Nowadays, most gym enthusiasts are in search of effective exercises to get that J Lo or Kim K booty in the gym. Many decided to stick with home training and purchased the necessary equipment for that. However, building a strong butt is not as easy as it seems. It will take months if not years and proper training techniques. And let’s not forget about a healthy protein-rich diet!
We’ve already covered numerous booty sculpturing exercises that you can do both at home and in the gym! You should have a big variety of options to choose from. Now, the only component left is consistency. And motivation, of course. The progress may not be quick but the results will be impressive!
So, let’s create an ultimate list of booty lifting exercises that will make up a varied and complex scheme for your lower body days. It will contain 9 exercises that you can mix and match in your routine. Remember that one of the most important rules we’ve discussed about getting booty gains is training in all three planes!
Single Leg Deadlift
A single leg deadlift offers the same muscle growing benefits as the standard Romanian deadlift. However, the unilateral nature of the exercise makes it effective in levelling out all the imbalances in glutes and hamstrings.
How to do:
- Stand with your feet together. Shift the weight on the right leg and slightly bend the knee. You may also take a pair of dumbbells.
- Elevate your left foot off the ground.
- While maintaining a straight spine, lower your torso forward and hinge your hips slightly back, just like with the regular deadlift.
- Keep the knee slightly bent still and maintain a straight back. Lower till you feel stretch in your glutes and hamstrings.
- Raise back up.
- Repeat around ten times and switch the leg. Complete 3-4 sets for each leg.
Pistol Squat
A pistol squat is an advances alternative of the regular squat that hardly any beginner can master. When you reach intermediate level, you’ll be able to perform the traditional version that I’ll include in the description. It’s generally an effective compound exercise for lower body training days. As a beginner, though, you can use a char and use it as a support for your bum.
How to Do:
- Stand tall feet placed on hip width. Raise the left leg in front of you. and hold it in this position. Slightly bend the knee of the right leg.
- Squat on one leg down. Ideally, try to touch your heel with your butt. This would be the pistol squat. However, beginners should aim for at least 90 degrees or place a chair and try to sit on it during the move.
- Brace your strong core, push through the heel and raise to the starting position.
- Repeat 8 times and switch sides.
Side Lunges/Lateral Lunges
Lateral lunges (more commonly known as side lunges) are an effective exercise for building side booty. Or, to put it better, target gluteus medius that makes your behind look rounder and lifted!
How to do:
- Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Take a big step to the right with the right leg (around 2 feet).
- Hinge your hips and bend your knee to make a lateral lunge.
- Hold for a second, and return to the initial position.
Note: Keep your back straight, weight is on your heels. The leading leg should be bent at around 90 degrees.
Surrenders
If you’ve done this exercise, you probably already known how devastating it can be. On paper, it’s an easy “up and down” exercise, However, surrenders mean constant string in your legs and booty, during the exercise.
How to Do:
- Begin from a standing position. Feet shoulder-width apart; toes turned slightly to the sides.
- Brace your core, keep your back straight, and squat.
- Lower your right knee to the ground while remaining in the squat position. Then the left one. Keep your back straight all this time.
- From the kneeling position, place your right foot on the ground beneath you, then the left. Do not rise; remain in the squat position. Repeat the circle 8-12 times.
Note that there is also an option to focus on one side than the other. From the initial squat position, lower on your right knee, then return to the squat position. Work one leg around 10 times, then switch sides.
Duck Walks
A similar exercise to the previous in terms of making your knees shake is a duck walk. It combines the isomentic hold of a squat and the dynamics of the movement diagonally, forth, and bac. This one is a multi-olave exercise to load your booty to the max.
How to do:
- Stand with feet placed slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. You can also take a dumbbell or a kettlebell and hold it near your chest.
- Squat to an almost 90-degree angle, slightly not reaching it.
- Move one foot diagonally forward, then make a diagonal step with the other leg in the same way as well. Complete around 3 pairs of steps forward.
- Walk back in the same fashion – legs one by one should go diagonally backward to return to the starting position.
- Hold the squat position during the whole exercise.
- Continue for 30 seconds.
This is an exercise for the intermediate level, so you can start without weights.
Step Ups
We’ve already covered in the previous article the compound benefits of doing step ups. Especially with weights! The exercise targets your quads, hamstrings, and the general conditioning.
How to Do:
- Use a sturdy type of elevated surface for this exercise. Take a pair of dumbbells in your hands. Stand with feet hip-width apart.
- Place your right foot on the elevated surface, find your balance and raise up shifting all your weight to it.
- Hold the balance for a second and slowly return your left foot back to the initial position.
- You can either repeat the movement on the same side or switch them repeatedly.
Elevated Hip Raise
An elevated hip raise is an alternative version to glute bridge and hip thrusts that will make all your booty muscles burn!
How to Do:
- Lie on your back on the floor. Bend your knees at around 90 degrees and put your feet on a bench or a chair.
- Anchor through your soles and raise your hips up. Feel your booty working, squeeze it at the top!
- Hold the position for a second and lower your hips to the ground.
Remember, do not overarch your lower back. Try to tuck your pelvis in for better control over the back.
Bulgarian Split Squat
Bulgariant split squats are arguably the most hated lower body exercise for many gym goers. It really focuses on your quads and glutes if your tilt your torso slightly forward. With that said, it still remains one of the regular guests in gym!
How to Do:
- Set up a chair against the wall or use a bench in the gym.
- Stand with your back facing it and make a step forward, so you have enough room for a split squat. The bigger the step, the more you’ll target your glutes instead of quads. Take dumbbells in each hand.
- Place your left foot on the chair. The right leg’s knee is slightly bent. Lean slightly forward to put better focus on the glutes as well.
- Do a single-leg squat from this position as low as you can. The right knee doesn’t go beyond the toes.
Good Mornings
The last but not the least exercise on my list are good morning. It may look easy and targeting “who knows what’, but it’s actually a highly effective and complete study that you need to catch your breath and feel that haamstrning work.
How to Do:
- Stand straight. Take the barbell and position it behind your top shoulder blades. The same way as with a Smith machine.
- Keep your legs straight and hinge your hips. Lower as much as you comfortably can while keeping your back straight. Do not hinge from the waist!
- Stand up straight. Repeat the movement.
