How to Grow Your Butt? 5 Key Foods and Exercises

Creating a buxom butt is the goal of many gym goers. A bigger booty not only looks great, but will help a person to be more functional in everyday activities such as climbing stairs, squatting down, and running. Growing your butt requires a combination of smart nutrition and target exercises. 

In this article, we provide five essential foods you should be eating to help grow your butt along with the four key moves that target your booty.

5 Key Foods to Grow your Butt

Salmon

The main muscle in your butt is the gluteus maximus, with the other two being the gluteus minimus and the gluteus medius. To make them bigger, you need quality protein in your body. Salmon is an excellent way to get it. A 200-gram serving of salmon will provide you with around 40 grams of protein, along with omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to enhance post-workout muscle recovery.

Brown Rice

In addition to protein, your body needs complex carbs for glute growth. Brown rice provides you with both carbs and protein in an ideal balance. The carbs will provide the energy to power you through your workouts to build a bigger butt, while the protein is used to repair muscle fiber. 

Brown rice is an especially good source of branch chain amino acids (BCAAs).

Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese, which is produced from the curd of milk, delivers around 25 grams of protein in every single cup. It is also a very good source of some key micronutrients, including vitamin B12, selenium, and phosphorous. 

Cottage cheese contains casein protein, which is a slower absorbing form than whey protein. Take it at night, just before bed, to provide a constant source of protein to feed the muscles throughout the night.

Eggs

Eggs represent a near-perfect form of protein. There are around 6 grams of protein in every single egg, along with such vital micronutrients as selenium, riboflavin, and vitamin B12. Eggs are especially high in leucine, the most important of the three branched-chain amino acids for muscle growth.

Protein Shake

A protein shake represents a convenient way to get more protein into your body. It is especially useful to drink a shake in the hour after your workout, as this will promote protein synthesis. Look for a powder that gives you between 20 and 30 grams of protein per serving. 

Whey protein is the best form to take post-workout to promote muscle growth and speed up recovery.

4 Key Exercises to Grow Your Butt

The ideal workout for butt growth should target the gluteal muscles, which make up the buttocks. The largest muscle of the three glute muscles is the gluteus maximus. Here are four of the best strength training moves to work that muscle, along with the gluteus medius and minimus. 

Sumo Deadlifts

The barbell deadlift is an effective move for the entire posterior chain that runs up the back of your body. Performing it sumo style, allows you to better target the gluteal muscles.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Stand in front of a loaded barbell with your feet flat and as wide apart as possible.
2. Hinge at the hips and bend your knees to go down to grab the bar with a hip-width alternating group. Maintain a neutral spine position as you go down.
3. Push your heels into the ground as you pull the bar up your legs to a standing position.
4. Slowly lower and repeat for the required rep count.

Training Tips

1. Stop just short of lockout to maintain constant tension on the glute muscles.
2. Keep the bar as close to your body as possible at all times.
3. Do not round your back at any time throughout this exercise. 

Barbell Squats

The squat is one of the key exercises for glute development. For maximum effect, we recommend going into a deep squat, slightly lower than parallel. 

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Stand in front of a loaded squat rack, then get under the bar so that it is resting across your shoulder blades and trapezius.
2. Unrack the bar and take a step back. Position your feet shoulder-width apart. 
3. Hinge at the hips, and descend into a squat position, with your knees a little lower than parallel. Maintain an upright torso position with a tight core.
4. Push through your heels while squeezing your glutes to return to the start position.

Training Tips

• Look directly ahead in the starting position.
• Do not round your back as you push out of the bottom position.
• Use a weight that will allow you to do sets of between 10 and 20 reps. 

Bulgarian Split Squats

The split squat allows you to work each of your glute muscles individually. This allows even development and will produce more power in the muscle.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Stand in front of a bench with a pair of dumbbells in your hands. Place your left foot on the bench behind you and step forward slightly.
2. From this starting position, bend your right knee to descend down into a lunge position. The dumbbells should travel down to touch the floor. Be sure to keep an upright torso position and to forcefully contract your glutes throughout the movement.
3. Push your right heel into the floor as you return to the start position.

Training Tips

• Maintain an upright torso throughout the movement.
• Pull your shoulders back at all times.
• Use relatively heavy weights to keep your rep range between eight and 15.

Fire Hydrant

The fire hydrant is a bodyweight butt workout move that works well with the previous exercises. You can use a resistance band to make the exercise more challenging.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Get down on all fours, with your hands directly beneath your shoulders. Your torso should form a tabletop position with a slightly arched lower back.
2. From this starting position, bring your bent right leg up and out to the side. Maintain a 90° knee bend throughout the movement. Hold the top position for a two-second count as you squeeze your gluteal muscles tight.
3. Return to the start position and repeat for the required rep count. In the same number of repetitions on both legs. 

Training Tips

• Do not round your back any time throughout this movement.
• Keep your core and glutes contracted throughout the exercise.

Conclusion

Developing a bodacious butt can be done without resorting to cosmetic surgeries or padded inserts. A smart combination of healthy nutrition and targeted muscle-building exercises will do the job nicely. Add the five key foods for butt growth to your diet and perform the four given exercises twice per week, and you will soon see some serious growth in your butt muscles.