Squats (And Other Exercises) For The Butt

[eek]

Basically, to put it bluntly, i want to grow my butt a bit..and uplift and definition. (Im female)

Several months back I started on a Smith Machine, 8 sets of 15 squats with weights.

Moved to a different gym a couple of months ago, but its a squat rack, not a Smith Machine, so im doing the same set of squats but no weights as yet (concerned at the moment about having weights on a machine that doesnt support the weights)

I feel the burn when i do it, but im not feeling any burn/pain later on or the next day.

I also do lunges with weights and sprint running on the treadmill.

My legs, stomach, upper body, are pretty toned. Im happy in those areas. But im not seeing enough results on my butt.

Any suggestions about what i can do to work this area more/better?

If i didnt supply enough info, apologies, and will give any info requested.

Thanks so much for advice.

[robblok]

Actually a squating in a rack is much better as with smith machine. The whole movement is more natural. It is however possible you need to learn how to squat correct. There are many youtube movies from Mark rippetoe a world famous strenght coach that explain among other things squat.

That you don't feel pain the next day does not have to be a bad thing. But it could mean your not going heavy enough. But id advise against going heavy before you are sure your doing the movement correct.

Stand with your legs at shoulder with toes angled outward. Look at a point around 5ft or 1.50cm in front of you and go down until your legs are parallel with the floor (a little deeper is possible) and then go up. Don't forget to tense your belly and back muscles. This is one of the best exercises there is much better as with a smith machine because more muscles will be incorporated for stabilizing the whole process.

You should just look at some of the movies he can explain it much better as i can and there are then some visual aids. If you really want i got an ebook about among other things squat.

[Shurup]

Working with free weights is always better than on any machine as with free weights you not only work the main group of muscles, but also the .... forgot the proper word... stabilizer muscles (???), which are often under developed due to working out on the machine with controlled movement which does not require to work those muscles. So in your case the burning could be from the stabilizer muscles as now they are getting worked and exhaused before the main group of muscles gets their workout. That's my guess...

[Shurup]

x2 what robblok said about learning the proper movements first before you put the weights on.

[JSixpack]

I suggest adding some leg presses and some lunges.

[Pdaz]

Like the other guys have said, form is a must before piling on the weight.. Another alternative is upping the intensity. I gather you are more interested in toning and shaping rather than building muscle bulk. So instead of doing just squats ( I guess you are doing high reps as you aren't using much weight) mix it up a bit. After warming up. run flat out on the treadmill for two minutes, do 15 -20 squats with just the bar , rest for 1 min then repeat the run/squat set. Use dumbells and do a set of lunges followed by a set of step ups. 10-15 reps per leg.. rest one minute between sets. Another good tool is the swiss ball. Hold it above your head, sqat down then jump forward explosively, continue from one side of the room to the other.. There are many many variations of this type of regime.. Unfortunately the belly and the butt are the last places your body stores fat so even if your upper body and legs are toned and lean getting your butt in shape can be hard work.. Try to vary your exercises to keep your body 'guessing' Squats, deadlifts, step-ups, lunges, jump quats and the such like are all great exercises but they need to be performed with high intensity for best results.. Unless of course you are just trying to gain mass then there is no substitute for heavy weight and a good diet.