How to Double the Size of Your Glutes at Home
We all want a nice bum.
Unfortunately there are a lot vague myths on the internet claiming to have the answer for a Jlo sized masterpiece.
This is not one of those myths. This is a proven, science-based method.
Trial and error performed on my own body from the last 10 years has given me a board understanding of what works and what simply is a trend.
Glutes are earned, not given. I’ll be sharing my struggles, tips and tricks to glutes that will make you need to buy all new pants.
Eat, A Lot.
Glutes are a muscle.
To make that muscle grow, you need to be eating a caloric surplus.
But, how do you know if you’re eating enough? There’s an app for that, of course.
I like the myfitnesspal app (not sponsored/affiliated). It’s easy to use, free and effective. When recording food in the diary, I’ve only run into a few specialty foods I could not find in the app.
When this happens:
- Add the food by clicking the plus icon
- Hit “create food”
- Enter the information. Title, serving size, etc.
The Macronutrient Formula for Glute Growth
- 40 percent protein
- 30 percent carbs
- 30 percent fat
This ratio works best for muscle growth and fat loss.
Yes, it is possible to lose fat while gaining muscle. The key here is to listen to your body. Have a macronutrient structured meal plan, follow it, and make adjustments if you feel your body is not agreeing with something.
If you do not, you risk gaining not only muscle mass, but also unwanted fat.
When the body cannot process something, it will store it as fat. This is why most people eating junk food are fat.
Junk food is filled with chemicals that the body is not made to process. So, instead of using the food for fuel, it stores it and asks for more nutrients.
This can create a vicious cycle.
Skip the fat gain and choose foods that agree with your body! Food is after all, fuel. You will need the best fuel you can get for the best muscle growth you want.
Protein Shakes for Fat loss/ Muscle Gain
Make sure your protein is over 100g for women and 150g for men. If you struggle hitting your protein goal, like I did at first, try low-carb protein shakes.
After wasting hundreds of dollars on shakes that made me bloated, I finally found one that works for me. I love the Bloom Nutrition Whey Isolate (not affiliated).
The chocolate banana flavor is amazing in a smoothie! Most days for a quick and easy breakfast I make it with ice, almond milk, and a banana for thickness. Yum. Filling and nutrient dense.
My issue with bloat was caused by the sugar. My body doesn’t use man-made sugar very well for fuel. I ended up bloated in my face and my stomach.
Not a cute look.
This brand has less than 1 gram of sugar and it worked wonders for me. I could focus on muscle growth without worrying about stomach growth.
I also had issues with the taste of a lot of name brand protein. Chalky water just isn’t great 7 days a week.
Bloom has a beautiful amount of variety and amazing flavors that keep me coming back. Again, not affiliated in any way, I truly just love this brand.
They will help you hit your protein goal while keeping your carb allotment open for the day. I find carbs are much easier to consume than protein, so I like to keep my carb options open.
Carbs & Fat
- 200–300g carb range for men and women.
- 40–80g Fats for men and women.
You can personalize your macros here for free (not affiliated).
Just enter your age, gender, height and weight. Then select muscle gain and it will give you a good starting point to aim for. Enter this information in your myfitnesspal and then you’re ready to get started.
Everyone’s body is different.
Listen to your body.
If you find you cannot hit the carb goal for the day, then don’t. Try again tomorrow.
Your body knows what’s best for you, do your best to meet your goals without pushing yourself.
I used this calculation to set goals for myself and found that I actually achieved my muscle gain/fat loss goals, quicker when I adjusted my macros to down to 25g of carbs, and upped my fats to 35g.
Your body might need less fat, and more carbs.
Just do your best and adjust your goals as you go. It may seem frustrating at first, but just remember this is a journey of self discovery.
Be patient with yourself and your body will reward you with the results you seek.
How to Track Your Macros For Glute Growth
I like to use myfitnesspal to track my macros. The app will automatically track your macros, all you have to do is keep an eye on your stats throughout the day.
I found it easier to hit my goals if I entered everything the night before.
That way, I knew what I needed to eat at what time to hit my goals. No guesswork, or excuses of forgetting to log it. Makes it easy to hit your goals when your food diary, and your daily macros, are all in one place.
The goal here is to eat more.
As long as you can manage to eat at a caloric surplus along with exercise, you will see muscle growth.
Repeat it with me, “I will never grow my glutes in a caloric restriction”.
Amen.
Workout Your Glutes 2X Per Week.
There are a plethora of exercises online for free on youtube, instagram, etc. Make sure you are targeting your glutes for at least one hour, two times a week.
It might seem intimidating to start doing glute exercises at the gym before you have strong glutes.
Also, currently we are all in quarantine.
So how exactly do you target your glutes without gym equipment, or a gym?
Do them at home first.
Start with body weight. You will get a burn from body weight workouts!
I like to do the workout until I feel a burn with body weight. You want to push yourself here to keep going even when you’re bored of it.
Pro tip: listen to motivational speeches on youtube when you’re aiming for a burn out, keeps you going!
Choose exercises you enjoy doing, so that you keep doing them!
I follow Kaylee Ullom on instagram for daily, quarantine friendly, workouts (no affiliation).
Glute workouts at home are hard to find. I’ve found a trainer on instagram who posts new glute workouts from home at least 2x a week.
She has both weight versions and body weight versions of these beginner friendly workouts.
Not only is she in amazing shape, she has a fantastic bum that she has worked hard for!
She has her before and after pictures to prove it.
Kaylee shares tons of glute workouts at home, for free.
To top it all of she just had a baby. Superwomen? Is that you?
She is a certified trainer and does have training programs you can purchase.
Kaylee guides you through a personalized weight loss/muscle gain journey at a very reasonable cost (under $30).
Kaylee takes all the guess work out of growing your glutes at home.
She provides detailed wokout guides, and keeps you accountable thoughout her journey.
Click here to sign up for her booty program and to check out all her clients results.
Keep trying new ones until you find a routine of your favorite exercises. An exercise routine you love will keep you coming back.
Kaylee keeps me inspired. Find someone who makes you feel excited to workout!
Exercises I find most effective:
- Squats
- Hip thrusts
- Glute Kickbacks
- Lunges
I like to do 3–5 sets of these until failure. I make sure to squeeze my glutes at the top of each workout to get the most out of it. If your butt looks uglier than a 3 week old peach, your doing it right!
“Forty-two male subjects were randomly assigned to either a no-rest group, a rest group, or a control group (who did no training). Subjects in the two training groups trained their elbow flexor muscles by lifting a 6RM weight 6–10 times on 3 days per week for 6 weeks. Subjects in the no-rest group performed repeated lifts without resting, whereas subjects in the rest group rested for 30 seconds between each repetition. Intensity and volume of training was matched. Subjects who trained without rests experienced significantly greater mean increases in dynamic strength (+56.3%) than subjects who trained with rests (+41.2%)”
Len Kravitz, Ph.D.
Glute Targeted Cardio
Yes, cardio can make you thinner. Cardio can also make you thick like a milkshake, depending on the style of cardio you choose.
As a 10 year cross country runner, pole vaulter, sprinter, marathon runner, and hurdler, I can safely say, running has given me strong glutes.
Here’s what I’ve learned shows the best results for glute growth.
The best cardio for glute growth:
- Stair-master (can be done on actual stairs)
- Sprints
- Up-hill interval training
Stair-master engages your glutes, calves, quads and hamstrings. Effectively burning fat while creating muscle mass.
Sprints targets “fast twitch” muscle fibers, which are directly correlated with muscle growth. Sprints also increase protein synthesis and growth hormone production, vital for growth.
-Human Muscle Response Sprint Study done by Dr.Rundqvist.
Up-hill interval training forces you to lift your body weight up a slope, engaging your glutes the entire time. I have found this to be the most effective form of cardio for glute growth, also the hardest one.
For inspiration, have you ever looked at a sprinter’s glutes?
Add Weight To Your Workouts.
*This tip applies if you have an at home gym, weights or access to gym equipment*
Most beginners are afraid to add weight in fear of:
- Failing.
- Dropping the weight.
- Not being able to lift it/embarrassment.
- Becoming “manly”, and the list goes on.
These are all EXCUSES.
Everyone starts squats thinking the bar is heavy. Literally everyone.
But, once you do it 2, 3 times a week, all of a sudden the bar isn’t that hard anymore.
Then you add a 10 lb weight to the bar and can barely make one repetition.
THIS IS GOOD.
Failure in exercise is a good thing. It means you have pushed yourself as far as you can go. When your muscles tear like that, they will feel like you got hit by a train the next day. What’s actually happening is the muscle fibers you tore are repairing as stronger, larger muscle fibers.
“Skeletal muscle is the most adaptable tissue in your body. When you do extreme exercise, like weightlifting, your muscle fibers undergo trauma, or what’s called muscle injury. When your muscles are injured this way, satellite cells on the outside of the muscle fibers become activated. They attempt to repair the damage by joining together and, as a result, increasing the muscle fiber.”
-Daniel Bubnis
MS, NASM-CPT, NASE Level II-CSS
You actually need failure, to succeed in fitness.
Your legs might even give out on you. This is what we want!
Once your muscle fibers repair themselves (3–7 days), you will notice that 10lb weight isn’t as heavy anymore.
Week after week of consistency and eventually you will be squatting two 45lb plates on each side like it’s taking a light beach jog, easy.
And all along, your endurance is building. Your muscles are too. Your glutes are growing like crazy now.
You see where I’m going with this?
You need to keep challenging yourself in order to grow. No different from anything else in life.
Take Progress Pictures.
This one is by far the best tip I have for you.
At the end of the day, it’s about how you feel about your growth and progress. No, you will never have Jlo’s peach, but you will have something much better.
You will have the best version of yourself. A you that you adore.
Progress pictures allow you to see your progress in real time. This not only motivates you to keep going, but gives you something to be proud of.
Motivation is a huge factor in being fit.
If you can find small victories throughout your journey, you are much more likely to keep it going.
It becomes a habit. It becomes a lifestyle.
You will be so happy you took those unsightly “before” pictures when you have something amazing you worked hard on for “after” pictures.
How to double the size of your glutes at home:
- Eat more and track your macros using the 40/30/30 formula.
- Do glutes workouts at home 2–3x a week.
- Add sprints/stair-master/interval training to your exercise routine.
- Take progress pictures for motivation.
- You WILL see results!
Enjoy your new fabulous booty! You earned it.
