Posted in Body Weight TrainingGeneral
Many people are obsessed with making their hindquarter regions the perfect shape. It is one of those exquisite details that is admired by the opposite sex. Or you may even just do this for self-satisfaction. Either way, squatting is a great exercise to achieve the perfect butt.
In this article, I’ve outlined the stages needed to sculpt your buttocks to the perfect shape.
- Basic Squat
For the first stage, you must first master the basic squat. All you need is a chair. There is no need to go to the gym yet.
Position your feet squarely on the floor, shoulder width apart. You will squat in such a way that your butt touches the chair as you go down and then come right back up. As you sit back, make sure that all your weight is placed on your heels. Determine the final position that will create a 90 degree angle between your calves and thighs. You may also tighten up the thigh and butt muscles as you go down for added emphasis.
Just do this exercise for a couple of sessions and then you may move on to stage two.
- Weighted Squats
The next stage consists of weighted squats. You may go to the gym for this stage as you will be able to utilise a wide range of free weights.
Look for a bench you can use just like how you used the chair for the first stage. Before starting your squat, get two dumbbells of suitable weight and carry with each arm. Don’t immediately go for the heaviest and just pick the ones you are comfortable with.
Perform the same routine as you did in stage one. The difference will be the addition of the weights. You can let the weights just hang from your sides as you squat down. As you rise back up, push through your heels. As you start, it’s okay if the toes are still be lifted from the ground but make sure that you will be able to keep your feet flat as you improve.
As you are performing this, you should be able to feel your calves, hamstrings and buttocks tighten up. This is how you know you are doing it right. If you don’t feel it, try to lean back further and push through your heels more.
- Smith Press
Smith Press is one of the two types of equipment you can perform squats with. The other is the body rack which we’ll talk about later on. The Smith Press is generally easier to use because it already has a bar on along supports and does not allow for the bar to be moved in a way that does not correspond to the correct squatting form. The bar can only be moved up and down in a range that corresponds perfectly to the movement of the squat.
The initial weight of the bar is 15 pounds and you can start with that gradually adding more weight plates as you progress with your regimen. Perform the basic squat movement holding the bar just above your back shoulder blades, a little below the neck. Work out with this until you are able to do about 10 reps with a total weight of 45 pounds.
- Body Rack
The final stage is to do the squats without the assistance provided by the Smith Press. For this, we use the Body Rack. The bar already weighs 45 pounds by itself so make sure you are already able squat that much.
Because you are lifting the bar without any assistance for the up and down movements, you may be unable to do the correct form at first. You will be using more of your accessory muscles just for stabilising the bar. Also make sure that the safety catches are enabled. Try out slight movements first until you are able to keep the bar steady.
When you can already keep the bar steady, you can move on with the squats. Gradually add more weight according to your capacity. In time, you will not only be able to achieve the perfect shape for your butt, but you will also get a perfectly toned physique.
It is important that as you do these squats, you are utilising the posterior chain of muscles, e.g. back, erector spinae, hamstring and calf muscles. Doing squats will not only tone your buttocks but also every muscle in that area.
Toning and shaping the buttocks is great but don’t forget that an all-around toned physique is even better.