Leg day is the most hated day for the maximum number of people who go to the gym. But nobody hates good round glutes. But for that, you need to do a leg day which includes maximum involvement of glute muscles.
But is there any chance that your glutes will not grow if you never skip a glute workout? If yes? Then how can we track the growth of the glutes and what are the signs that your glutes are not growing? If you have these types of questions then you are at the right place.
In this article, I will discuss the signs that your glutes are not growing. And also provide some solutions to this. So, let’s start…
Signs Your Glutes Are Not Growing
Your pant fits you same
The best way to notice the growth of your glutes is by looking at your pant fitting. If the pants fit you the same then most probably your glutes are not growing.
Some people might see the shape of their glutes coming but when they wear pants, the size is the same. Well, that means your glutes are not growing but they are getting in shape.
This highly means you are doing mobility exercises more than lifting heavy weights.
You need to keep the balance of both exercises to get the desired results. Mobility exercises help give shape to the glutes whereas heavy weights help the glutes to grow.
There is no progress in weight
Image by FreepikAnother sign that your glutes are not growing is by measuring your gym progress. If you are lifting weights in the gym but there is no progress in your weight lifting, there are high chance that your glutes are not activating and thus resulting in very slow glute growth.
So if this is the case with you then you should consider changing your technique of lifting. Or you are training too much and your glutes are not getting enough rest. Always remember rest is very important for growth.
Related:If your Glutes are Sore are They Growing ?
Not Getting Stronger
When we lift something, our body uses the partial muscles. These are the muscles on the back side of our body like the glutes, hamstring, and back. So, when we lift something our glutes get engaged and they help us to push the object to the ground.
If your glutes are getting stronger, then there are high chance that your lifting capability will also increase. If your lifting capability is still the same and you don’t see any progress, then that means your glutes are not getting stronger. If they are not getting stronger then they will not grow.
Reasons why glutes are not growing
There are many reasons why your glutes are not growing, instead of trying so much. We have discussed how you can see the signs your glutes are not growing. Now, it’s time to focus on the root of the problem and get it correct to see the desired results.
Related: Does Squeezing Buttocks Make It Bigger?
Training in the wrong way
There are a lot of reasons why one might not see any gains in their glutes but one primary reason that often gets neglected is the training pattern.
Most of you have done everything right such as eating the right diet, training glutes twice a week, and taking a good rest. However, still, you are not seeing any good results.
Well, there is a general misconception about 3 things in most people’s minds who go to gym. See, the method of training can be different but most people still follow the same process of training that used to be in the old days. The process of training involves 3 main mechanisms i.e. Muscle damage, metabolic stress, and mechanical tension.
I know most of you have heard of these three mechanisms. Now, most people believe that muscle damage is good for growth and you need to train to the level of soreness to grow muscles. It is believed that more muscle damage is good for muscle mass. However, a recent study in 2017 shows that it is not true.
It shows that what we assume is muscle growth after muscle damage is not actually muscle growth but is a byproduct of swelling of muscles after a workout.
This makes muscles appear bigger temporarily than they really are in reality.
This study concludes that going to failure or overstressing your muscles doesn’t mean bigger muscles. In most cases, it can slow down the growth. So, make sure to not overdo or put stress on your glutes to get fast results.
Another factor is metabolic stress. Most people refer to it as a muscle pump, a burning sensation. This occurs when we perform a movement where the pressure or tension is on one muscle and this creates a burning sensation.
Most people think it is a sign of a good pump but in reality, this is not true. The research has shown that putting high metabolic stress like taking short rest periods or doing reps to failure can actually hinder muscle growth.
According to research, you will see more growth if you take longer rest periods and stop 4 or 5 reps before failure.
It is also concluded that doing fast reps puts more stress on muscles. You might get a good pump with it, but this does not always mean more growth. The result shows that doing fast reps can either provide the same result as slow reps or low results. So, slow reps are always best.
Last is mechanical tension. This is muscle tension which occurs when we stretch our hamstring or other muscles like stretching out arms while doing biceps curls.
This mechanism is based on a range of motion. The higher the range of motion the more tension and stretch you get.
You should know that there will be always some muscle tension and muscle damage during every exercise, still to get better results range of motion is the most important.
Range of motion is considered one of the most important aspects of muscle growth. So, it is always better if you do a good range of motion with slow reps while doing your glutes.
Related: Does Walking Lift Your Buttocks?
Genetics
You can do anything in the world or try anything but if your genetics are stopping you from achieving a round and big glutes, then there is nothing you can do. You can increase the size of your glutes to some extent with proper exercise and diet but you should not expect more.
Everyone’s genetics are unique..some people can easily put muscle on the biceps and other parts of the body and some on others. Everyone has one weak part in their body which is genetically gifted to them and you can do very little about that.
So don’t worry if your genetics are stopping you. You can eat healthy and get a proper routine and sooner or later you will see good results if not the best.
Quad dominant
The second big reason is that you are quad-dominant. What does that mean, you might be thinking? Well, this is a common problem with newbies in the gym.
In daily life, most people use their quads to run, walk, or while walking up on stairs. This makes them quad-dominant, meaning they use their quads not only to move but also to lift things.
Technically this job of lifting things is given to the postural muscles of our body like the back, glutes, and hamstrings.
If you use quads in lifting things then there will be very little activation in your glutes and most of the work is done by your quads.
So, in that situation, you will see very less results in your glutes and more in your quadriceps.
The mind-body connection is weak
Another main reason why so many people, especially women, don’t see any results even after training their glutes multiple times a week is the weak mind-body connection.
Some newbies who want to grow their glutes have weak muscle-mind connections. If the connection is weak, you will not be able to engage your glute muscles properly while performing any movement.
So, if you have this problem you need to correct it if you want to see results. The best way to test if you have a weak muscle-mind connection in the glutes is very easy.
Squeeze your one butt as hard as you can. Make sure you squeeze one butt cheek and not both. Now, notice if you feel any burnout or pressure on your squeezed glute.
If there is a slight pressure and nothing much happens, then there is a high chance that you have a weak muscle-mind connection.
To overcome that, you can squeeze your buttocks during the day randomly at any time. While squeezing focus on the glute muscles and not just follow the motion.
Similarly, when you do squats or lunges, feel the muscles of the glutes rather than just completing the rep.
By focusing on this and doing it daily you can easily build up the muscle mind connection.
Lifting very light weights or no weights
Another thing that might be stopping your glutes from growing is lifting very light weights for high reps.
Many newbies make this mistake. Though you can burn the same calories by lifting light weights, but the muscle mass is what you need in your glutes to make them look round and big.
Light weight and high reps are only good if you want definition in your muscles. If you want growth, you should always lift heavy weights for low reps.
Decrease your reps to 10 to 12 and increase your set to 4 of one exercise. After every set increase the weight. This is the best way to increase muscle mass.
Overtraining
If you are someone who wants to see quick results then Overtraining would be your last option.
Overtraining not only burns more calories but you will make your muscles work more than they can.
If you do gym, yoga, and a lot of other things that involve glutes, there is a high chance that you are overtraining your muscles. Muscles need rest to recover. Recovery is what brings you results.
You can try different exercises and routines. All of this can make you a jack of all trades but a master of none.
