8 | 3 x 6- 8 | 45-sec rest |
Tues – PUMP DAY – Go lighter and feel the squeeze
Activation exercises: Bodyweight 5 to 6 reps only – feel the squeeze in the glutes. This should not be tiring. Repeat these exercises in between each circuit
- Glute Bridge
- Frog Pump
- Split Squat
3 Rounds no rest between 10 – 15 reps each exercise in circuit. Rest 90 seconds between rounds.
Circuit 1 A) Romanian deadlifts – pause one second at the bottom B) Walking Lunges C) Back Extention
Circuit 2 A) Wide Stance Goblet Squat, Hamstring Curls, Hip abduction (do 20-30 + 10 pulses on hip abduction)
Conditioning Finisher
Bike sprint or Prowler Push 1 Min + Thrusters 30 + Jumps 10
| Wk 1: | 3 rounds |
| Wk 2: | 4 rounds |
| Wk 3: | 5 rounds |
| Wk 4: | 2 rounds |
| Wk 5: | 4 rounds |
| Wk 6: | 5 rounds |
| Wk 7: | 6 rounds |
| Wk 8: | 3 rounds |
Day 3: Friday (On Wednesday and Thursday you can do arm work)
Activation exercises: Bodyweight 5 to 6 reps only – feel the squeeze in the glutes. This should not be tiring. Repeat these exercises in between each set of hip thrusts including warm-up sets
- Glute Bridge
- Frog Pump
- Split Squat
– Hip Thrusts, Pause 3 to 5 seconds at top
| Wk 1: | 4 x 10 – 12 | 70% | 90 seconds rest |
| Wk 2: | 4 x 10 – 12 | 70% | 90 seconds rest |
| Wk 3: | 4 x 10 – 12 | 70% | 90 seconds rest |
| Wk 4: | 4 x 10 – 12 | 70% | 90 seconds rest |
| Wk 5: | 4 x 8 – 10 | 75% | 90 seconds rest |
| Wk 6: | 4 x 8 – 10 | 75% | 90 seconds rest |
| Wk 7: | 4 x 6 – 8 | 80% | 90 seconds rest |
| Wk 8: | 4 x 6 – 8 | 80% | 90 seconds rest |
Whole Body Workout of Choice or the following using “Rounds” table below:
| DB Raise (10) + DB Lateral Raise (10) | 20 total | 30 sec rest |
| Box jumps | 10 | 30 sec rest |
| Push Press and throw with Medicine Ball | 10 | 30 sec rest |
| Burpees | 10 | 30 sec rest |
| Medicine Ball Throw (ab emphasis) | 10 | 30 sec rest |
| Air Squats | 30 | 90 sec rest between sets |
| Wk 1: | 3 Rounds |
| Wk 2: | 4 Rounds |
| Wk 3: | 5 Rounds |
| Wk 4: | 2 Rounds |
| Wk 5: | 4 Rounds |
| Wk 6 | 5 Rounds |
| Wk 7 | 6 Rounds |
| Wk 8 | 2 Rounds |
After eight weeks you’ll notice your buns are firmer, tighter and bigger. It doesn’t take long, but the change can be dramatic.
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