Fact checked by Building a perfect butt has become the main task for many gym goers. Glute isolation and compound lower body exercises provide an extensive field for variety and effectiveness in your training sessions.
“Under butt” is a tricky area to isolate thought. There is no specific butt workout exercise that targets this area exclusively.
As mentioned in the previous glutes articles, our glutes consist of three gluteus muscles:
- gluteus maximus
- gluteus medius
- gluteus minimus
The largest one is the maximus, and it covers most of your booty area. Actually, it is the largest muscle in the body! It takes up the underbutt region as well. Thus, you’ll need to tone up your glute muscles as a whole. A personal trainer would also suggest you focus on the booty as a whole.
However, one trick to make the underbutt area even more visually appealing is to focus on both the gluteus maximus and hamstrings.
A hamstring is “any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee.” Those three muscles are
- semimembranosus
- semitendinosus
- biceps femoris
Thus, the following are nine effective exercises that aim to train the posterior chain (that actually includes the gluteus and hamstring muscles.)
Elevated Glute Bridge
A glute bridge is an effective exercise targeting all three gluteal muscles. It has proven to show impressive results for the overall tone of a booty. For our underbutt program, we’ll take the elevated glute bridge as a step-up in the “bridge” game. Just imagine how effective complex elevated bridges can be when the regular floor movements are fruitful on their own.
Plus, this variation of glute bridges is an excellent alternative if you have no weights to add to your regular bridge.
How to Do:
- Set up a low bench or a box. Lie on your back on the floor in front of it. Put your feet on the edge of the box and bend your knees at 90 degrees. Keep your butt close to the bench.
- Anchor your feet and drive your pelvis up as high as you can. Squeeze your glutes n top and hold for a second. Do not hyperextend your back – once you feel it in the lower back, you’ve gone too far.
- Slowly lower back to the floor. Repeat as needed.
Unilateral Glute Bridge
It wouldn’t be a glute day without glute bridge variation! By default, unilateral butt exercises are used to balance out all imperfections. Working a single leg at a time allows you to focus your load as needed to work both legs/glute sides to be equal.
A unilateral glute bridge can also be done with a resistance band and weights. The latter is preferred for this bridge variation.
How to Do:
- Lie on your back on the floor. Knees bend, feet close to your butt. Put on a resistance band or add your working weights to your hips.
- Raise your left leg up in the air; straighten it.
- Anchor through your right foot and raise your hips up. Pelvis tucked; do not go too high to avoid hurting your back.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top and hold for a moment.
RDL
When we talk about under-butt workouts, the main focus falls on a clever combination of gluteus maximus and hamstrings in one compound movement. Such an exercise will tone your posterior chain muscles and create pleasant curves.
And when it comes to g. maximus/hamstrings, the go-to exercise respected by all is a Romanian Deadlift.
How to Do:
- Start in a standing position with feet hip-width apart. Take a barbell or two heavy dumbbells in your hands.
- Slightly bend the knees. Keep your back straight. And anchor through your heels.
- Start hinging your hips and lowering your torso as much as possible without putting strain on your back. Stop when your hips are not hinging anymore.
- Pause for a second to feel the posterior chain engaged. Raise back to the starting position.
Sumo Squat
A sumo squat is a variation of regular squats that is done with a wide stance. In a way, its target on the adductor inner thigh muscles is more than regular squats.
Sumo squats work the following muscles: quads, hamstrings, glutes, adductors (inner thighs), calves, and hip flexors. The supporting muscles are mostly core muscles, including transverse abdominis, obliques, erector spinae, etc.
The biggest advantage of sumo squats is their direct effect on the inner thighs and an increased load on the lower glutes and legs, which makes this movement several times more effective.
How to Do:
- Stand straight with feet wider than your shoulder width (around 3–4 feet wide but will depend on your height.) Point your toes outward at around 45 degrees.
- Anchor through your feet, keep your bend straight, and move your hips slightly back (in the hip hinge movement) and lower to a squat position. Try to go as low as you can. Also, do not tilt your torso forward much.
- Hold for a second, press your legs, and glute up to the starting position.
You can also add weights (either a dumbbell or a kettlebell) to advance the movement.
Plie Squat
A plie squat is mainly similar to the sumo squat. The two names are often used interchangeably. However, we offer to take the stance even wider, and your toes should be rotated outward as much as they go to get strong glutes! The angle of your toes is the determining factor of a plie squat.
Overall, a plie squat works the same butt muscles as the sumo squat! Its only downside is the personal limitations of flexibility that all of us have. You can also add dumbbells or a barbell on the Smith machine for advanced training.
How to Do:
- Stand straight with feet wider than your shoulder width (at least 4 feet wide but will depend on your height.) Point your toes outward as much as you can. However, still, ensure you have a full grip and a stable stance.
- Anchor through your feet, keep your bend straight, and move your hips slightly back and lower to a squat position. Try to go as low as you can. Also, do not tilt your torso forward much.
- Hold for a second, press your legs, and glute up to the starting position.
Hip Thrusts
Hip thrusts – the foundation of round glutes, the basics of the basics for any booty-focused day. It targets all three glutes muscles, as well as quadriceps, hamstrings, and hip adductors.
While you’ll mostly see women mastering this particular exercise in the gym, it really is the perfect inclusion to the lower body day for all gym enthusiasts.
How to Do:
- Set up a sturdy bench. Rest your shoulder blades on the bench, knees bent, and feet on the ground. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart. You can also add any type of weight atop your hips, be it a barbell, a dumbbell/kettlebell, or household items if you train at home.
- Anchor through your heels and raise your glutes up to form a straight line from shoulders to knees. Knees bent at around a 90-degree angle. Tuck your pelvis in at the top to put the load on the glutes. Your chin tucked.
- Hold for a second and lower to the starting position.
Unilateral Crab
To my sadness, the crab is often neglected by fitness newbies. And even long-time athletes prefer more isolated exercises to grow certain muscles. However, this particular compound exercise targets a wide range of muscles and is quite hard to perform with proper form.
Most people stick to the typical crab walk. However, some trainers offer a bit of a unilateral action to reduce all imbalances. This one is going to be a challenging exercise for beginners!
How to Do:
- Sit on the floor. Place your hands behind your butt and slightly to the side. Bend your knees slightly. Raise your left foot and anchor through your other foot.
- Keep your core strong, drive through your grounded right leg and raise your hips up to form a straight line from your shoulders to the knees.
- Squeeze your glutes and hold at the top for a second.
- Lower back to the floor and repeat n the same leg. Later, change the working leg.
Hamstring Curl
Hamstring curls will add that “oomph” at the end of the training to shape nice hams and glutes in the future. Usually, this exercise is done in the gym due to the lack of needed support in our homes.
Hamstrings can be done on two machines: dedicated lying and seating leg curl machines. However, considering the proven superior activation of the hamstring in the lying position, we’ll include this particular variation for best results – a firm butt and steel hams.
How to Do:
- Set up the needed weight. Lie face down on the leg curl machine. Your feet tucked beneath the curling bar. Grasp the handles (they should be placed below your shoulders).
- Keep your back straight and curl your legs to your butt. Hips firmly on the bench.
- Low your feet to the starting position.
Nordic Curl
A Nordic Curl is an advanced version of hamstring curls. Unlike the previous version, here, you fix your legs below the knee, keep them sturdy, and only move your torso.
The exercise is generally done with body weight only due to its complexity. It’ll surely activate your muscles as is!
Be careful with this version and start by doing three sets of three! Make sure you lower in a careful and controlled movement!
How to Do:
- Find something to fix your legs, either a partner or wedge your feet underneath an immovable study piece.
- Stand on your knees, back straight, core engaged.
- Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings and slowly lower your body towards the floor. Lower while you have complete control over the movement.
- As you can go no further, place your hands on the floor and finish the movement to the floor with support.
- Move your body back up to the starting position in a reverse manner (first with the help of hands, then without them).
These are the nine practical glute exercises you should include in your lower body days to create an appealing lower butt area. They are all focused on working the posterior chain to the max and toning those muscles.
You should also take into consideration that a nice underbutt area is always the result of combining strength training and a proper diet, sufficient rest, body fat percentage, and water balance. Most of all, it takes dedication to grow your butt.
