There’s no shame in saying we all want a firm, round, and toned booty. Lots of us who enjoy fitness dream of having one!
But guess what? There’s no magic trick to getting a perfect bum overnight. Seeing results only takes time, effort, and a bit of love.
The cherry on top is that you don’t need heavy gym machines or hours of workouts to get results. With a good booty workout plan, you can start to see changes. So, if you’re ready to tone that bum, this guide is just for you!
What Is a Sculpting Booty Building Workout Plan?
A sculpting booty-building workout plan is a fitness routine designed to target and grow glute muscles. Its primary targets are the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus (1). However, it can also tone your legs and improve your lower body strength.
It is more than just squats and lunges. A well-rounded glute-focused workout plan includes movements that work your muscles from multiple angles (2). Examples of these exercises include hip thrusts, step-ups, kickbacks, and resistance band exercises.
A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that hip thrusts produced significantly greater glute activation than traditional squats (3). With the right exercises, you’re not just shaping your backside, you’re actively building strength, improving posture, and supporting overall athletic performance.
The best part is that you don’t need a fancy gym membership to get started. A booty-building workout plan at home can be just as effective using bodyweight, resistance bands, or a pair of dumbbells. By consistently challenging your glutes with progressive overload (gradually increasing resistance or reps), you’ll see real, sculpted results right in your living room (4).
So, if you want to build strength, boost confidence, and create a firm, lifted shape, this plan is your go-to. Just remember: consistency and proper form are the pathways to success.
Can I Get a Bigger Bum if I’m Skinny?
If you’re skinny, you may be wondering if it’s even possible to grow your booty. But yes, you can make your bum bigger, even if you’re naturally slim. You just need to do strength exercises.
The key is muscle hypertrophy, which is the process of your muscle cells increasing in size. Strength training causes tiny tears in your muscle fibers, and as your body repairs these tears, the muscles grow stronger and larger over time (5).
Your body repairs those tears and builds the muscles back stronger and bigger. When you work out your glutes (the muscles in your bum), they start to grow and firm up. Science even demonstrates it: strength training makes your booty muscles stronger and bigger (1).
Now that you know how it works, let’s review the best moves to grow your booty. These are perfect for beginners or anyone who is just getting started. You can perform squats, lunges, glute bridges, and fire hydrants, but today, we’ll start with the following exercises:
Set One
This consists of reverse frog pumps and seated hip abduction. You can perform these exercises as is, but once you get used to the basics, you can increase the intensity by adding a resistance band.
Reverse Frog Pumps
To do this exercise, you have to:
- Lie down on the floor with your chest facing down (you can also lie on a bench or chair if you prefer).
- Keep your arms straight and your hands on the floor.
- Bend your knees and bring your feet together like a frog.
- Inhale and squeeze your glutes (your bum muscles) to lift them up.
- Exhale and slowly bring your bum back down.
- Perform this 10-12 times, then take a 30-second break. Repeat.
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Seated Hip Abduction
The steps to do this exercise are:
- Sit on the floor or a chair.
- You can use a resistance band to improve efficiency. Place it above your kneecaps.
- Lean your torso forward and lift your heels off the floor. Make sure only your toes are touching the floor.
- Open and slowly push your legs as much as you can to the side.
- Bring your legs back to the start position while maintaining the resistance between your legs.
- Repeat for 10-12 reps.
Second Set
This consists of a standing fire hydrant to kickbacks and a 180-jump squat. After performing the first set 2-3 times, proceed to the second set.
Fire Hydrant to Kickbacks
To perform this workout, you have to:
- Place the resistance band above your kneecaps.
- Place a chair nearby for better stability. You can also place your hand on the wall.
- Lift your leg off the floor and bend your knee at a 90-degree angle.
- Elevate the same leg to the side so your knee is parallel to your hip. Hold for 3 seconds, squeeze your bum, and return to the starting position.
- Immediately after this, kick back by stretching your leg up in the air. Hold for 3 seconds and return to the starting position.
- Do 10-12 reps.
180 Jump Squat
The steps to perform this exercise are as follows:
- Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Place your toes a bit outward, as if forming a letter V.
- Leaning forward, bend your hips backward, and get into a squat position by pushing your knees outwards.
- When returning to the starting position, jump and turn 180 degrees to face the opposite direction.
- Repeat the same in the other direction for 10-12 reps.
Read more: Static Glute Bridge Abduction: Benefits You Can Expect
What Causes Flat Buttocks?
If you’re tired of a flat butt, you’re not alone. Many of us experience sagging buttocks at some point in our lives. There are several reasons why you may have a flat butt.
- Genetics: Your genes play a huge role in shaping your buttocks (6). They indicate how much mass your butt may obtain.
- Aging: As you age, your glutes weaken, and your skin loses elasticity. Your hips may not be as firm as they were when you were young (7).
- Sedentary Lifestyle: If all you do is lie on the couch and scroll on your phone all day, your bum may lose its shape. Not leading an active lifestyle is probably the biggest reason behind a flat butt.
- Eating Unhealthy Food: Your diet matters too. If you keep munching on processed foods and refined sugar, your bum can store fat instead of burning it (8). Your butt will sag as a result.
- No Strength Training: If you work out but only focus on cardio, your bum won’t grow. You need resistance training to strengthen your glutes and make them bigger and firmer (1).
Are Glutes Hard to Grow?
Growing your glutes can be challenging for some people, particularly due to factors such as genetics, aging, and difficulty activating the muscles properly. For others, it may come more easily. So yes, building glutes is possible, but the level of difficulty varies from person to person.
It doesn’t mean you can’t make progress if you’re struggling with glute growth. You can still achieve glute hypertrophy with proper technique, consistent effort, and an innovative training strategy.
A few tips that could help include:
- Warm up your glutes properly before working out: Sitting for long periods can cause the glutes to become inactive or tight. Prepping your muscles with moves such as resistance band side steps or glute bridges can help “wake them up” before training.
- Focus on proper form and activation: Exercises such as squats and lunges are only practical if you use the correct technique and engage your glutes. Don’t hesitate to ask a trainer for guidance or watch reputable videos to ensure you’re doing them right.
- Apply progressive overload: To see real change, gradually challenge your muscles by increasing the weight, reps, sets, or intensity over time. This encourages muscle repair and growth.
Can I Grow Glutes in 30 Days?
Yes, you absolutely can build a fantastic booty in 30 days. It’s all about following a proper booty-building workout plan and paying close attention to your food intake. Do the following exercises for a month and watch wonders unroll in your favor.
Squats
Squats can be one of your best shots for building glutes (1). The steps to perform them are:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Inhale, bend your knees, and lower your body as if sitting on a chair. You can clasp your hands in front of your chest.
- Hold the squat position for 2 seconds.
- Exhale and return to the standing position.
- Do this exercise for 15 reps.
Donkey Kicks
The name sounds absurd, but it is another effective exercise for a booty workout plan (9). Here’s how you can do it:
- Lie on the floor on all fours.
- Keep your right knee bent at a 90-degree angle and lift your right leg toward the ceiling until your thigh is parallel to the floor.
- Return to the starting position.
- Perform 10 reps on each leg before switching sides.
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Glute Bridges
If you’ve been working out for a while, this is one exercise you must be familiar with. To do this, you have to:
- Lie on the floor on your back.
- Bend your knees and maintain a straight back.
- Place your arms by your sides.
- Tighten your abs and slowly raise your hips off the ground.
- Hold the position when your hips are as high as you can lift them and then return to the start.
- Perform 10 reps.
What Are Some Good Exercises to Grow a Booty Fast?
Building strong, sculpted glutes requires targeting all three glute muscles with effective, compound movements and clever isolation work. A solid glute workout routine combines both strength training and cardio to fire up your glutes from every angle (1).
Some of the best exercises for growing your glutes include:
- Barbell hip thrusts
- Bulgarian split squats
- Romanian deadlifts
- Walking lunges
- Cable kickbacks
- Walking lunges
- Step-ups with dumbbells
The key to an effective glute workout routine is progressive overload, good form, and a mix of compound and isolation moves. Add a weekly treadmill glute workout session to fire up your muscles in a low-impact, cardio-friendly way. Soon, you’ll be well on your way to a stronger, rounder booty!
Read more: Do These Glute Isolation Exercises at Home and Fire up Your Glutes
What Are Some Other Tips to Build a Booty Faster?
Check out these tips to build your bum bigger.
- Focus on your diet. If you want a bigger bum, you need to eat more protein. Consume a protein-rich diet before and after your workout to fuel muscle growth and recovery. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming protein before and after resistance training significantly improves muscle growth and recovery (10).
- Focus on consistency. Whether it be consistency with your daily movement or consistency with your food choices in the kitchen. Long-term fitness results come from consistent effort over time. Change takes time and the only way to get there is with conscious effort.
- Focus on rest and sleep. Everyone wants to see fitness results overnight, but remember that the muscles repair themselves during rest. Focus on getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night and then taking 24-48 hours off before working the same muscle group. Rest is incredibly important in injury prevention and the last thing you want to do is get injured and set yourself back even further.
Is Twice a Week Enough for Glute Growth?
If you’re just starting, twice a week is more than enough. Your body isn’t used to exercise, so it needs time to rest and recover. Follow a proper workout plan focusing on all of your glutes and do the necessary reps and sets as advised. On rest days, focus on your nutrition and either passive (sitting on the couch) or active recovery (light stretching or walking). This will allow your muscles to heal before you attempt your next glute workout of the week. As you get used to it, you may increase the intensity and duration of your booty exercises.
Yes, walking can help strengthen and tone your glute muscles. It helps if you walk with good posture, pick up the pace, or go uphill. While it won’t make your glutes noticeably bigger on its own, it does play a role in lower-body strength (11). To get the most out of it, you can combine walking with glute activation exercises such as bridges or kickbacks to really fire up those muscles. Doing 100 squats daily can help your glutes get stronger and more toned. It’s a good start. However, for real growth, your body needs more than just squats. Adding weights and mixing in some of the best glute exercises, such as hip thrusts, step-ups, and deadlifts, can help you see better and faster results (1). Protein shakes don’t grow your glutes on their own, but they can help increase your daily protein consumption, which can ultimately help build muscle when you pair them with the right glute exercises. A glute-focused workout plan can sometimes make your butt look smaller due to fat loss and muscle changes. Although your glutes are getting stronger, losing body fat can make them look smaller compared to how the rest of your body is changing.Frequently Asked Questions
Does walking build glutes?
Will 100 squats a day grow my glutes?
Will a protein shake grow my glutes?
Why is my bum getting smaller when I work out?
The Bottom Line
Building a booty isn’t as impossible as it may seem. You can get a perky, toned, and firm bum if you exercise properly and follow an active lifestyle. Focus on your diet, rest, and avoid common booty-building mistakes to see effective results. Remember, you won’t see results overnight, so you must be patient, disciplined, and dedicated to working out your bum.
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SOURCES:
- The Activation of Gluteal, Thigh, and Lower Back Muscles in Different Squat Variations Performed by Competitive Bodybuilders: Implications for Resistance Training (2021, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- Training the Glutes (2020, researchgate.net)
- A Comparison of Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, and Vastus Lateralis Electromyographic Activity in the Back Squat and Barbell Hip Thrust Exercises (n.d., journals.humankinetics.com)
- Progressive overload without progressing load? The effects of load or repetition progression on muscular adaptations (2022, peerj.com)
- Resistance Training Variables for Optimization of Muscle Hypertrophy: An Umbrella Review (2022, frontiersin.org)
- Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Gluteus Maximus Muscle (2023, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- Closed vs open reduction in developmental dysplasia of the hip: The short-term effect on acetabular remodeling (2020, sciencedirect.com)
- Physiological process of fat loss (2019, bnrc.springeropen.com)
- Effects of Six Weeks Donkey Kick and Squat Resistance Exercises on Gluteal Adiposity, Muscle Strength, and Muscle Bulk of Young Nigerian Female Adults (2020, journals.lww.com)
- Consumption of fat-free fluid milk after resistance exercise promotes greater lean mass accretion than does consumption of soy or carbohydrate in young, novice, male weightlifters (2007, sciencedirect.com)
- Impact of lower limb muscle strength on walking function beyond aging and diabetes (2020, journals.sagepub.com)