WHY ARE MY GLUTES NOT GROWING

So, you’ve been putting effort into training your glutes for a while now. You’ve diligently followed various glute training tips you found online, but still, your butt doesn’t seem to be shaping up as you’d like.

Whether it’s the 50-day butt challenge, influencer programs, squat challenges, or YouTube guides, you’ve given them all a shot. But alas, the results you’re seeing aren’t matching your efforts.

But fret not! It’s easy to get lost in the sea of online information, and sometimes, despite our best efforts, we follow advice that could be better.

That’s where we come in. Today, we’ll delve into why your glutes might not grow as you’d hoped and provide actionable steps to jumpstart your journey to building stronger glutes.

REASONS WHY MY GLUTES ARE NOT GROWING

There might not be just one reason why your glutes aren’t growing as you’d like. It could be a combination of factors. You can kickstart your journey to achieving those glute gains by addressing each issue.

1. INSUFFICIENT CALORIE INTAKE

One of the most critical factors in muscle growth, including glute development, is ensuring you consume enough calories.

To build muscle effectively, you must eat more calories than your body burns daily. With a calorie surplus, muscle growth becomes more manageable. It’s like trying to fuel a car without enough gas; it just won’t go.

You need more calorie intake to improve muscle growth, even if you have a perfect workout routine. Studies confirm this fact.

Think about it logically. Muscles require energy, and that energy comes from calories. Without enough calories, your body lacks the fuel necessary for the muscle-building process.

If you’re struggling to see muscle gains despite consistent workouts, you need to eat in a calorie surplus. Gradually increase your calorie intake by 200 calories weekly until you notice gains.

For a more precise approach, consider tracking your calorie intake. This allows you to determine the exact amount of calories needed to support muscle growth while minimizing fat gain. Check out our detailed article “How many calories do I need to build muscle” for a comprehensive guide on calculating your calorie requirements for muscle gain.

2. INSUFFICIENT PROTEIN INTAKE

When building muscle, protein reigns supreme among all the macronutrients. While carbohydrates and fats play important roles, too, protein takes the crown in the muscle-building realm.

The body continuously undergoes protein turnover. Old proteins are broken down (muscle protein breakdown), while new ones are synthesized (muscle protein synthesis).

Muscles grow when muscle protein synthesis outweighs muscle protein breakdown, resulting in a positive net protein balance.

To boost muscle protein synthesis, it’s crucial to both work out and consume adequate protein. As confirmed by research, combining these two factors is a potent stimulus for muscle protein synthesis.

For protein sources, opting for “complete protein” is vital. Proteins consist of 20 amino acids, with nine being essential (EAA) and unable to be synthesized by the body, requiring consumption from the diet.

Animal products like beef, chicken, pork, lamb, milk, yogurt, and whey protein are complete protein sources. However, diversifying protein sources is essential if you follow a vegan diet, as many plant-based proteins still need to be completed.

Studies suggest consuming between 0.7-1g of protein per pound of body weight (1.6-2.2g per kg) to maximize muscle protein synthesis and growth.

Tracking your protein intake using apps like MyFitnessPal can ensure you’re consuming enough protein to support muscle growth, even if it’s just for a short period to understand your dietary protein content better.

3. FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD

Progressive overload is a cornerstone of muscle building.

It means consistently challenging your body by introducing new weekly stimuli to compel muscle growth.

Our bodies are adaptive; they respond to the demands placed on them by growing more substantial. However, if we fail to increase the intensity of our workouts, our bodies have no incentive to continue changing, resulting in stagnation.

Various ways to apply progressive overload include increasing sets, reps, workout frequency, or reducing rest times. However, the most crucial aspect is rising resistance. If we can lift heavier weights, we’re likely to get bigger.

To apply this principle, start with a weight you can lift for 10-12 reps for 3-4 sets. Once you can comfortably achieve 12 reps for each set, increasing the weight is time. Expect to perform fewer reps initially with the heavier weight, but stick with it until you can perform 12 reps again before increasing the weight again.

4. INADEQUATE EXERCISE SELECTION

Once we’ve sorted out our diet, it’s time to tweak our workout routine. Often, we hear complaints about glute growth, and when we inquire about their exercise regimen, they mention banded sidewalks and clam exercises.

While these exercises have benefits, they shouldn’t be our top priority.

Hence, it’s logical to prioritize exercises that primarily engage and develop the glute maximus.

The primary function of the maximus is glute extension, such as rising from a squat or climbing stairs. Therefore, our focus should be on exercises that facilitate this movement.

Moreover, it’s crucial to understand that 70% of our workout should consist of “Compound” exercises, while the remaining 30% can be dedicated to isolation exercises. Compound exercises engage multiple muscle groups if you’re unfamiliar with these terms, whereas isolation exercises target specific muscles.

For instance, the bench press is a compound exercise, while triceps extensions isolate the triceps muscle.

Compound exercises are essential because they are influential mass builders, recruiting numerous muscle fibers and generating the muscle tension necessary for growth.

Additionally, compound exercises allow for progressive overload, enabling us to handle heavier weights and add resistance as we become more robust. This isn’t feasible with exercises like banded sidewalks and clam exercises.

Undoubtedly, compound exercises are challenging, but worthwhile achievements require effort, don’t they?

Therefore, it’s advisable to perform compound exercises when you’re fresh and have maximum energy at the beginning of your workout, reserving isolation exercises for later.

Compound glute exercises include squats, hip thrusts, deadlifts, Bulgarian split squats, lunges, and step-ups.

Isolation glute exercises encompass seated abduction, clams, banded sidewalks, and donkey kicks.

5. INSUFFICIENT RECOVERY TIME

Lastly, let’s talk about recovery. You’re mistaken if you believe muscles are built solely in the gym.

Muscles are broken down during workouts and rebuilt during rest periods.

The SRA curve illustrates this concept excellently.

The red line represents the Workout Stimulus, the Blue line represents Recovery, and the Purple line represents Adaptation resulting from the stimulus.

If you jump back into working out too soon, you risk not giving enough time for the SRA curve to complete, hindering the crucial adaptation phase. Your progress might stall or even regress.

In essence, you might not be making any progress; you could be moving backward.

As a general rule, training a muscle group twice a week is optimal for muscle growth, supported by research showing its superior effectiveness to training once a week.

By training your glutes twice a week, you allow for sufficient rest, typically 2-3 days between sessions, which should provide ample time to complete the SRA curve.

FINAL THOUGHTS

And that’s a wrap! We hope this article has instilled confidence in your glute training journey, reassuring you that achieving glute growth is feasible; perhaps you just needed to adjust your approach.

Go through the listed items and rectify any mistakes, and you’ll be well able to achieve those desired glute gains.

With these adjustments, you’ll never again ask, “Why aren’t my glutes growing?” Happy training!