3 keys to building a booty!
If you want to build a booty, you’ve come to the right place. Stop chasing fads and follow these top three evidence-based priorities.
PRIORITY 1: FORM
Range of Motion, Control and Time under Tension
It is not enough to simply move, we must move well. And to move well you must be moving with control and tension built into your body, as well as moving through full range of motion.
Moving with control implies that we are moving the weight, and not the other way around. This ensures that we are activating our muscles through both the lengthened and shortened positions.
Moving through full range of motion is the primary way you should approach each lift. Moving through a full range of motion will result in better muscle balance, joint stability, proper activation of the working muscles and overall better movement quality.
Tension refers to how long a muscle is under strain during a set. The longer it is under strain, the more tension is built, and the more your muscles are stimulated to grow and get stronger. This is not to say you need to move at a snail's pace, but rather that you should move carefully through your movements and emphasize control through every single part of those movements.
Priority 2: PROGRAMMING
Our bodies adapt specifically to the demand placed on them. If you want to grow your glutes, you’ll want a program that is built specifically FOR your glutes.
Mechanical Tension, Muscle Damage + Metabolic stress
You’ll also want to ensure that you’re training the main movement patterns,
And choosing exercise to target the three glute muscles.
The bulk of your booty growth will happen through maximizing mechanical tension. The easiest way to think of this is lifting super heavy weights at low reps. High Load = High Mechanical Tension. Compound movements, like hip thrusts, should be the main lifts you prioritize and start with in your training.
A smaller, but still important piece of muscle growth is muscle damage. Soreness isn't the best indicator of a “good workout”. It is simply an indicator of muscle damage, as a result of novelty. Novelty can be achieved through eccentrics, increased range of motion, or a new exercise (or one you haven't done in a while).
The last piece of the puzzle is metabolic stress, which you feel when you feel your muscles burning or notice a pump. We achieve this through higher reps, lighter weight and shorter rest periods. Think of this as a burn out at the end of the workout.
PRIORITY 3: INTENTION + EFFORT
If you have the mentality of “just getting through it” during your workouts, you will struggle to build muscle. Building muscle is HARD. Our bodies like to conserve energy and won’t build muscle unless we provide the necessary stimulus to force it to adapt.
If you lack intention in your workouts, you will plateau. If you do have intention in your workouts and you are moving with control, tension and full range of motion, the last piece of the puzzle is maximizing the effort you are putting in. This means pushing past what is comfortable. We often hear this referred to as training to failure. Training to failure means that we are pushing each set to one or two reps shy of failure. Failure in lifting terms means cheating range of motion or compromising form, which as we learned are priority #1.
If you are looking to build muscle and you’re not 100% sure you’re applying these priorities appropriately in your training plan, we would love to help you!
Read more about hypertrophy in these LWL articles
Can I spot-train with these hypertrophy principles?
Yes! But let us clarify. You CANNOT spot-reduce fat. For example, if your goal is a smaller waistline, doing core work will not make you lose belly fat.
You CAN spot-build muscle. This is due to the specificity of muscle growth. Building muscle uses a lot of energy and our bodies naturally like to conserve energy. So our bodies will only build muscle in the areas that you tell it to build muscle, based on your training program.
For example, If you do bicep curls, you are telling your body to build muscle in your biceps to handle the load you are lifting. Bicep curls specifically target your biceps so your body won’t build muscle in your legs, it will build muscle in your biceps.
ABOUT the author
Amy Potter is a Certified Personal Trainer and Holistic Health Coach. She loves helping women heal their relationship with their bodies, and with food. She guides women on a journey to feel strong, confident, and capable through weight lifting and intuitive eating. In her free time, she can be found taking long walks on the beach, petting dogs, or talking about politics.
