Brazil: the land of endless beaches, massive carnival festivals, and of course, the Brazilian butt. The quintessential destination for big booties, Brazil has given its name to the surgery that promises to make your tushy more than it ever has been before.
While the conventional Brazilian butt lift promises to get you into beachbody supermodel shape in no time.
There’s no need to go under the scalpel to go properly sculpting the glutes.
Incorporating the correct exercises into your exercise program can make your butt not just bikini-ready, but also give you that supermodel slim-down.
Our Brazilian butt lift workout is your essential booty makeover guide—with whole-body benefits that range from butt-lifting to upper body conditioning as well.
While the conventional surgery is all about shifting around body fat, similar results can be achieved by strengthening and toning the proper muscles as well.
And when it comes to the posterior, there’s just one muscle group to look at: the gluteus maximus.
As you might have guessed from the name, this is the largest of the glute muscles and the largest muscle in of itself.
Below that lies the gluteus medius.
Not as large as the maximus, this muscle is essential for internally rotating and abducting the thighs.
And last but not least is the gluteus minimus.
For a shapely butt, it’s absolutely necessary to make sure that all three of these muscles are being properly worked on.
Without developing your butt (and your body) in a holistic and well-rounded manner, you’ll be leaving gains and benefits on the table.
The glutes are the largest muscles in the body, and if that doesn’t clue you into their importance then nothing will.
Outside of aesthetics, a workout-driven butt lift is bound to have several cascading benefits onto your full-body health and wellbeing.
Everything that we do with our lower bodies requires the glutes to a high degree. If you want to jump higher, run faster, turn around on a dime or stop and start quickly—it’s going to require the development of the oh-so-important glutes.
You’ll notice the difference in your athletic performance, in your other lifts at the gym, and obviously from the looks next time you’re at the beach or a Saturday night out.
And since the glutes are part of our posterior chain, they help to stabilize our spines whenever we do anything—including sitting. If you want to avoid lower back pain, making your butt bigger will give a greater amount of cushioning for whenever you’re sitting.
The benefits of a butt lift based on a workout program are many, so if you haven’t included these 10 butt exercises into your workout routine yet, then it may be time you do.
When it comes to choosing the best exercises for a big booty, a well-rounded routine that hits every angle will be the best way to go. Including these on your leg day and adding a special focus to your glute workouts will bring you the surest results while also helping you maintain full-body balance when it comes to fitness.
In terms of equipment, you can do many of these as bodyweight exercises with a yoga mat and resistance bands.
Or, opt for ankle weights, barbells, and dumbbells if you have access to them. It will all depend on your circumstances and athletic level—but the more volume you move, the more gains you’ll garner.
No lower body workout routine will ever be complete without the inclusion of the squat. It’s one of the three main bread-and-butter lifts that works much more than just your legs.
While the conventional squat doesn’t necessarily focus on the glutes, you’ll still definitely feel the burn if you maintain proper form and muscle activation. And if you want more glute activation, then there’s probably hundreds of different variations of the squat to choose from—all having some sort of nuanced difference.
Frankly, most of this top ten list could just be different squat variations, and not only would you get the butt lift of your dreams, but your entire body would thank you.
But this isn’t a squat list (and we don’t want to cheat you out of nine other booty exercises), so we’ll include the crème de la crème of squat variations that’ll definitely leave your bum gassed out.
The most basic of the squats is the bodyweight squat. For beginners who haven’t fully delved into the iron, it’s an essential movement to learn perfectly before advancing onwards.
But just because it’s the most basic of the squats doesn’t mean you’re not going to reap any rewards.
Just like with most squats, the bodyweight squat will work your quads, calves, hamstrings, and glutes to varying degrees—including almost every other muscle group in your body.
And all you need is some space and a few minutes of free time.
1. Begin by placing your feet shoulder-width apart and turning your toes slightly outwards. Engage your abs and glutes, looking straight in front of you. You can either put your arms on your head or hold them straight out.
2. Initiate the movement by slowly bending at the knees while maintaining a straight back. Make sure that your heels are flat on the floor.
3. Bottoming out, make sure that your knees don’t go past your feet and that the two are aligned. Pause for a moment at the bottom of the movement, and then explosively drive through your legs; reversing the movement.
3. Return to the starting positioning and repeat for the desired amount of reps.
A squat variation that targets the glutes to an even greater degree is the squat with kickback.
While the form is similar to the regular squat, you’ll be transferring your weight to the left leg, and kicking back with the right leg as you stand back up into the starting position. Then, just repeat for the opposite side.
There’s no way the glute bridge wasn’t making it into this list with a name like that.
Along with placing an emphasis on the good ole’ glutes, the glute bridge also focuses on your hamstrings if done correctly. And when it comes to mobility, your hips will thank you if you introduce this movement into your routine.
Furthermore, the glute bridge will also strengthen your lower back, a useful benefit if you spend a lot of time at a desk.
1. To begin, lie on the floor facing up. Bend your knees while keeping your feet flat on the floor. Your arms should be beside you and your palms should be facing down.
2. Engaging your glutes and core, lift your hips up off the ground until you’re forming a straight line between the knees, shoulders, and hips.
3. Reaching the top of the movement, give your glutes and abs a good squeeze, pausing for a count.
4. Hold at the top for a few seconds before slowly coming back down into the starting position.
This is one of the most important leg exercises you can be doing. While similar to the glute bridge in technique, the added load of a barbell makes this one of the best ways to develop your glutes.
What sets the hip thrust apart is the way the movement maximizes the amount your hips extend. If you’re into weightlifting, then you might think that the leg press and squat does it all, but these movements only really utilize a portion of the hip extension, and therefore, glute engagement.
Hip thrusts are an absolutely essential addition to any workout routine that’s placing the butt, first.
1. You’ll need to set up a low bench and lean against it while sitting down. It should be going across the middle part of your back, below your shoulder blades. The barbell (or other weight, if you’re so inclined) goes in your lap, on the upper thigh. Your feet should be underneath the knees.
2. Initiate the movement by squeezing your glutes, hard. That’s where the majority of the power should be coming from, so try your best to feel the pump there instead of in your lower back, quads, or hamstrings.
3. The top of the movement is reached when your knee forms a 90-degree angle. At the top, pause for a count and return back into the starting position.
The donkey kick is another fantastic way to hit the glutes hard. It’s a good exercise to incorporate into your routine since it hits the glutes from an angle that many other movements simply can’t.
Furthermore, there’s plenty of variations to try out if the conventional one gets stale, or you just want to make sure that you’re working your butt every way it can be worked.
1. Begin by getting on all fours with your knees hip-width apart and your hands directly under your shoulders. Your back should be completely straight throughout.
2. Engage your core and lift your left leg up while keeping the knee bent.
3. Engage the glute, press your foot towards the ceiling, and squeeze.
4. Pause for a count and return to the starting position.
Speed skaters double as a cardiovascular movement as well, since the exercise is essentially a lateral jump.
Along with your glutes, your quads will feel the pump as well.
1. Your legs should begin in a position that’s slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Your arms should remain at your sides.
2. Take one of your legs and bring it back into a reverse lunge while making the front knee go into a 90-degree angle.
3. Initiate the movement by swinging your arms in front of the forward knee while leaping the leg in the back, forward. You should switch sides in a skating motion, with arms alternating like a speed skater.
While traditionally thought of as a lower back exercise, supermans are a great way to strengthen the glutes along with the hamstrings and core muscles.
Furthermore, it’s a great way to complement core exercises that focus on the front abdominals.
1. Begin by lying face down on the floor with your arms and legs stretched out in front and behind you.
2. Engaging your glutes and hamstrings, lift your arms and legs at the same time so that they’re off the floor. They should come up about 4 to 6 inches.
3. Hold at the top of this position for a few seconds before slowly returning back into the starting position.
While mainly focusing on the quads, step ups are also great for developing the glutes and the hamstrings. Furthermore, they’re super customizable.
You can do them with varying weights to ramp up the difficulty, or even do them side to side to hit your muscles from a completely different angle.
1. With a raised platform in front of you (height depending on athletic level), step up with one of your feet. Press through that leg in order to straight it and come up.
2. Bring the other foot to rest beside the one on the platform.
3. Bending the leg that was used to step up, continue by stepping down with the opposite leg. Alternate lead legs.
While these are also mainly thought of as a core workout, that’s not all they’re good for.
Along with working the lower abs, leg lifts will also challenge your back, quads, and of course, the glutes.
1. Laying on your back on a flat surface, your palms should be pressed into the floor beside you in order to help with stabilization.
2. Engaging your glutes and your core, slowly lift your straight legs directly up off the floor, bringing them above your head.
3. Hold for a count before slowly returning into the starting position.
These are some of the best exercises to do when working the lower body. They hit the hips, glutes, and thighs to a great degree.
Not to mention that they’re highly customizable and you can do them with weights or just with body weight.
1. Stand with one of your feet behind your back, about 3 feet apart. Hold weights in your hands if you so desire.
2. Slowly bend the knees to lower your body to the ground, maintain a straight back. Make sure you’re lowering straight down rather than going forward.
3. Pause at the bottom of the movement and return back into the starting position.
We started with the squat, so it’s only fair that we end with something just as worthy for a butt workout: the deadlift.
Much like the squat, it’s a full-body exercise that has a million variations all hitting specific parts of the lower body.
While there’s a lot that can be said about deadlifting with proper form, these are the basics:
1. Have your mid-foot underneath the barbell.
2. Initiate the movement by bending over and grasping the bar with a grip that’s shoulder-width. Your knees should bend until your shins are touching the bar.
3. Begin by lifting your chest and straightening the lower back.
4. Taking a deep breath, explosively drive through your legs and bring the weight up to lockout at the knees.
Properly programmed into your workout routine, the 10 exercises we’ve outlined above will be a solid start to any Brazilian butt lift. However, it’s also essential that you properly support your body in every way that you can. Otherwise, it’ll be that much more difficult to get to your goals.
Cardio, as much we love to hate it, is generally a good idea.
Unless you’re trying to pack on some pounds on the derriere, try to include a significant amount of cardio in your workouts. It’ll help when it comes toning and make sure that your glutes are tight—along with the rest of your physique.
But when it comes to supporting a butt, there’s nothing more important than the diet.
It’s said that fitness is 30% working out and 70% diet, and if you’re looking for a big behind, then that becomes much more important. You’re going to want to support your work and development with a diet that’s rich in good, lean proteins, healthy fats, and good carbs.
While there are several different nutrition plans to follow, it’s all going to come down to how well you stick with them and how many calories you take in compared to how many you expend.
And especially when it comes to looking for size, eating enough of the right stuff is going to become crucial.
Likewise with weight loss, the correct meal plan is going to do all the heavy lifting with the fitness program as support.
If you’re struggling to put on mass for some extra curves, a high-quality whey protein shake throughout the day will go a very long way in taking you towards your butt lift goals. Paired with enough rest and sticking to your workout calendar, you’ll be the envy of every beach—Brazilian or otherwise.
