Is running making your buttocks bigger or smaller?

Running is an excellent form of cardio-vascular exercise that boosts your immune system,  mental health, respiratory system and overall health. If you have been running regularly then you are probably already experiencing its many benefits.

A study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings suggests that running for over 50 minutes or 6 miles every week may add 3-6 years in your lifespan. Whether you are running for health benefits, fun or to work out your glutes, we highly recommend you keep it up.

That being said, yes, running makes your buttocks bigger but it can also make your buttocks smaller.

This may sound like a contradiction, yet it is not because the answer depends on how you run, not if you run or not. The way you run will define the resulting effects on the size of your buttocks, it can make them bigger or smaller.

The techniques you use for running greatly impact the shape and size of your buttocks, let’s discuss how you should run to make your buttocks bigger or smaller.

Bigger Buttocks

If you want to attain shapely and developed buttocks, then you have to run for them accordingly. Your running must stimulate your gluteal muscles and help promote their development, this will help you get a healthy, bigger and more attractive set of buttocks.

Here are a few running techniques for bigger buttocks:

Sprinting

When aiming for bigger gluteal muscles, normal walking, jogging or running will not do you any good. You want to make short sprints of maximum possible intensity every chance you get and only drop your running intensity for rest periods. Keep alternating between these two for best results.

This alternating of short, intense sprints and rest runs mimics in your gluteal muscles by flexing and relaxing them, which results in their growth and development. You cannot achieve this kind of muscle movement and resulting growth with regular running or jogging.

Resistance Running

Just like resistance training develops muscles while body building, the growth and development of gluteal muscles relies on resistance running. You can add weights while running to promote muscle growth and burn more calories.

You can also try running on the beach, the density and uneven surface of the sand will add resistance to your running and promote better muscle growth and improved balance.

Inclined Running or Climbing

This is by far the best thing to attain bigger, healthier buttocks. Find a hill or use an inclined treadmill to run uphill, which will exercise the gluteal muscles, making them stronger and growing them in volume.

Intensely sprinting for short intervals on an uphill run will promote even better growth and development. You should sprint for 15 seconds uphill then turn around and jog downhill for the rest run. If you cannot find a hill or inclined treadmill, stairs are the next best thing.

Running up the stairs intensely and walking back down 5-6 times every day is a good start, you can gradually increase this number to 12 for a daily intense buttock work out.

Smaller Buttocks

Alternatively, those who wish to reduce the size of their buttocks are looking to reduce the amount of fat in their buttocks. They may start running excessively for long periods only to lose precious muscle mass instead of the intended fat.

You can apply all the previously mentioned running techniques for bigger buttocks to reduce fat, develop healthy muscles and slim down fatty buttocks. Do not get confused by thinking how it is possible to use the same techniques for bigger and smaller buttocks.

The simple reason is because bigger buttocks involve growing gluteal muscles, whereas smaller buttocks involve losing the fat around the gluteal muscles. The mentioned running techniques do both, burn fat and promote muscle growth.

But running alone will not help you lose fat in your buttocks, more than anything, you will need a strict diet supplemented by weight loss exercises to reduce the overall fat in your body. Only by reducing your weight and body fat percentage can you achieve slimmer, more shapely buttocks.

Diet

Fat loss requires a calorie deficit in your body with a low-carbohydrate and high-protein diet. You will require a 500-calorie deficit, which means your daily caloric intake must be 500 calories less than your daily caloric output.

You can reduce this calorie deficit if you are running daily so, if you burn 200 calories from daily running, then you only need to cut 300 calories from your diet. This deficit will help you lose a pound of weight every week which should result in 1% body fat reduction every month – a healthy amount.

Weight loss causes you to lose muscle mass as well so, you will have to replace that loss with enough protein to cover the loss and promote healthy muscle development during the process. Simply take 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day to avoid muscle loss.

For example, if you weigh 150 pounds then you will need 80-100 grams of protein every day. You will also need to reduce your carbohydrate intake down to 50-55% of your diet for effective weight loss.

Other Exercises

Along with running, you may also want to incorporate some other fat loss and cardio exercises in your plan toward fat-free and shapely buttocks, including:

• Walking
• Rope Jumping
• Squats
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Strength Training

These are just a few and you may utilize many more as long as they result in healthy weight loss and do not go overboard.

Conclusion

As we have learned, running can and does change the size, shape and strength of your gluteal muscles. The effective running techniques mentioned here will help you make them bigger or smaller depending on your needs, what matters is that they are strong and healthy.

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