Have you ever seen those people that have absolutely no butt? You know the ones. They look like someone pulled out the back of their jeans and poured their butt down the backs of their legs like pancake batter. They have no curves, belts don’t work, and they pretty much have to staple their pants to their lower back so they don’t fall down.

This is NOT sexy!

And for the record, gentlemen, I’m not just talking about women here. Be warned that women notice your butt too…or lack thereof. All too often men neglect work on this area because it simply isn’t “manly”. Well let me tell you, women will appreciate the effort and the results might just make you feel…well…manly. So don’t play off glute work as just for women. You might thank me later.

If you want to build a backside that you could bounce a quarter off of I suggest you read on.

While I could probably fill a book with exercises to build the perfect rear view, if I had to pick one I’d probably pick the stiff legged deadlift. I’d choose it because it is relatively simple to learn and allows maximal loading on the target area…the glutes. Let’s get to it.

The Drill

Before you attempt this exercise I’d suggest following the seemingly silly, but very important, drill below. Of course, you’re probably going to skip this, like most men skip the directions before a road trip, but be advised that I think it is a valuable step.

- Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart with your heels approximately six inches away from a wall.

- Lock the arch in your lower back

- Now, with your weight on your heels, push your butt out backwards until it touches the wall. Don’t lean into the wall.

- Take a baby step forward and repeat.

Do this until you are pushing back as far as possible, but your backside no longer reaches the wall. It is critical to maintain the natural curve in your lower back and drive the hips backwards as far as they’ll allow. You should feel a moderate stretch in the hamstrings on the back of the leg.

The importance of this drill is to reinforce that this exercise is mostly about displacing the hips backwards and not how far forward you can reach. Because you can reach your toes or further does not ensure you’re hitting your glutes. In fact, if you’re bending your lower back to reach further you’re not only placing more of the work on your spinal erectors, but you’re also putting yourself at risk for an injury.

The Ultimate Butt Builder

Once you’ve mastered the drill you can proceed to the exercise itself. You’ll need a bar (barbell) or pair of dumbbells to add resistance to the exercise. In the early stages I prefer my clients to use a barbell as I find that dumbbells pull forward on the shoulders and make it more difficult to keep the lower back from rounding.

In either case, you’ll want to follow the steps below.

- Stand as before with your feet just outside shoulder width.

- Hold the barbell or dumbbells in front of you with a shoulder width grip.

- Lock the lower back into its normal arch.

- Now slowly drive the hips backwards until they can go no further and let the bar descend towards the top of the shoelaces.

- Pause briefly and return the hips to their normal position.

- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

The right way to do a stiff legged deadlift

The right way to get a herniated disc

Do not allow the back to round. All movement should take place at the hips. Also, keep the eyes straight ahead and try not to look down. This will seem difficult at first, but will help prevent the back from becoming rounded.

Three sets of ten repetitions done once per week is a good starting point for this exercise.

You’ll probably want to beging with a bar of 45lbs or less, but within a short period of time (i.e., one month) you should be able to increase your strength dramatically. Most of my long term female clients do approximately 150lbs or more for 10 repetitions so that should provide a benchmark for progress. The glutes are a strong muscle group and need heavy work to make them develop. Your hamstrings will also be sore following this exercise so it is obvious that you’re getting more bang for your buck than with isolation exercises on gym machines.

If you don’t have a rack and have to pick the bar up from the floor make sure to keep your back straight even on the setup for the lift. Also, if you find that your grip is limiting your ability to add weight to the bar there are several things you can do. The easiest is to get lifting straps that you can wrap around the bar to make holding on easier. I’d suggest using them only when necessary though as you can become dependent on them.

The Wrap Up

Shortly after implementing this exercise you should notice a little more firmness and a whole lot less jiggle in the back. Keep in mind that without adequate nutrition you’ll always have a little extra shake to that jelly until you get that sorted out.

And for those who didn’t have a butt to begin with, you’ll be able to take your staples back to the store.