How to Get More Fat in Your Buttocks: A Complete Guide

October 30, 2025 •

4 min read

According to personal trainers, building the gluteal muscles is the most effective and safest way to add volume and shape to your posterior, which can make your buttocks appear fuller and more lifted. This involves a strategic combination of exercise and nutrition, rather than simply trying to gain fat in a specific area.

Quick Summary

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of how to enhance the size and shape of your buttocks. It details the best exercises for glute muscle development, dietary strategies to support growth, and lifestyle factors crucial for achieving your body contouring goals.

Key Points

Genetics Dictate Fat Distribution: You cannot choose where your body stores fat. The shape and size of your buttocks are primarily influenced by genetics.
Build Muscle, Not Just Fat: The safest and most effective way to enhance your buttocks is by building the gluteal muscles through targeted strength training, which creates a lifted and rounder shape.
Combine Exercise with a Caloric Surplus: To promote overall fat and muscle gain, consume slightly more calories than you burn, while ensuring a high intake of protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates.
Key Exercises are Essential: Incorporate exercises like barbell hip thrusts, back squats, Romanian deadlifts, and Bulgarian split squats for maximum glute development.
Embrace Patience and Consistency: Natural body recomposition takes time. Stay consistent with your diet, exercise, and lifestyle habits, and allow your body to adapt and grow.
Optimize Lifestyle for Growth: Prioritize sleep for muscle repair, manage stress to control cortisol levels, and stay well-hydrated to support overall cellular function and performance.
Consider All Options with Caution: While surgical options exist, they carry risks. For a natural result, focus on sustainable lifestyle changes rather than quick fixes.

The Science of Glute Growth

To understand how to get more fat in your buttocks, it is crucial to understand that you cannot spot-gain fat in a single area. Your body's fat distribution is largely determined by genetics. The most effective and healthy approach is to combine muscle hypertrophy in the gluteal muscles with a controlled caloric surplus to encourage overall weight gain, which your genetics may distribute to your buttocks. The gluteal muscle group consists of the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus, all of which contribute to a fuller, rounder shape. Targeted resistance training is the primary stimulus for growing these muscles.

Essential Exercises for Building Your Buttocks

To maximize muscle growth, it is important to include a variety of exercises that target the glutes from different angles. Progressive overload, which involves gradually increasing the intensity of your workouts, is key to seeing results.

Barbell Hip Thrusts: This is one of the most effective exercises for isolating and strengthening the gluteus maximus. It involves pushing your hips up while your upper back is supported on a bench, squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement. Adding a barbell across your hips increases the resistance and challenges the muscles further.
Back Squats: A classic compound exercise, squats engage the entire lower body, including the glutes. Going heavy with squats, particularly in the 8-12 rep range, is excellent for muscle hypertrophy.
Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs): RDLs are fantastic for targeting the hamstrings and glutes. Unlike a conventional deadlift, the movement focuses on hinging at the hips, with a slight bend in the knees, to create tension in the hamstrings and glutes as you lower the weight.
Bulgarian Split Squats: This unilateral (single-leg) exercise is perfect for addressing muscle imbalances and deeply activating each glute individually. It helps build overall lower-body size and strength.
Glute Bridges: A foundational exercise that isolates the glutes and hamstrings. For increased difficulty, perform single-leg glute bridges or add a resistance band around your knees.
Banded Lateral Walks: Using a resistance band around your ankles or knees forces your gluteus medius to fire, helping to build the outer portion of your glutes for a rounder appearance.

Nutritional Strategies for Fat and Muscle Gain

To support glute growth, your diet must provide the necessary fuel for muscle repair and building. This means eating in a caloric surplus while focusing on macronutrients that support your goals.

Adequate Protein Intake: Protein is the building block of muscle tissue. Aim for 1.6-2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Excellent sources include chicken breast, salmon, eggs, cottage cheese, and Greek yogurt.
Healthy Fats: While many fear fat, healthy fats are crucial for hormone production, including those that aid in muscle development. Incorporate sources like avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil into your diet.
Complex Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates provide the energy needed for intense glute workouts. Complex carbs like sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, and oats provide sustained energy rather than quick, short-lived spikes.
Calorie Surplus: To build muscle and encourage some fat storage, you must consume more calories than you burn. A modest surplus of 250-500 calories above your maintenance level is recommended to support growth without excessive fat gain elsewhere.

Comparison of Enhancement Methods


Method	Effectiveness for Fat Gain	Overall Impact	Considerations
Targeted Exercise & Diet	Indirect (relies on genetics)	Builds muscle and increases overall volume healthily	Requires patience and consistency; results are natural and long-lasting.
Surgical Fat Transfer (BBL)	Direct (transfers fat from other areas)	Significant increase in size and contour with fat	Invasive surgery with risks including fat embolism, infection, and fat reabsorption.
Non-Surgical Fillers	Direct (injects collagen-stimulating fillers)	Offers a subtle lift and volume increase	Temporary results requiring maintenance, off-label use for buttocks.
Spot-Training Without Diet	Minimal or none	Tones muscle, little to no change in size	Incorrect approach; body fat distribution is not controllable by exercise alone.

Lifestyle Factors for Success

Beyond exercise and diet, several lifestyle habits play a significant role in helping to get more fat in your buttocks by optimizing your body's ability to build and grow.

Prioritize Sleep: Muscle growth and repair occur during rest. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night to support recovery and hormone production.
Manage Stress: High levels of the stress hormone cortisol can hinder muscle growth and encourage fat storage around the midsection. Incorporate stress-reducing activities like meditation or walking.
Avoid Excessive Cardio: While some cardio is healthy, long-distance running can burn calories needed for muscle growth. Focus on sprinting or inclined walking to engage the glutes without overdoing it.
Stay Hydrated: Water is essential for all cellular functions, including muscle protein synthesis. Mild dehydration can impair workout performance and recovery, limiting your potential for gains.
Consistency is Key: Seeing results takes time and consistency. Be patient and stick with your exercise and nutrition plan, making adjustments as needed based on your progress.

Conclusion

While it's impossible to tell your body where to deposit fat, you can strategically work towards a fuller posterior by building the gluteal muscles and creating a modest calorie surplus. Combining targeted resistance exercises like hip thrusts and squats with a diet rich in lean protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates is the most natural and sustainable path. Lifestyle factors, including proper rest and hydration, also play a critical role in supporting your body's muscle-building efforts. By focusing on these healthy and consistent practices, you can safely and effectively work towards your desired body composition and appearance.

For more detailed guidance on a balanced muscle-building diet, consult with a nutritionist or registered dietitian who can create a personalized plan based on your unique needs and goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

The fastest, but also riskiest, method is surgical enhancement like a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) or implants. The fastest and healthiest natural approach involves consistent, targeted resistance training combined with a proper diet and rest.

Eating more healthy fats as part of a calorie-surplus diet can lead to overall weight gain, and your genetics will determine if some of that fat is stored in your buttocks. However, increasing protein intake and lifting weights is more critical for targeted glute muscle growth.

Yes, but you will need to focus on gaining weight overall. A program combining targeted glute exercises with a calorie-surplus diet is necessary to build muscle mass in your buttocks. You cannot add muscle or fat to a specific area without gaining weight everywhere.

With consistent training (3-4 times per week) and proper nutrition, some individuals may see noticeable muscle development in as little as 4-8 weeks, but significant changes can take several months to a year or longer.

Protein powders are a convenient way to meet your daily protein requirements, especially after workouts, which supports muscle growth. Creatine and glutamine can also be helpful, but you should consult a healthcare professional before taking any supplements.

While squats are an excellent compound exercise that works the glutes, a well-rounded routine that includes a variety of exercises is best for hitting the glutes from different angles and promoting overall growth. Combining squats with other exercises like hip thrusts and lunges is more effective.

Nutrition is paramount. Without sufficient protein, your body cannot repair and build new muscle tissue. A caloric surplus provides the energy and building blocks required for hypertrophy, while healthy fats support hormone function essential for muscle development.