3 Dumbbell Exercises for a Perkier Butt
Most of us dream of having a peach bum and have the impression that it is hard to attain. However, our buttocks are actually made up of a group of gluteal muscles (one of the largest muscles in the lower body). Similar to other muscles in your body, these muscles require training in order to grow and be firm.
In this post, we are focusing on dumbbell exercises for the butt. You can also check out our post on home exercises for the whole body (Read: Home Workout Targeting All Your Major Muscles).
We know you wouldn’t want to read a lengthy post, so we have selected a few key points to make it short and sweet. Don’t worry, we have accompanying gifs for each exercise. Ok, let’s get down to it!
Fig 1a: Goblet Squats
A very common yet effective way to work on your butt. We suggest Goblet Squats (holding a weight in front of you) as it is simple to set up and easy to execute with good form.
DOs:
- Keep spine long and straight throughout (video yourself to check!)
- Knees point in the same direction as your feet
- Always think of moving from your hips
COMMON MISTAKES:
- Wobbling knees or shifting inwards
- One foot placed slightly in front of the other
- Moving from the knees before your hips
PROGRESSION: Pulsing Goblet Squats
Fig 1b: Pulsing Goblet Squats
“Tip: Squeeze your butt hard every time you stand up!”
Fig 2a: Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
Different muscle groups are activated, which makes it one of the most efficient exercises. Our focus here is to build butt muscles so stiff-legged deadlifts are recommended.
DOs:
- Keep the chest out to make the spine long and straight
- Slide dumbbells close to your legs
- Lower to a range you feel your hamstrings (back thighs) being stretched
- Always think of swinging from your hips!
COMMON MISTAKES:
- Rounded back, often happens when going down
- Using arms to carry the weights
- Hip drops so the distance between the hips and ground decreases (this becomes another deadlift form)
PROGRESSION: Single-Leg Deadlifts
Fig 2b: Single-Leg Deadlifts
“Tip: Being barefoot will help a lot in balancing!”
Fig 3a: Stationary Lunges
During lunges, you are forced to isolate your butt muscles as you are supporting your body weight on one leg, while the other leg acts as a stabiliser. To engage the correct muscles and ensure that you have adequate stability, we start off with Stationary Lunges.
DOs:
- Keep spine long and straight
- 90% weight on front leg when lunging, back leg is just for balance/support
- Knees point in the same direction as your feet
COMMON MISTAKES:
- Upright torso with no slight forward lean (this reduces engagement of the butt muscles)
- Feeling the back leg work more than the front leg
- Wobbling knees or shifting inwards
PROGRESSION: Walking Lunges with a Kickback
Fig 3b: Walking Lunges with Kickback
“Tip: Go down slowwww and controlled. THINK BUTT.”
For a start, you can do 15-20 reps of 4 sets for the above exercises with light weights. More resistance can be added by increasing the dumbbell weight gradually.
You may find yourself getting stuck without any improvements after a while (this is normal) so minor tweaks can be implemented into your exercise programme. Our team of personal trainers are here to help you plan your exercise programme so you will not hit a plateau. They are located in boutique gyms island-wide and can travel to your home as well. Book a consultation or trial with us now!