Why Your Butt Stays the Same No Matter How Many Glute Workouts You Do
By Gabrielle Kassel
If you're doing a billion squats, but it still seems like you have no butt, you could be making some of these common glute workout mistakes.
The goal: workouts to make your butt bigger, stronger, or just more peach-like. The results after doing glute workouts on repeat? Still no butt or glute gains.
For one, you can't really selectively train one body part. "Squats don't just work the glutes," says physical therapist Grayson Wickham, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., founder of Movement Vault, a mobility and movement company. "They also work your quads, hamstrings, core, hip flexors, and back."
So if you're looking for workouts to make your butt bigger, be prepared to gain more muscle in your entire lower body. That said, muscle-building results are slow, so don't get discouraged if you don't notice signs your glutes are growing right away. (BTW, here's Why It's Important to Have a Strong Butt — Besides Looking Good).
"Genetics plays a big role in the shape of your body and anatomy too," says Wickham — but even that doesn't mean you can't develop a round, strong booty with hard, smart work, he says.
The key word here is "smart." There are some common mistakes that might be keeping your glute workout from being as efficient or effective as it could and should be. Below, strength experts share those training mistakes, plus what you can do to fix them.
Glute Workout Mistake: Your Form Stinks
Experts say bad form is probably the #1 reason you're not seeing results. "The squat is one of the best exercises, and it has so many benefits... but it has to be done correctly," says Chelsea Axe, D.C., C.S.C.S., a chiropractor and fitness expert for DrAxe.com and Ancient Nutrition.
"The most common mishap I see is people initiating the squat movement by bending their knees instead of hinging their hips backward," says Axe. Think of it like this: When you have a chair behind you, you don't bend at your knees to bring your butt straight down into the chair. You naturally hinge at your hips first to sit back into the chair since it's located behind you. Squat Therapy Is a Genius Trick for Learning Proper Squat Form
"This should be the same movement when you're performing a squat," she says. "Hinge your hips backward and think about reaching your butt back behind you." If you initiate the movement with your knees, not only do the muscles on the front side of your body (like your quads) takeover, says Wickham, but you increase your risk for injury. (See more: Guide to Doing a Barbell Back Squat Correctly).
Have a trainer look at your form or record yourself to make sure that your heels are planted, your lower back isn't rounding, your knees aren't caving in, and you're initiating the squat with a hip hinge. (Heads up: That's just one of the many ways you might be squatting wrong. Here are 6 more, plus how to fix them.)