All About The Booty

Booty Building 101; This is to all the gals out there that want to grow and form a booty and also the naturally curvy gals that want to maintain and sculpt!

I am someone who is fortunate enough to have been born with a shapely figure, but this is something that I've struggled with for years. It took me a while to accept the way that I look and the way that I'm built and to feel good about my figure. What I've learned is that everyone is perfectly sculpted and beautiful in their own way. No one has the same curves and edges, and it is impossible to change the way you are built. Unrealistic expectations are going to haunt you, but do not let them alter your perceptions of yourself or your worth as a person! It's important to know your shape and work towards your fitness goals. That being said, do not create irrational goals for yourself. For example; I am 5'2 and would love to have long skinny legs but that is never going to happen because I am not shaped that way. Another example is wanting to have Kylie Jenner's hips and ass, unfortunately that is never going to happen by going to the gym. These unrealistic aspirations will set you back by discouraging your actual progress. You can improve your muscle tone and shape up your problem areas but you cannot alter the way you are naturally built.

Everyone has a booty that they can work with, to what extent is up to your body's blueprint. If you're someone who wants to grow a booty, know that lifting heavy amounts is a good start. DO NOT train legs/booty every day, this will prevent the muscles from repairing and rebuilding to form a larger muscle. Taking in extra calories to give your body something to pack on will also help increase the overall size, but not everyone gains weight on their lower half first. You do not have to consume insane amounts of protein, you should still maintain a balanced diet. Most importantly, you need to know your body and what works best for your shape!

For the gals that want to maintain and tone up the booty, I suggest using weights with more reps to blast fat and tighten up the muscles! However, it's important to understand that you will NOT get bulky if you're lifting weights. Your body type will not magically bulk up if you're breathing throughout your workouts, consuming a normal diet, and not taking steroids. Bulking requires an excessive amount of food intake along with lifting very heavy weights. Your body will not exceed it's natural capacity. Last tip for the curvy girls is to do cardio before, after, or in between your weight training to promote slim, lean muscle and fat burn.

Work Outs

1) SQUATS; There are so many different types of squats to do but the key to building and shaping the muscles is to focus on the correct form. When squatting you should literally be stretching your butt out as far back as you can while using those muscles to lift you back up. In addition, your abs should be tight and locked solid. If you're using a bar, be sure to keep your shoulders down and tight to your body. Pulse squats are a GREAT way to isolate the booty. I like to use a 20 pound weight and hold it down in front of me and do "pulsing" squats, without coming all the way up to the top. Basically squatting down as far as you can and then doing a hiccup to come up with your knees bent at all times.

2) YOGA; To all the Yogis reading this, chair pose and goddess are two poses that will lift and tone the bum! Personally, instead of just holding the pose, I like to add motion in with the poses to blast fat from around the muscles. Chair pose is starting with your feet hip width distance apart, your feet are facing forward, and instead of squatting all the way down you want to sit back as if you're about to sit in a chair (similar to box squats). Goddess is very similar to a basic squat, keeping your feet a little more than hip width distance, with your hands in prayer at your chest, and sinking down into a squat and squeezing your muscles at the top. In the grand scheme of things, yoga & yogilates is a really good way to improve your entire body by stretching and toning the muscles along with aiding in stress relief!

3) LUNGES; Lunges are a great way to tone the side view of your butt. Particularly side cross lunges target the overall roundness of your butt muscles. Basically you step to one side and cross and lunge and then shoot it diagonally behind your other leg and lunge down again, repeating the same side for X amount of reps before switching to the other leg. Doing standard lunges in place with a dumbbell in each hand is also a great way to enhance your butt muscles and sculpt them to be perfectly round.

All of these work outs are a guide to improve your booty fitness goals. Be mindful that good things take time, you're not going to see dramatic changes over night. Be kind to your body and acknowledge your progress, even if you haven't reached your ideal goal. Most importantly be confident with your shape, avoid those unrealistic expectations of what society says you "should" look like. Be patient, love yourself, and do your best to reach your goals and you will succeed!

xx Alyssa