Gluteus Maximus Development Tips For Men

Question

I'm 29 years old, 5'10", 165 pound, 12% body fat percentage man. I have so small Gluteus Maximus size and I want to gain some size there. I do hip thrusts, glute bridges, squats, deadlifts, hyper extensions and any variation of lower body exercises for gluteus, I consume 2.2 times kg of LBM protein from highly bioavailable sources, enough macro and micro foods but still not enough result. I don't believe about genetic limit if you are not IFBB level. So i need some tips and advices about gluteus development techniques(not about how to do a good diet).

Answer 1

So your objective is to build muscle, in this case glutes.

To build muscle you need to stress those muscles the proper way. In this case, the proper way would be adequate repetitions (8-12) and adequate series (4-5) therefore defining the weight to be used depending on the exercise. That is up to you to define. The exercise selection you provided is adequate altough you might want to experience with some sprinting-focussed training (so ... sprinting, jumping, ...) or other glute-focusses exercises like clam-shell, ...

A second parameter you can play with is the kind of muscle contractions. To build muscle, focus on eccentrics (eccentrics tend to increase hypertrophy) so do slow tempo on the eccentric part and then fast tempo on the other parts (isometric and concentric). For a squat, this would mean something like 4 seconds on the descent, 0 seconds isometric, 1 second concentric, 1 second pause and do that all again. Now in training, routine usually is the enemy so mix it up. Change the tempos, do 1 week eccentric, 1 week isometric, 1 week concentric

Third thing is having the right frequency of training too much or too little and you won't get the gains you want. Again, up to you to determine that. Also pay attention to all the other training you are doing. Performing aerobic exercises during/near your strength training have been shown to impede the signaling pathways for strength gains.

Finally, make sure you are actually using your glutes during the movements and not using other muscles. This requires self-awareness and focus on your part. Or you could use other exercises to fatigue the muscles around your glutes then perform the glutes-focussed exercises to make sure they are actually doing the work. Using electrostimulation during exercises could help a little but this is expensive and not 100% certain it will work.

Answer 2

If your looking to increase your glute size focus on deep squats. That is squat low, below parallel, the lower the better without compromising your back arch.

You also must squat heavy. You are 165lb, and I don't know what your lifting, but a good goal is to shoot for ~305lb for a couple sets of 12. If getting bigger glutes is your primary goal right now, you should be squatting 3 times a week. Do a heavy-light-medium rotation of the weights and reps. When the weight is lighter do more reps, shoot for 15. When it's heavier do less reps, shoot for 8 minimum.

Every week try to increase your weight across the rep range. You should be able to push yourself like this for 6-8 weeks before needing a break, and that should be enough time to tell if it's working.

Don't get yourself tied up in doing endless sets. 2 sets is fine, just push hard, and get the reps with the heaviest weight you can safely lift.

As for diet, if you are training as hard as I list above, then you should be eating a MINIMUM of a gram of protein per pound of body weight every single day. Doesn't matter how many meals it takes to get that into you.

You also need to increase your caloric intake if you are pushing this hard on squats. Simple rule of thumb, if your really sore, your not eating enough. But you have to eat good food. Filling up on junk food just to get calories in will just make you fat.

You will have to drop all other exercises for the lower body. This is ok, as the squat provides excellent overall development for the legs.

Be warned, you will have to buy new pants. Just getting into high volume heavy squats will start your legs growing like weeds IF YOU EAT. I did about half this much squatting when I was prepping for a powerlifting meet, and I was NOT trying to increase leg size as I needed to stay in my weight class, and I still ended up breaking 2 pairs of pants in a 6 month period. I had to to stop drinking water for 12 hours to make weight.

Heavy squats make you grow. Plain and simple.

Answer 3

Some say diet is much more important than training regime. What are you eating on a daily basis?... number of calories, grams of protein carbs, fats?

Based on the science, I require 244 grams of protein a day in order to grow, when working a training program. (Google "protein intake calculator" for your amount).

That's 80 gms each meal (3 meals/day), or 60 gms (4 meals). One large egg is about 6 gms, so I eat at least 8 eggs for breakfast. I eat 5 meals, counting my post-workout protein shake... about 50 gms each meal.

At only 3 meals, I would require 13 eggs for maximum growth. And, when training hard, my body would need every bit of it.

"They" say six meals is best... for metabolism, weight loss and to keep the muscles in a constantly growing anabolic state vs catabolic.

We grow muscle in recovery, not at the gym. You can actually shrink if you're not giving the body what it needs. The body will catabolize existing flesh, organ tissue including the heart (that's what eventually kills the anorexic).

Bottom Line: If you want to get big, you gotta eat big. And, you gotta rest... get plenty of sleep and naps are good too!

Good Luck!