1) Get over your fear of looking like an idiot in the weight room. I understand the big guys are intimidating, but I’m going to be honest with you here: most of the time, they’re so into themselves and/or their sets, they’re not paying attention to you at all. I have done everything embarrassing in the gym you could think of: from falling over myself, to trying to PR and (loudly) failing, to attempting a new workout and not being able to figure it out so I give up after one rep... No one has ever said anything to me about it. You just move on and realize this shit happens to everyone. Your lift will suffer if your mindset is not full confidence from the beginning. Fake it even if you have to (for now). Put on your headphones, blast Beyonce or Britney, and tune everyone out. Eventually you’ll reach an actual point of confidence where you’ll feel like you run the weight room (that’s where the real gains begin)

2) Understand that the process of “building a butt” is a long one. Katy Hearn was not built in a day. It takes consistency and determination of months to years (depending on your starting point) to actually grow a butt, and then even more consistency and determination to maintain that butt thereafter. If you expect major results after a couple of weeks, you’re going to be disappointed and might even give up. Don’t!!!! Some progress is silent.

3) Learn the dynamics behind building muscle and the way the body works. This is something I’m still learning myself (seriously, I feel like I find out something new everyday). It hurts me to say this, and it really IS a pain in the ass (haha), but it is nearly impossible for your body to lose fat and gain serious muscle at the same time. Bodybuilders call these a cut and a bulk, and you must stick with just one for optimal results. And because this is a booty building guide, obviously I’m going to talk about the gaining muscle option. And because I’m talking about this one, I must let you know that when gaining muscle, the chances of you gaining a little fat is likely. I like to view it as your big muscles temporarily getting a little bit of a cushion until you cut down. Trust the process, and if you don’t give a fuck like me, still rock the crop top. ;

4) Eat in a caloric surplus. When it comes to gaining serious muscle mass, your body needs more calories and primarily carbs (energy source) to lift heavier and longer (glycogen storage). I’m not going to intensely delve into what exact foods you should be eating because everyone prefers different dieting methods, but I will summarize. Some people like to track macros (this will undeniably give you the most precise results but might drive you up a fucking wall), some like to just intuitively eat healthy (wheat bread, wheat pasta, etc. [this is what I do in a bulk]), some like to “dirty bulk” (basically eating whatever you want and hoping your heavy lifting balances it out [works well for meatheads]), and some like IIFYM (tracking macros but not paying attention to the nutritional content of the food). Find what works for you and most importantly, keeps you sane and on track. Either way, make sure you’re eating in a carb/caloric surplus. This bullet point is a necessity.

5) LIFT HEAVY!!!! Because you’re now feeding your body more carbs than usual, you need to ensure the majority of these carbs are being put to use in the gym. In lifting, we have three rep ranges: 0-5, 8-12, and 15+. The first range primarily builds strength, the second muscle mass, and the last for muscular endurance. All have their place in the bodybuilding world. When we’re building a butt, though, we want to stick with the 8-12 rep range for the time under tension to tear those glute muscle fibers (so that they repair and grow bigger). A good rule of thumb for this: if you feel like you can do more than 12 reps with the weight you’re currently using, you should be using a higher weight. You should be struggling to do rep 11 or 12. Eventually over weeks your body is going to adapt and you’ll be able to lift heavier and heavier, maximizing the booty gains. 

6) Focus on your compound movements. It drives me crazy seeing girls at the gym doing accessory exercises and calling it a leg workout. These certainly have their place in your leg routine, I’m not going to deny that, but imo they’re better suited for when you’re trying to firm or tighten your butt, not the growing mass part because you can’t really go heavy on these movements. This bullet is actually the main thing I see on Instagram: these models posting “booty workouts” of accessory movements and not explaining that you first must do your compounds. What do I mean by compounds? Squats, deadlifts, hip-thrusters, and lunges (or, split squats). Feel free to do your glute kickbacks, or your donkey kicks, or your squats on the cables, but make sure you’re using the barbell first. This brings me to my next point.

7) Use the free weights. If you squatted on the smith machine, you didn’t do a compound. Squatting on the smith machine isn’t even necessarily bad, but using the barbell is just THAT much better. Besides engaging your core more, the barbell ensures that it’s all YOU squatting/lifting/pulling the weight up and down, where the smith machine takes a lot of the edge off. Sure, the smith machine feels safer (and the smith machine also does have its purpose even though a lot of dudebros will give you shit about it), but that all relates back to my first point of feeling confident. Even if you’re just squatting the bar, you have to start somewhere. Imagine how good you’re going to feel one day when you can smack a 45 on each side and throw that shit on your back. Boss ass bitch.

8. Squats are necessary.... but don’t just squat. Legend has it that squats will give you a booty (i.e. a “squat booty”). Squats are so important, but girl, you gotta do allllll the compounds. I have male friends who claim that they have huge butts just from deadlifting heavy. In fact, deadlifts are one of the most beneficial exercises you can do just in general (they work literally everything) (I digress) (PLEASE make sure your form is right). Each compound exercise I listed above works different parts of your glutes and legs, meaning they are ALL important. Yes, I literally expect you to put a barbell on your hips and thrust it in the air on a bench in the middle of the weight room. Yes, I understand this movement looks extremely sexual. This one might get you looks, but they’re probably just admiring your dedication to the cause at that point.

9. Squeeze your glutes at the end of every rep for every exercise (when you’re back up standing straight) This maximizes the tearing of the fibers and activates the glutes. It should look ugly, and your cellulite will show (mine does big time), but it is effective. If you don’t know what I mean by this, youtube or google “squeezing glute muscles”. 

10. Don’t overdo cardio. A lot of people think of the gym and think they must do cardio. If your goal is to build muscle, cardio is an accessory to your lifts and nothing more. Personally, when I’m in a bulk and trying to build muscle, I only do cardio about every other day for 20 minutes and spend the rest of my time lifting (what I prefer, and miss, currently in my bikini prep). That’s just preference; some of the fittest girls in the world only weight train and never do cardio. I’m not going to suggest that, because cardio is great for your heart or even to just warm up your muscles, but it’s worth acknowledging to really emphasize this bullet point. A lot of cardio + heavy lifting = minimal progress. Save all that cardio for when you’re cutting down.

11. Accept your genetics and where your body holds fat. Our bodies all operate differently and hold fat in different areas. For example, it is extremely difficult for me to get those super nice chiseled abs even in an extreme caloric deficit because of my genetics. I always hold a layer of fat there, whereas some girls somehow have them even in a bulk. It works the same for your butt. I hold a lot of fat in mine, whereas some girls hold it elsewhere. That’s not me discouraging you from working towards your dream butt, that’s just me being real. You can still grow a butt, and you best believe one day I will get my chiseled butt, but be realistic about it and how long the process will be in relation to you.