Obviously, everyone is telling you to squat deep. Foot placement is important for working the posterior chain hard. Place your feet a good bit wider than shoulder width and pointed out at a 45 degree angle, like a sumo wrestler. Then…squat deep! Made my ass huge at least.
i don’t know why anybody hasn’t mentioned it, but go on the elitelfts site and copy the westside beginner program from the articles section. i have been doing it for only 6 weeks and my ass size has allready doubled. all those 14 inch box box squats, pull throughs (i don’t have a reverse hyper) gh raises, good mornings, goodmorning/squats, speed squats, etc. made my ass blow up like a balloon. how much do you squat by the way? the glutes are a high threshold, powerful muscle group that don’t even get engaged until the deep portion of the squat while under maximal weights. due to balance factors, there is no way you can load the lunge enough. with the leg press, you can’t get your feet high enough to really engage the glutes (you need to get your butt way back like on a box squat, the machine won’t let you do that) forget the lunges and all that crap, and get on a box that is below parallel and squat on that friggin thing with a 3-5 rep range until you can max double your bodyweight. do real box squat/westside/powerlifter ass back squats. if that does not make your ass grow, despite being able to double your bodyweight on a below parallel squat, then just forget about it. you were never meant to have an ass, so just accept it and move on with your life. however, something tells me that this is just not the case yet.
Work the hips from the waist not the knee a la Reverse hyper.
Other good stuff: Good Mornings, Deads, Glute Ham Raise, Lunges always kill my ass, Sumo Deads.
Also there is an article on here called Booty Call…did you search for it? did you read it? It’s by John Roman. Do the stuff in there too, it is exactly what you are talking about: growing an ass.
Build it, and they will cum.
Kelly Bagget,
Can you expound more on not being able to make the gluteals fire properly??? Thanks in advance
I like to use Cook Hip Lifts to see if someones glutes are firing properly. Lie on you back, feet flat on the floor, knees bent to 45 degrees. Place a tennis ball against your lower rib cage area on one side and pull the same side leg towards your chest so the thigh is holding the tennis ball in place. Now drive the foot that is still on the floor into the floor and bridge up without letting your other leg come away from the chest (if you lose contact with the tennis ball you’ve lost broken form). Squeeze your glutes and hold at the top position for 3-5 sec. By bringing the knee to the chest you eliminate using back extension and instead have to rely on hip extension to perform the bridge. You should be able to raise up high enough so your femur is in a straight line with your hip. If you start to get cramping in the hamstrings its a sign that they are doing the work and the glutes aren’t firing properly. If your hip flexors are very tight it will also limit the amount of hip extension you can acieve.
you need to hit the track 
doing some 60m runs should help you along with deep squats.
One thing no one has mentioned yet is that it could be your form on the squat/dl, etc. Read some Dave tate articles on the technique.
If you can’t make your butt sore, you probably aren’t keeping your weight back enough (“sitting back” into the squat). Arch back.
Or, as Kelly said, you may be unable to fire your glutes properly. Check into it.
Other than that, ditto the many responses here.
I definitely think that genetics will have some say and nutrition is important. That aside before I started lifting I had almost no ass but after about 5 months of lifting girls where giving me compliments left and right. What I did (unintentionally) was use squats for 4-5 sets of 6-12 reps then I would do walking barbell lunges supersetted with leg press, leg curls and heavy romainian deadlifts for sets of 6 as heavy as possible and I really tensed my glutes on these. I think rdl’s are a great butt builder as well as the walking barbell lunges and squats. I wasn’t trying to get a nicer backside but it happened. Now this was before I knew of T-mag and really didn’t know what I was doing at the time. I would just make sure to include deep squats or box squats, rdl’s, and try some walking lunges along with some big eating…I don’t know how long you have been training but you might want to try some advanced hypertrophy techniques as well like tempo contrast…check out CT’s Violent Variations 3 article for more on that. Good luck.
well, on hip dominant day I do stiff legged deadlifts, and when I start the concentric part of the movement I initiate it by clenching my buttocks to make sure the glutes are taking part in the movement. It sure makes my butt sore. And I would also like to place an emphasis on what someone said before… do powerlifting squats, that is, squat with a very wide stance. Then you will bring the glutes more into the movement.
Whoever first mentioned Good Mornings, thank you! In the midst of all my effort, I somehow forgot about them. Definately stepping those up. As for “firing off my glutes”…I’m not sure I know quite what you mean. Can someone elaborate? I am very confident in my form, stance and posture (at least where squats are concerned). I am also currently squatting 130lbs (Before you laugh…I must tell you that I weigh 125). It was sugested to focus on my butt as I exercise, squeeze it, flex it, pinch a penny. That should help as well. I’ll give it a go and let you know if I can build perfection.
Bev
Basics: Squats, lunges, step ups, Deadlifts, Dimel dead [Partial deads brought a few inches below the knee],
Pull throughs.
Try the following with your next workout:
1)Deep squats make sure to force the hips back and flex your ass out of the bottom until you reach the top.
Do 3-4 sets 10-12 reps
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Dimel Deads- 3x20 60-90 sec rest and use VERY light weights something like 30% of max would be good.
This is regular deadlift except you only go down a few inches below the knee. It is NOT a stiff leg deadlift. -
Step ups- Use a pretty high step and do 4x10 with no or light weights. Contrat your hams and your ass as you come up and keep your chest up through out. Try to come down as slow and as soft as you can.
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Hyper extensions 3x10-20 reps
Hold at the top for 2-4 seconds. Do the exercise with your ass not your lower back.
JA
but of course a pic of the but would help greatly to ASSess the problem cough
Here is one on glute recruitment from Ian King. Strength Training, Bodybuilding & Online Supplement Store - T NATION
In my experience it is not uncommon to not have much ‘feel’ for the posterior chain muscles.
When I squat 1RM heavy, I strain, I work hard, but I don’t even know what’s doing the work. Its a weird feeling.
My son does GHR’s. His hamstrings are flexed, bulging. If I grab the back of his leg there’s a handfull of tight muscle. He can’t feel what he’s flexing - just knows that he’s trying hard.
Bev, I suspect that you don’t have much feel for glutes or hamstrings firing. Your sore legs after squatting may mean you are using your quads more than posterior chain muscles. Are the sore ‘legs’ quads or hamstrings?
I’ve found the Dimel deadlift movement a great way to work at firing the glutes.
Push your butt back to lower the bar to knee-high. Then squeeze your glutes to bring yourself back to straight up. Use the glutes ONLY.
Given your 135 squat, start with about 55-65 lbs and do high rep sets - 15 to 20 reps - until your glutes get tired.
I suspect a few sessions of this (twice a week) will give you a much better sense of what it means to fire your glutes.
Then you can apply that firing to DLs, squats, GMs etc.
Your form may be perfectly fine, but obviously recruits your legs far more than your glutes.
Whatever the cause, you have to relearn movements in such a way that the movement recruits your glutes.
At one time, I was like you, the flattest butt you ever saw. Because I am long waisted and slightly sway backed, it looked ever worse. But, I’ve been able to build a very nice backside.
First, be prepared for it to take time…it took me two years of effort, which includes both exercise and more calories. Yes, you will put on a bit of fat…not too much if you diet is planned well.
Exercises that I’ve found really improve the glutes. Walking lunges with weight…I do at least 100 yards twice a week.
Squats: find someone you trust who knows how to spot, and push some weight. The 5 to 8 rep range every other workout, and the 12 to 15 rep range every other workout. I don’t know how long you have been training squats, or your age, but I’m 50, I’ve been squatting with heavier weights for about 5 years, and use between 185# and 260# as a working weight, obviously the lower # for the high rep workouts and going as heavy as I can with good form on the lower rep scheme. (These numbers are only meant as a reference, you need to find out for yourself how heavy you are willing to go, but test yourself).
High leg presses…again, go heavy with high reps. I will do 12 to 15 when I’m working over 400#, but 20 to 30 when I’m in the 260+# range. No need to go real low. Just control the exercise through your heels (actually pull your toes up to the top of your shoes so you will know you are working through your heels), keeping your abs and back tight, so that the glutes are taking the weight directly. If you are working super heavy only lower the weight until you feel the stretch in your butt (about half way to your chest), but you back does not feel involved. In my case, because I’m sway backed, I use a small rolled up towel in my lower back area to keep my back from rounding.
One-leg hypers, tighten the butt and concentrate on using the hams and glutes, add some weight when you can.
Step ups with weight. These are a great butt exercise, and I never fail to feel them the next day. These are not an exercise for someone who doesn’t push their limits. Add as much weight as you can and complete at least three sets of 20 alternating steps up. Stand away from the box or step, far enough so that you can feel the strentch in your hammies and glutes when you first place your foot on the step. Press yourself up onto the box again directly through your heels and posterior chain. You have to force yourself to hang on to your form.
If your glutes are not responding, chances are your hamstrings aren’t being worked hard enough either. I’ve had difficulty over the years with hamstrings, as they tend to be the one place on me that I plateau for months. After reading several of the articles on T-Mag, I changed the way that I approach hamstrings. I now work them first in my routine on most workouts, as heavy as I can for 10 x 3 (leg curls or SLDL) until I can do 10 x 5, and then I go heavier. I’ve made very satisfactory gains this way.
Give legs at least one day a week of their own, and blast them.
If you are trying to maintain a lean look, add 200 to 300 calories a day to your diet until you start to see some changes. You will gain a bit of fat, but it’s really the only way to get some size on. Don’t except to see immediate results. I thought I’d never have a fine ass, but one day, one of my training partners (male) said to me…“hey, don’t ever say you don’t got bootie again”.
Check your posture and body mechanics (Glutes not properly firing) which is probable the main cause of your present situation. Utilize heavy squats, deedlifts, and goodmornings. The proper use of Olympic lifts can also be very beneficial. But don?t forget proper nutrition. By the way post your results on the picture forum.