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In the quest for booty gains, many people do squats over and over again in the hopes that they'll strengthen their glutes [3] and build a better butt. And while squats have their place, doing air squats with no weights won't get you the results you're looking for.
Instead, personal trainer Max Weber (@maxweberfit [4] on Instagram) explained the six best exercises for booty gains, including how many sets and reps you should be doing. These include:
- Single-leg glute bridges [5]
- Barbell squats
- Romanian deadlifts [6]
- Barbell hip thrusts [7]
- Bulgarian split squats [8]
- Cable kickbacks
Of all of these, Max wrote he likes the barbell hip thrusts the best, which he recommends doing 10 to 12 reps of for three to five sets. He also recommends single leg glute bridges as a good warmup exercise or finisher (10 to 12 reps for two to four sets), and said that Bulgarian split squats (eight to 12 reps for three to four sets) are good for your quads as well as your glutes.
Also, don't be afraid of the cable machine when it comes to booty gains; he wrote in the caption that cable kickbacks are, "A classic for the ladies that'll really put your glutes on fire. Lowering the weight and really focusing on the contraction will be your best bet!"
If you're looking to build a booty [9], and getting sick of doing dozens of squats, be sure to incorporate these exercises into your next gym routine.