The Registered Dietitian's Complete Guide To Building The Perfect Booty
It's 2016 and all the girls are after that perfect round booty and muscular, toned legs. How exactly do you get more junk in the trunk? I am referring to that firm, toned, solid butt, not the I am going to eat 5 cheeseburgers a day kind of butt.
Proper training, the right diet, and rest will get you there if done consistently and with maximum effort. Take out any one of those factors and you will not get the results you are striving for.
Do genetics play a factor in all this? Sure they do - but genetics are not our destiny so while it may take some longer than others it doesn't mean we don't have the potential to reach our booty goals.
Perfect Booty Training
Let's start with training. Is more better? Is less better? Should I go low rep and heavy? should I go high rep and lighter? These are all the questions I constantly get asked when it comes to building a booty. My advice is to do it all!
Since glutes and legs are the main focus of your goals, we are going to optimize your workouts to hit legs as much as possible. But just remember, it is extremely important to hit all of your major muscle groups. Ultimately you want to gain muscle on your entire body.
My suggestion is to have two designated days specifically focusing on legs. Make one of those days a glute and hamstring dominant workout and the other a quad dominant workout. "BUTT," still hit your quads on glute ham day and hit your glutes and hams on quad day. Just shift your focus each of those days.
Kara Corey discusses building the perfect butt.
On the rest of your training days still hit your glutes and hamstrings in the form of plyos between sets. And I will answer this now as I know some people will have this question... What can you do for a home workout to get the results you want?
Well, the answer to that is you walk over to your keys, pick them up, get in your car and drive to the gym. A serious training session needs serious weights and the 20 min a day to a Better Booty Jillian Michaels video is not going to cut it. If you're serious about your results you need to have serious training so let's get started!
Better Booty Workout Routine Example:
Day 1 - Legs - Glute & Hamstring Focus
Day 2 - Chest
Day 3 - Back & Rear Delts
Day 4 - Off
Day 5 - Legs, Quad Dominant
Day 6 - Shoulders & Arms
Day 7 - Off
Day 1
Legs - Glute & Hamstring Focus
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Squats
5
6-12
Barbell Stiff Legged Deadlift *
5
8-12
Lying Leg Curl
4
8-12
Barbell Walking Lunges - 60 total steps
3
60 steps
Barbell Bulgarian Split Squat
2
8-12
Barbell Hip Thrusts
4
8-12
Leg Press
3
20-30
Leg Extension
3
20
Superset Inner and outer thigh machine
3
20-30
* For a deeper stretch stand on a couple plates and perform exercise.
Time to rest between sets - No more than 5 texts or 1 Instagram post.
Make sure to take care of those knees when doing so much leg work. Make sure to perform proper warm ups and I highly suggest a good pair of knee sleeves or knee wraps. I prefer sleeves so I can just slide them on and be done with them. They keep my joints nice and warm along with giving me the protection I need to help avoid any serious knee injuries.
Day 2
Chest
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Incline Dumbbell Press *
3
8-12
Flat Dumbbell Press **
3
8-12
Machine Chest Press ***
3
8-12
Decline Bench Press
3
8-12
Machine Flys
3
15
*Superset with cable side raises for outer hips (15 reps each leg). PRO TIP - Drag your bench over by the cable machine for your superset so people don't mess with your gains.
** Superset with cable booty kickbacks (15 reps each leg).
*** Superset with jump squats for 30 seconds
Time to rest between sets - No more than 1 Facebook status update.
I have very tiny hands and wrists so when using dumbbells I do like to make sure I keep my wrists wrapped.
A photo posted by Kara Corey MA, RD (@karacoreyfitlife) on
Day 3
Legs - Back & Rear Delts
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Wide Grip Pulldowns *
4
8-12
Bent Over Rows **
3
8-12
T-Bar Rows ***
5
8-12
Narrow Grip Pulldowns
4
8-12
Sumo Deadlifts
5
8-12
Dumbbell Rear Delt Flies
3
8-12
Rear Delts on Fly Machine
4
15-20
Cable Pulls
2
20
* Superset with box jumps for 30 seconds
** Superset with step ups holding 15lb dumbells - 15 step ups each leg
*** Superset with jump lunges for 30 seconds
Time to rest between sets - No more than 3 Snaps.
Day 5
Legs - Quad Dominant
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Leg Extension
3
30
Squats - Go lighter than day 1
4
12-15
Leg Press
4
8-15
Single Leg Leg Press
2
12
Goblet Squats Standing on 2 benches to get extra deep
3
15
Reverse Hack Squat
3
12-15
Seated Leg Curl
3
20
Standing Calve Raises
3
15-20
Seated Calve Raises
3
15-20
* Time to rest between sets 1 selfie
Day 6
Shoulders & Arms
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Seated Arnold Press
2
12-15
Seated Dumbbell Press *
5
8-12
One Arm Seated Machine Shoulder Press **
3
8-12
Standing Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises
4
8-12
Incline Bench Single Arm Side Lateral Raises
3
15
Lateral Raise Machine
3
Failure
Triceps Cable Rope Pushdowns
3
15-20
Triceps Cable Rope Skull Crushers
3
15-20
Close Grip Bench
4
6-12
Bench Dips
2
Failure
Incline Bench Bicep Curls ***
3
12-15
Preacher Curl Machine
3
12-15
* Superset with jump squats for 30 seconds
** Superset with jump lunges for 30 seconds
*** Superset with Standing Bicep Curls to failure
Time to rest between sets 2 tweets.
Kara Corey helps you build a big booty and lean legs.
Better Booty Cardio
Post workout 15 minutes HIIT - 1 minute moderate 15 seconds all out and repeat
Stairmaster - Days 1, 3 & 6
To work the legs and glutes at all angles perform side steps and walking backwards during moderate intervals. An example of what this would look like would be one minute going forward at a moderate pace - 15 seconds all out going forward - one minute going to the side moderate - 15 seconds all out going forward - one minute going to the other side moderate - 15 seconds all out going forward - one minute going backwards moderate - 15 seconds all out going forward
Inclined Treadmill - Days 2 & 5
To work the legs and glutes at all angles perform side steps and walking backwards during moderate intervals. An example of what this would look like would be one minute going forward at a moderate pace - 15 seconds all out going forward - 1 minute going to the side moderate - 15 seconds all out going forward - 1 minute going to the other side moderate - 15 seconds all out going forward - 1 minute going backwards moderate - 15 seconds all out going forward.
Proper workout recovery - During my workouts I like to have some BCAA's to drink intra workout and I go with MTS Machine Fuel. My personal favorite is the Strawberry Kiwi and it is 100% titties approved.
For a post-workout protein shake you can't go wrong with any of the MTS flavors, but Machine Whey Cookies & Cream is one of my favorites.
Better Booty Nutrition
you've heard it before and you'll hear it again, you can't out-train a bad diet. Just because you want to make gains doesn't mean it's an excuse to not properly fuel your body. Sure, macro nutrients and calories at the end of the day make a difference if you gain or lose weight.
But our goals are more specific than that, therefore your food choices needed to be purpose driven as well. In order to maximize our training sessions it's crucial to not only focus on macronutrient intake, but also micronutrient intake and meal timing. Some of this is trial and error and listening to your body and what works for you, just remember meal timing/meal selection could be the difference of achieving your goals or coming up short.
Nutrition Pre-Workout
Quality fuel is crucial if you are going to perform at your peak. Carbohydrates are the bodies preferred energy source and are NOT the enemy!! Carbs are used as an immediate energy source and will be used to restore glycogen levels. it's best to have the majority of your carbs surrounding your lifting sessions.
I'd recommend having at least one meal under your belt prior to training. Your first meal should include some type of complex carbohydrates (for instance rolled oats or potato) to ensure your blood sugar levels are adequate and your glycogen levels are up after your nightly fast. I'd recommend having your first meal 1-2 hrs prior to training.
Your first meal should also include some type of faster digesting protein. I suggest with sticking with a whey protein prior to training. Whey has a particularly higher concentration of BCAAS than any other protein source. One of my favorite pre workout fuel protein sources is MTS Strawberry Cheesecake Macrolution. I have this as a shake with a bowl of oats and I am properly fueled and ready to have an optimal glute session!
Nutrition Intra-Workout
Most people don't train long enough to need intra-workout fuel, especially if you've hit your pre-training fuel needs. For most people I would just recommend a branch chain aimino acid supplement to provide protection from catabolism.
During my workouts I like to have some BCAA's to drink intra workout and I go with MTS Machine Fuel. My personal favorite is the Strawberry Kiwi and it is 100% titties approved.
Nutrition Post-Workout
Post-workout is a crucial time for nutrition for us to repair and grow those booty tissues. Immediately post workout (within 30 minutes) I would recommend having a protein shake and pairing it with some fast acting carboyhydrates. I also love having a MTS Whey protein shake with a 1-2 servings of fruit post workout to not only provide quick carbs but also is rich in antioxidants.
This section has focused on meals surrounding your training sessions. However that doesn't mean you lose sight of your nutrition the rest of the day. Generally speaking getting in a balanced throughout the rest of the day should include a variety of lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, dairy, and heart healthy fat sources.
Proper digestive health can help aid you when trying to lose weight. I love MTS Nutrition's Uptake which is a digestive enzyme probiotic.
Water Intake
A lot of people underestimate the importance of water and proper hydration. If you are dehydrated you're performance in the gym will suffer. You will feel weaker and not be able to push as hard or as intense. Aim for one gallon a day.
Rest
Rest is one of the most important factors in building the booty of your dreams yet it is one of the factors that is least accounted for. If you are training hard but not giving your body time to recover you will never reach your goals. I myself am guilty of this as well.
let's be real here... It is 2016 and everyone has a million responsibilities and not enough time in the day to complete them. Something has to give and usually we all sacrifice our sleep in order to make more time for other things. My suggestion here is to become more regimented in how you do things to become as efficient as possible. Inefficiency will lead to lost time taking away from time that you could be resting.
It may take some practice but make yourself as efficient as possible. If you are on your way home from work and know you have to go to the grocery store go on your way home instead of going back out later. Give yourself a set time at the gym to complete your workout, focus, get in and get out. Saving yourself 15 minutes here, 30 minutes, there can add up significantly by the end of the day.
Then there is the issue of not being able to fall asleep or get into that deep REM sleep so you can recover because you are too worried about the things you have going on the next day. My secret weapon on nights I am feeling overwhelmed and know I am not going to be able to get the proper sleep I need I like to take Ronnie Coleman's Resurrect PM.
Anytime I take this I am able to get into that deep REM sleep allowing me to wake up refreshed the next morning.