Written by Kirsten Yovino | CPT Brookbush Institute
Fact checked by Tyler DiGiovanni, BSBM
FACT CHECKED
Spend enough time developing your glute muscles and you’ll be rewarded with a butt that looks phenomenal in jeans. And as this powerhouse muscle group is also responsible for most lower body movements, strengthening it is crucial for your overall strength and functional ability. As far as we’re concerned, this should be more than enough reason to give your glutes extra attention in the gym.
Alternatively, whether due to genetics or not strengthening it enough, you may be reading this article because your butt isn't round and sculpted but rather, appears flat or saggy. If you're struggling to shape your behind, regardless of whether you’re dealing with genetics or inactivity, this article is for you. We’re about to cover the best butt lifting exercises, so you can sculpt the glutes of your dreams.
This post will discuss:
- Buttocks anatomy
- What causes a butt to lose definition
- Best buttocks lift exercises for a toned butt
- Best butt lifting workout to tone your backside
Are you ready to get some baby got back? Then let’s go.
WHAT ARE BUTTOCKS?
When it comes to the buttocks, there are muscles you can see and muscles you cannot see. The superficial muscles, which abduct and extend the hips, are the focus of this article. These muscles include the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. Muscular hypertrophy for these three muscles is crucial for a lifted booty.
Gluteus maximus:
This is the largest and most superficial of the three gluteal muscles and is a powerful extender of the hip. Gluteus maximus exercises include movements like deadlifts and step ups.
Gluteus medius:
This lies underneath the gluteus maximus and is a fan-shaped muscle that abducts the hip and stabilizes the pelvis. Hip thrusts and wall sits are effective gluteus medius exercises.
Gluteus minimus:
This is the smallest of the three glute muscles, which lies underneath the gluteus maximus and has the same function and shape as the gluteus medius. Gluteus minimus exercises contribute to a great-looking side butt.
WHAT CAUSES A SAGGY BUTT?
There are several causes of a saggy but. And like all muscles in the human body, it is a use it or lose it deal. When a muscle isn’t used and you don't continue to build muscle, it atrophies. That, combined with an increase in body fat, will give your bum a saggy appearance.
Other reasons for a saggy bum include:
1. Age:
Getting older and underuse will cause your glute muscles to lose strength and size. However, you can counter muscle loss due to aging by weight lifting. If you use it, you won't lose it!
2. Diet:
Buttocks lifting exercises can strengthen and tone a saggy butt but if you’re in a calorie surplus and not getting enough protein, you will not see your butt muscles because of excess body fat.
When you combine a lack of exercise with a poor diet, things only get worse for your buttocks and your health. Check out the Metabolic Confusion Diet plan to keep your nutrition on point.
3. Sitting:
This goes hand in hand with underuse. If you’re sitting on your butt too much your glutes will get weaker and combined with a poor diet, they will get saggy.
4. Quick Weight Loss:
Losing a lot of weight quickly can add to a saggy butt. The excess fat cells stretch the skin and when you lose this fat quickly, you have excess skin that doesn’t bounce back and doesn’t return to how it was before.
As you age, your skin will lose its elasticity, and losing weight fast will add to the appearance of a saggy butt.
5. Genetics:
On top of these factors, you could be genetically predisposed to having a saggy butt. And this makes diet and butt lift exercise all the more important.
CAN YOU LIFT YOUR BUTTOCKS WITH EXERCISE?
The short answer is yes. The longer answer is also yes, but it takes more than a few donkey kickbacks for a nicer, perkier, and rounder butt.
If a poor diet and excess body fat are one of the causes of your saggy bum, no amount of glute lift exercises will perk your buttocks up. Your first point of call is to improve your diet, determine how much protein you need per day and prioritize eating it, and reduce sugar and alcohol intake.
Understandably this doesn’t happen overnight but making small improvements in your diet, combined with exercise, goes a long way in seeing the muscle you have underneath the skin.
When diet is under control and the problem is a lack of muscle, this is where the 10 exercises on this list come in. To build muscle and lift your buttocks you need to add weight, as bodyweight exercises alone will only build a certain amount of muscle.
Programming Buttocks Lifting Exercises
Prioritizing major compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts with progressive overload and good form is an essential strategy for growing your glutes.
Then targeted glute exercises like glute bridges, cable pull-throughs, and lateral squat walks come into play. The key when it comes to these types of exercises to build a perkier butt is feeling your butt working and time under tension. There are two ways to do this.
1. Add a pause:
The first is adding a pause in the extended position to feel your glutes. Adding a pause in the top position of a glute bridge for 3-5 seconds will add time under tension and have you feeling your glutes in a hurry. This is also great for muscular endurance.
2. Tempo lifting:
The second is tempo lifting. Each lift has four parts which are the eccentric, bottom position, concentric, and lockout, and each is represented by a number. When performing a back extension, follow this formula: Take 3 seconds to lower down, don’t pause, 3 seconds to come up, and a 5-second lockout. This tempo number will look this: 3-0-3-5.
This rep takes you 11 seconds and performing a set like this with progressive overload goes a long way to reduce your saggy buttocks.
IMPORTANCE OF USING BOTH COMPOUND AND GLUTE ISOLATION EXERCISES
Let’s discuss the difference between a compound and an isolation exercise, so you can effectively work your glutes.
Compound Exercises:
A compound exercise works two or more muscle groups at the same time. A barbell squat is a compound exercise as it trains the glutes, hamstring, and quadriceps. These types of exercises help build the most muscle, burn the most fat, and add strength due to the ability to load these exercises and the high amount of muscle it works.
Isolation Exercises:
An isolation exercise targets a single muscle group. Though it’s difficult to truly isolate one muscle because the body works as a unit, these exercises are typically done for higher reps and lower weight. Exercises like the straight arm pulldown, lateral raises, and donkey kickbacks are examples of isolation exercises. A few glute isolation exercises are a must in your booty-building routine.
Do You Need Both For Bum Lifting Exercises?
Both compound and isolation exercises are needed for building the glutes. The compound movement will train the glutes with more weight for better hypertrophy and fat loss potential.
Then the isolation move performed after the compound move will add valuable volume to the glutes without the added stress of the barbell.
You can build a great set of glutes by using only compound exercises. But to fully develop the glutes and strengthen imbalances between sides, a mix of compound and isolation exercises work best.
10 BEST BUTTOCKS LIFT EXERCISES
Ready to build muscular, toned glutes that will be the envy of your fellow gym goers? Here are the moves to perform. And don't forget to include a few glute activation exercises first for best results!
1. Donkey Kick:
If you remember Jane Fonda’s workout videos, you’ll remember the donkey kickback. This version of the glute kickback requires you to get down on all fours and extend a bent leg behind you, which targets the glutes from the safety of the floor and with body weight.
You can use your bodyweight, or you can wedge a light dumbbell between your calf and hamstring for extra burn potential.
This mainly targets the gluteus maximus and hamstrings, and higher reps of between 12-25 for two to three sets work best. We recommend placing it after your lower body compound moves. This is one of our favorite glute exercises for women, so make sure you find a spot for it in your routine!
How to do the Donkey Kickback:
- Get down on all fours with your hands underneath your shoulders and knees underneath your hips. Starting with your left leg, lift the left knee slightly off the ground and press your hands into the ground to maintain a neutral spine.
- Lift your bent leg behind you, raising your left foot upward, and maintain a 90-degree knee bend. Stop when you feel a contraction in your glute and hamstring.
- Lower to the starting position and repeat for reps. Switch to the other side.
2. Lateral Squat Walk:
The lateral squat walk is a double whammy exercise. First, you hold an isometric squat which will burn your quads. Second, you’ll train the adductors and the glute medius to complement all the work you do on your glute maximus.
It’s a great bodyweight exercise but can be loaded with a resistance band above your knees or ankles for extra muscle-building potential. Or, for those really looking to feel the burn, you can add double resistance bands - one above the knees and one above the ankles. This is best done for higher reps in the 12-15 range for 3 sets near the end of your training.
How to do the Lateral Squat Walk:
- With your feet hip width apart, toes pointed forward drop into a quarter squat.
- Start with your right leg by stepping with your right foot to the side while maintaining the quarter squat and hip-width position after the step. Keep your knees bent.
- Do all your reps to one side and then do the same amount on the other side.
3. Glute Bridge:
The glute bridge, also called the hip extension, is an exercise that directly targets the glute maximus from the safety of the floor. Plus, this hip exercise actively stretches the hip flexors to help improve hip mobility too.
For added difficulty, this can be performed as a single leg glute bridge or by adding pauses at the top position. This is either a warm-up exercise or can be added to the end of your training for higher reps (12-15) for extra volume.
How to do the Glute Bridge:
- Lie face up on the floor with your left heel and right heel flat on the floor and your knees bent. Keep your arms straight on the ground, with palms pressing down.
- Tuck your hips underneath you to flatten your lower back with your arms by your side.
- Push through your feet to raise your hips off the ground until you have fully locked out your glutes.
- Slowly lower down and reset and repeat.
4. Elevated Split Squat:
Splits squats train the glutes and quads, but the elevated split squat takes this to the next level. The extra range of motion from the elevated surface used in Bulgarian split squats puts more time under tension on your glutes and quads for better muscle-building potential.
This can be loaded with dumbbells in various ways or with a barbell. You’ll reduce strength imbalance between sides to give your glutes even more muscle development. Perform at the beginning of your workout for 8-15 reps of 2 to 3 sets on both sides.
How to do the Elevated Split Squat:
- In this split squat position, place your back foot on an elevated surface and your front foot forward.
- With your chest up and shoulders down, bend knees to the floor until your front thigh is almost parallel to the ground.
- Maintaining a slight forward lean of your torso, push through your front foot to return to the starting position.
- Reset and repeat and then switch sides.
5. Hip Thrust:
The hip thrust is like the glute bridge as it directly works the biggest buttock muscle, the glute maximus, in addition to your hamstrings. The difference here is that your upper back is on a bench, giving your glutes extra range of motion and providing you with the ability to load it heavy with a barbell, which is what makes it one of the best glute exercises around.
Both moves are as close as an isolation exercise for the glutes as it gets and is a must-do exercise for a saggy butt. Perform hip thrusts early in your training for between 2-4 sets and 8-15 reps. If you have never done this before, start with bodyweight.
How to do the Hip Thrust:
- Sit on the ground with your upper back against the edge of a weight bench and feet shoulder width.
- To perform a hip extension, place your shoulder blades on a bench, and your knees at a 90-degree angle. Your upper body and hips are in a straight line. Your left and right knee are bent.
- Hinge your hips toward the floor and keep your upper body steady.
- Extend your hips until lockout and reset and repeat.
6. Kettlebell Swing:
The kettlebell swing is the only exercise on this list that train your glutes for power while helping improve your cardiovascular conditioning. It’s a great fat loss exercise because your body stabilizing muscles are working overtime to adjust to the shifting center of mass of the kettlebell.
When performed for higher reps, the kettlebell swing will help add strength and muscle to your glutes and perk up a saggy butt. Perform at the start of your training for 2-4 sets of 10-25 reps. Make sure you know how to deadlift with good form before attempting the kettlebell swing. As far as what muscles work in the kettlebell swing, it extends far past just your glutes and is a serious full-body move!
How to do the Kettlebell Swing:
- In the standing position, with your feet a little wider than hip-width, hold the kettlebell in front of you. Have your toes pointed slightly outward.
- Hinge down with your knee bent to the kettlebell and grip with a double overhand grip. With your chest lifted, squeeze your armpits together.
- Hike the KB behind you, hinge forward powerfully, and squeeze your quadriceps and glutes.
- Repeat in a continuous loop for reps.
7. Back Extension:
Back extensions are either performed at a 45 or 90-degree angle as you lower and raise your torso while your lower body is fixed. This exercise puts the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings through a large range of motion for better butt-building potential.
Back extensions are performed with bodyweight or loaded with dumbbells, barbells, or a weight plate to further strengthen your butt gains. This exercise is best performed after your compound buttock moves for 8-15 reps for 2-3 sets.
How to do the Back Extension:
- Properly secure your feet with your hips just above the back extension machine padding.
- With your chest up, shoulders down and arms crossed in front of your torso, lower yourself until you’re below parallel.
- Rise using your glutes and hamstrings until glutes are fully locked out and your leg straight. Reset and repeat.
8. Romanian Deadlift:
The Romanian deadlift, or RDL for short, is a deadlift variation in which you take it to mid-shin level and not the floor. This deadlift variation allows you to keep constant tension on the butt for better hypertrophy. This means after just a few reps, your booty will feel the burn!
The beauty of this move is when you have the form down, you can really add load to build more size and strength. Performing early in your training for 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps will have your buttocks saying thank you.
How to do the Romanian Deadlift:
- Stand upright with your feet hip distance apart. Then unrack the barbell from the squat rack and have it in front of your quadriceps. You'll keep your left leg straight and a straight right leg the entire time.
- Grip the barbell with an overhand shoulder-width grip. Keep your chest up and shoulders down, and hip hinge until the barbell is at the mid-shin level. Keep the barbell close to your body at all times.
- Pause and use your glutes and hamstrings to pull you back to the starting position. Reset and repeat.
9. Landmine Single Leg RDL:
The usual single-leg RDL is great for strengthening glute imbalances between sides, but balance can be an issue. Fortunately, with the angle and the long lever required for this exercise, it takes balance out of the equation so you can focus on building your butt.
With this move, you can progressive overload with heavier weights for hypertrophy and strength gains. We suggest 2-3 sets of 6-12 reps after performing your compound movement works well.
How to do the Landmine Single-Leg RDL:
- Stand to one side of the landmine barbell, hinging down to grip the end of the bar with an overhand grip. Keep a straight left leg and right leg.
- Hinge back up and take the same one leg off the ground as the one holding the barbell. So, if your left hang grabs the barbell, your left leg extends back.
- Soften your working knee of the standing leg, so your knees slightly bent, and hinge back until the barbell is below your knee. Keep your back leg extended backward.
- Then push your foot through the floor and lockout your glute. Reset and repeat.
10. Cable Pull-Through:
The cable pull-through is a great exercise that focuses on the glutes and the hamstrings while taking the stress off your lower back. This exercise encourages you to sit back into your hips because the resistance is behind you.
If you have a hard time feeling your buttocks working, this exercise is for you. Do this after your compound moves, targeting higher reps (12-20) and fewer sets (2-3).
How to Do the Cable Pull-Through:
- Attach a rope to the cable machine on the lowest setting or use a looped resistance band. Grip the rope or band with both hands and turn around facing away from the anchor point. Take a few steps away until you feel tension. Keep your feet flat on the floor.
- Stand with feet hip-width apart and keep your chest up and shoulders down, hinging back. Stop when you feel a good stretch in your hamstrings.
- Hinge forward, squeezing your glutes at the end of the movement. Reset and repeat.
THE BEST BUTT LIFTING WORKOUT
Here are two workouts that will go a long way to making your butt area look better. Place one of these routines earlier in the week, and the other later in your week. This enables you to hit the glute muscles enough while providing adequate rest time for them to rebuild and repair. You’ll perform a compound strength exercise at the beginning of each, using fewer reps and heavier weigh, resting 2-3 minutes after each set.
Then you complete 2-4 circuits of four exercises with minimal rest between exercises and circuit rounds that will have your butt feeling the burn.
The rep and set suggestions can be changed to suit your goals and training experience. Don't forget to eat the best pre-workout foods to ensure you've got great energy for your lifts.
Workout A:
|
Exercise |
Sets |
Reps |
|
Elevated Split Squat |
3-4 |
6-8 |
|
Circuit: |
Repeat entire circuit 2-4 times |
|
|
Donkey Kickback |
|
12-15/side |
|
Cable Pull Through |
|
12-15 |
|
Landmine SLRDL |
|
6-8/side |
|
Kettlebell Swing |
|
10-20 |
Workout B:
|
Exercise |
Sets |
Reps |
|
Romanian Deadlift |
3-4 |
6-8 |
|
Circuit: |
Repeat entire circuit 2-4 times |
|
|
Glute Bridge |
|
12-15 |
|
Back Extensions |
|
12-15 |
|
Lateral Squat Walk |
|
12-15/side |
|
Hip Thrust |
|
8-12 |
Stay Consistent for Best Glute Lifting Results
If you’re hoping for a rounded, more sculpted butt, using a mix of compound and isolation movements that target all three muscles of the glute muscles in one killer butt workout will help get you there.
Make sure to combine these workouts with a calorie-controlled diet, and your butt can go from flat to fab with some hard work and dedication.
Related:
Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and gain 2-12 pounds of muscle over 90 days...
Kirsten Yovino
Author