Do squats make your butt bigger?

That's a great question, and the answer is yes and no. It depends on what kind of squats. The traditional squat, which is either going to be a bodyweight squat, back squat, or even a frontal squat, traditionally targets your quads more. It's going to target the muscles above your knee and in front of your thigh. It can target a little bit of your hamstrings and your glutes, but traditionally it doesn't because if you were to stick your glute back far enough to really engage the glutes, you'd fall over.

So, one of the squats that really does help to engage the glutes and upper hamstrings better is a Smith machine squat . And that's a barbell that is in a fixed position on a roller, a hydraulic system, so that you're able to actually lean up against it and stick your butt back farther. You can really get that stretch into the glutes when you come down into a position where your butt is parallel to the ground or lower, and then you’re able to push off the glutes and come up. But as far as squats go, that's the only real squat that you're able to get deep into the glutes. Regular squats do not build your butt up.

To really build your butt up, you're going to want to focus on exercises like hip thrusts, glute bridges, abduction lifts, and banded abduction marches . There's a whole bunch of other things that are way better for your butt than squats, which are primarily going to hit those quads.

I think squat exercises help to create definition because you are strengthening the gluteal muscles that are being reshaped. Squats are also really good for hip stability and building hip strength, as your pelvis supports your spine. So, we want really strong hips.

Squats can increase the size of your glutes, especially if you are pushing your limitations with the added resistance . The deeper you go into a squat (of course, without rotating your hips as you get lower), the more your glutes are targeted, as well as your quadriceps and other supportive muscles.

As always, with any squat, be sure that your hips are driving backwards , and you should still see the tips of your toes as you descend down and return back up.

Another queue is to push through your heels as you return up so the glutes get the majority of the building/engagement, being sure not to lock out your knees at the top, keeping tension on the glutes .

Squats can add more lean muscle to your body, so if you're looking to see gains in your butt area, then yes, squats can help with that.